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Tue Apr 20 2021
Ramones
Ramones
Deeply influential to me as a youth, I could never hate Ramones. Now, as an adult, I can rely appreciate how innovative and simple their aesthetic is – sped up rockabilly/girl group/surf rock music with grittier lyrics? Obviously cool and catchy!
All the common criticisms normally thrown at them are blatantly from people who don't believe in punk music, or from people who are projecting a preconceived notion about how the band sounds onto the actual songs themselves. The riffs are distinct, the hooks are all unique, and they shift tempos and have enough variety. Now, I do get that sometimes it's a lot in one album, but I wouldn't say that's an issue here (or on Rocket to Russia, for that matter – the stronger album overall). And sure, sometimes the change up is a little against their strengths ("Havana Affair), but sometimes it truly works ("I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend").
Most of all, Ramones are great at their meat and potatoes, and that's mainly what this record is dishing out. If you like punk, you may not think this is flawless, but you're going to like it. And I like it. I may not be spinning this all the goddamn time compared to Gorilla Biscuits or Embrace, but it's a solid classic in my primary genre of choice.
4
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Wed Apr 21 2021
Imagine
John Lennon
Honesty does not absolve, and this album is proof.
Half balladry laid on thick, and half white boi pastiche of American blues and 50s rock 'n' roll without any personal input. I'll give him this, there are moments where I'm almost won over. The melody of "Jealous Guy"; the guitar work on "How Do You Sleep?" (although that's George's contribution, obviously), the strings on "How?" I'm not a big Lennon/Beatles apologist generally, but I'm also not deaf, and I know there's moments, and they're just enough to make me not hate this album, although they're also not enough to fully win me over, either. At the same time, though, there's enough pretension ("Imagine"), straight rip-off ("Crippled Inside"), and downright cringe ("Oh Yoko!") to make me physically grimace, and I can't ignore that, either.
2
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Thu Apr 22 2021
Be
Common
This has always been one of those flawless albums I "forget" exists. In many ways, that's because when I was first getting into hip-hop, this was a typical ✨introduction✨ album. Plus, with time, Common has become a bit of an Award Season Man™️, which I think makes his classics easier to push out of your memories vantage point. Most of all, though, I think this album was very purposefully trying to fly a bit under the radar, at least as much as it could.
But it's an album produced largely by Kanye in his prime as a producer, and the two songs that aren't Kanye are by the greatest producer in the whole genre's history, J Dilla. And every single song just hooks me. They're both gorgeous, like flowers in my ears, but also complex while still remaining actually fun to listen to. And the same goes for Common's rapping here. Always technically proficient, most of his discography is filled with unfit bravado or annoying holier-than-thous, and therefore boring. While both of those issues are still present here and may be the albums sole flaw if you look at either to closely – "Go" is a bit awkward, many songs are preachy, most notably "Faithful" and "Be (Intro)" – they're mostly forgivable because Common's storytelling is peak here, arguably the best in the genre's history, and it's only elevated by the context of the production.
In many ways, Be is the Platonic Ideal of a hip-hop album: socially conscious, poetic, insightful and observant storytelling, with angelic production and a varied vibe throughout that could be rock a party and a church equally. Sometimes, that idealism can be its own Achilles Heel depending on your mood, but even then, I imagine it's hard to straight-up hate this album, because try as I might, I really can't see this as anything but perfect.
5
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Sat Dec 11 2021
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme
Simon & Garfunkel
Though I'm now an adult, I'm still a Northeastern girl who was a bit of a pretentious teen, who wore a lot of cardigans, who always carried her poetry notebook everywhere she went, and who maybe once or thrice got a bit high and listened to her Dad's old Simon & Garfunkel albums and had her mind blown.
Simon & Garfunkel – both together and in their solo careers – are pretentious bitches who made music for pretentious bitches. I am a pretentious bitch , and I like Simon & Garfunkel. Even at their most annoying here, with the anti-consumerism/commercialism of "The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine" or the unfunny parody of "A Simple Desultory Philippic," I can't help but love them. But really, I love them when they're lovelorn, sentimental, and reflective. And they're that way a lot on this album, and I love it, even if I don't really like folk music.
And no, my admiration is not only because I too referenced Robert Frost and Dylan Thomas to discuss a breakup when I was younger. Though that does explain a lot about me, and my love for this album.
4
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Mon Dec 13 2021
Sea Change
Beck
The sound of crying into a PBR tall boy.
Gorgeous production and there's moments where I almost get it, especially with the orchestration, but overall very much not for me.
2
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Tue Dec 14 2021
Horses
Patti Smith
As punk as slam poetry [read: not very punk].
A younger version of me may have been more convinced by this, but sometimes, an album comes into your life too late. My frontal lobe is too developed to fall for this, although there's moment that I do understand her role and her importance, and I can't help but bob my head, especially "Gloria" in its second half. Mostly, though, this album is a chore. Ironic, because on the surface, a punk queen who claims she's "beyond gender" would be my style, and maybe with time, it'll grow on me. But for now, smack dab in the middle for me.
3
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Wed Dec 15 2021
Pink Moon
Nick Drake
In high school, an English teacher once told my class, “Spring has the highest suicide rates – everything’s blooming, and you’re not.” I don’t know why he said this to a room of 16 year olds, but it stuck with me, young and struggling to look her depression in the face and learn how to manage it.
Now, here I am, 15 years later, screaming, crying, throwing up, sobbing to this gorgeous album by a man who tried his best to bloom with everything around him. The result is one of the most beautiful albums I’ve ever heard, and it’s a light of positivity from an artist who was so obviously trying to fight against the darkness. I’ve found a new favorite album.
And yes, my therapist had to cancel our session this week, how on earth could you tell?
5
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Fri Dec 17 2021
Suicide
Suicide
Sometimes a great idea can be so ahead of its time that it physically cannot be achieved at that time. That’s exactly the issue with Suicide. Because the idea is great, I really like the idea, but the execution….falls incredibly short. What this album actually sounds like is nothing close to how it could’ve sounded in theory, and the result is too primitive and too underdeveloped. The fact that it falls short actually does make it an important milestone, but it’s an incredibly hard listen to my ears today.
2
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Sat Dec 18 2021
Parallel Lines
Blondie
Boomer Carly Rae Jepsen [extremely complimentary]
4
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Sun Dec 19 2021
Band On The Run
Paul McCartney and Wings
Paul really said, “This one’s for the ADHD girlies,” because god, this record is all over the place.
2
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Mon Dec 20 2021
Sound Affects
The Jam
Took me a little bit to warm up to it, but I really was won over. The genre blend is a bit hard to wrap my head around; it’s not quite punk, but it’s not just straight mod pastiche either, and it’s poppy, but not radio pop, more like college radio catchy. It’s very British, and that cultural disconnect might also be my issue. It’s honestly a record I need to sit with more, but even if it grows on me, I know it’s not something I’m going to revisit all the time aside from a handful of songs, if only because the mod-leanings and Britishisms are not to my taste. I’m glad I was exposed to this, however, and still feel this is more of a positive/3.5 rating overall, because even if I’m not despite for a physical copy, I will add a few of these songs to my playlists in the future.
3
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Tue Dec 21 2021
Surrealistic Pillow
Jefferson Airplane
I’m incredibly shocked by how much I enjoy this. It’s poppy enough to keep my ears tuned in, even when I tune out during the more verbose, winding psychedelic guitar parts. I’m also not a fan of when they get super quiet and folky, either, as those moments feel too subdued. The stereo mixing doesn’t do the pop sensibilities justice, unfortunately, but a good song is still a good song.
Still, all these elements are small issues, and are mostly kept to a minimum on this record in favor of bright hooks and tight 3-minute song structures. And that’s why it wins me over – the annoying psych moments are never allowed to overpower what’s really just a good pop album with an aesthetic. Honestly, if I’d gone into this blind without knowing the history of the San Francisco scene, I don’t know if I’d even consider this a full-on psychedelic rock album, and that’s a benefit in my opinion. More positive toward a 3.5 with this.
3
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Wed Dec 22 2021
Casanova
The Divine Comedy
If I had been a straight man born in the UK in the early 1970s who had a notorious affinity for tall French women, middlebrow literature, and frequenting chic cocktail bars, I think I’d understand this album. Alas, I am a queer trans woman born in the US in the 1990s, with a hatred for both the British and the French, and although I too like to read the New Yorker while sipping a Paper Plane, I truly don’t understand the appeal of this album. It’s too dorky and carnivalesque to be artful, but it’s too up-its-own-ass to be camp, and honestly, literally nothing about it stands out. Well, besides its weirdly misogynistic Pick Up Artist ego. I can’t decide if it’s being ironic in an obnoxious Gen X way that I’m supposed to read as ~social commentary~ even though time has made the joke incomprehensible, or if these lyrics are sincere, and if it’s the latter, then this album is bordering on immature, if not fully problematic, to the point where I’d cover my drink if he tried to hit on me at a chic cocktail bar. Either way, I hate this guy’s whole vibe.
It took all my strength to not turn this off half-way through. Hell, I wanted to turn it off at the beginning of Track 3, and then I realized I was only on Track 3, so then with each song, it became more and more difficult to sit through this without wanting to cancel my Spotify subscription. Never again, please, or at least not for a long while.
1
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Thu Dec 23 2021
The Number Of The Beast
Iron Maiden
A part of me always tries to argue that this isn’t my vibe when it comes to metal, that I’m not into bombastic, shreddy, operatic ‘80s Heavy Metal™️; another part of me loves the nerdy, DnD, socially conscious, head-banging nature of a lotttt of metal from this era, regardless of subgenre [e.g. Anthrax is my favorite of the Big Four].
Every time I put on Number of the Beast, I can’t help but love it. My head bangs. I get jealous of Steve Harris, and wish I could play bass like that. I dig into the themes. I air drum. I have a blast! But I keep trying to lie and say I only think this album is okay. Part of the issue is that my brain tries to tell myself that I prefer later albums [Piece of Mind and Seventh Son, specifically]. Part of my issue is that deep down, I’m still a teenager, trying to show that I’m not a poser for liking nerdy metal, that actually Death and Cryptopsy and Gorguts are soooo much cooler than this dorky, feminine, poser bullshit because *I’m* not a poser 🤢
But who the fuck am I kidding? This album is so fucking good! Honestly, without “22 Acacia Avenue,” which is only okay, it’d be a flawless metal album. This album makes me want to drive down the highway in the middle of July, windows down, blasting it, banging my head, hair obstructing my driving abilities. I don’t care if it’s entry-level poser behavior to like this album, because I really like this fucking album!
4
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Fri Dec 24 2021
Risque
CHIC
I was born in the wrong era. And by that I mean I’m a queer Millennial who wishes she could’ve gone to the club when disco was hot, but also, like, yes, I know, Strawman Queer Elder™️, I know…but how cool would it have been to hear this album when it was released?! God, it’s so good, and so layered that I find new details after every spin – and to think it’s not even my favorite Chic album?!? Disco deserved so much better.
4
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Sat Dec 25 2021
Fun House
The Stooges
So this album just invented literally every subgenre of punk – hardcore, noise, no wave, sludge, even fucking jazz punk – and I was completely unaware of how great it was until today? This could be released tomorrow and it would still sound fresh! I’m blown away, and even if some of it is a bit too meandering for my personal taste, I’m still in absolute awe. Historically important, sure, but more importantly, it still sounds amazing to this day. I think I’m about to become obsessed with Iggy Pop.
4
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Sun Dec 26 2021
A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector
Various Artists
Despite listening to it in April when I’m not in the Christmas spirit, I still think this is somewhat overrated. The standouts are classics you hear year after year for a reason, sure, but there’s a lot of chaff on this. Of the “four” artists, I’d really say only The Ronettes pull through consistently; Darlene Love is good but not great aside from “Frosty the Snowman,” The Crystals are pretty consistently mediocre considering how much space they take up here, and Bob B. Soxx & The Blue Jeans are easily the weak link here and I thank god they only have 2 songs on this album. And that’s not even discussing Spector’s closer.
Like, sure, the production is great, but couldn’t Spector’s Wall of Sound have been exemplified by a non-Christmas album like Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes, which would also do a better job showcasing doo-wop and girl group aesthetics? For that matter, where are the other essential Christmas albums: Charlie Brown Christmas, Mariah’s Merry Christmas, or Bing Crosby’s White Christmas, even if it’s from before the era when the book starts? Sometimes it’s hard to sympathize with a listen at face value when you know its inclusion means the exclusion of other albums with a similar purpose that are as good or even better than what I just listened to, and I think when only half the album works compared to other doo-wop and/or Christmas albums, it’s a fair complaint.
Still, it’s mostly good, just overhyped in my opinion. At the very least, you’ll 1000% hear most of this before you die, because they play it every year, and what they don’t play from this album is better left unheard anyway.
3
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Mon Dec 27 2021
KIWANUKA
Michael Kiwanuka
Dense as a positive aspect, and retro while remaining distinctly modern. In some ways, it reminds me of Kirin J. Callinan’s Bravado, because I feel like it’s a ‘70s record that just so happened to be released in the 2010s. But unlike Bravado, which can turn abrasive and ultra-modern at the drop of a hat, Kiwanuka always marches forward on a traditionalist path. That isn’t necessarily a slight, because it makes for a seamless album that flows aesthetically and sonically into a singular statement, but sometimes, it also means that, while good, it can feel somewhat bland. It’s so traditionalist that I almost feel like I’ve heard it all before, and without anything fresh upfront to excite me, I’m having a hard time clicking with this. And I get that some of the freshness I’m looking for is in its contextualization, or better, in its recontextualization. In that way, it reminds me a lot of Ethel Cain, an artist I haven’t yet been able to get into because the treasure is buried beneath, and frankly, I just don’t have time to dig for buried treasure any more at this stage in my life. My ears are like the slush pile – if I’m not entranced after the first paragraph, you’re getting a rejection.
Which is cruel, because I do like a lot of what this album is doing. It’s just not doing anything particularly unique to my ears to elicit excitement. That said, I wouldn’t be surprised if this grows on me by the end of the challenge. To be fair, I feel like that is the intention with this record – you’re supposed to sit with it for a month or six, and then, suddenly, it blossoms into an obvious magnum opus, and you feel foolish for not seeing it earlier. But my first impression is that it’s very good, just not something I’m falling head over heels for any time soon.
3
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Wed Dec 29 2021
Nowhere
Ride
I'm going to be honest – I thought this album and Panopticon by Isis were the same album until today, solely based on their blue ass covers. At least now I know I have a preference for post-metal over shoegaze, even if that makes no sense intellectually.
I don't hate it, though, it's just that sometimes it leans too much into shoegaze, and other times it leans too much into Britpop, and I don't particularly love either of those subgenres. Mostly, I just wish these Brits would stop ripping off the bass riff from "Taxman."
3
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Thu Dec 30 2021
The Hissing Of Summer Lawns
Joni Mitchell
Jazz is a double-edged sword. Sometimes, it's this album's greatest strength; sometimes, it's this album's greatest weakness. Thankfully, it's also Joni Mitchell, so it's still amazing even when it gets a little wobbly, and she's really in her prime lyrically, which is what really sells me on this record. A great Joni Mitchell album [aka anyone else's best album].
4
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Fri Dec 31 2021
Nilsson Schmilsson
Harry Nilsson
Some fun drinking songs for the townie bar jukebox, some flawless ‘70s pop songs, and sometimes, both at the same time. Sometimes it leans too basic or too weird and it takes me out, but definitely a solid time with some essential tracks.
3
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Sat Jan 01 2022
Tubular Bells
Mike Oldfield
This started out so strong, and I was really expecting to adore it, but then it kept going, and going, and going….
There’s just no consistency, no arch — it starts dark and turns light, and then, after that arch is finished, it spirals into solos and experimentation without reason. The longer it went on with these sparse solos, the more bored I got, and the minimalism made it almost sound amateurish and strained my ears to their limits. I was so desperate for something exciting that the growls pulled me back in! But then the last 2 minutes threw me completely out again.
I fully came in with an open mind expecting to love it, but hey, at least The Exorcist pulled out the best section for its score.
2
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Sun Jan 02 2022
Kimono My House
Sparks
Sometimes, doing too much isn’t chaotic and fun, it’s just doing too much.
2
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Mon Jan 03 2022
American Beauty
Grateful Dead
I suddenly understand why a lot of people turn 30 and start listening to the Grateful Dead as background music to help them focus on their spreadsheets at their white collar 9-to-5 jobs. I was pleasantly surprised by how pleasant this is on vibes alone. And if you want some vibes ✌🏻☮️, this is full of them.
But then I started to put on my ✨active listening✨ ears, and all that positivity crumbled to the ground, because Jesus fucking Christ is this unstructured. Everyone is playing a radically different part that doesn’t even sound like the same song. The lyrics are meandering, and there’s barely a semblance of pop song structure here, only a paper bag wisp of a chorus-like melody. This metaphorically sobered me up quick, and I realized I was listening to an ugly band all night!! And realizing this aspect made it hard to fall back into the vibes I felt earlier, and when I did, it instead gave me a whole different vibe 😴
I’m almost impressed by this. How can a band be so sloppy, yet, if you’re only kind of paying attention/are intoxicated, they sound not only tolerable but enjoyable? And I think this is just the nature of jamming, where everything is “correct” but never overpowering enough to be distracting. So a part of me sees the value of this record, but another part of me knows I’ll never revisit it, so maybe praising it for being “good background music to listen to passively” is actually a slight, even if I mean it more positively.
2
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Tue Jan 04 2022
3 + 3
The Isley Brothers
The definition of the phrase, “This fucks.”
5
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Wed Jan 05 2022
Warehouse: Songs And Stories
Hüsker Dü
Hardcore’s most boring ~important~ band spends a long, mostly boring double album telling you how important they think they are because they’re not *just* a hardcore band.
I’d prefer Zen Arcade being on here over this, even though I’m not a fan of that record much, either. If even the band thinks it would’ve been stronger as a single LP, that’s a tell.
2
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Thu Jan 06 2022
Heroes
David Bowie
Do people listen to Bowie's pseudo-intellectual, "experimental" bullshit and actually enjoy it? Like, do people throw these songs on playlists and play them at parties, or do they listen to this on their commute to work, or while doing the dishes? Do you put this on to relax after a long day?! Or is the love for this album akin to the love for the latest Franzen novel, where everyone parrots the critical praise because it makes them feel smart too, and also, no one wants to go against the tide, so they force themselves to love it because it's what smart people are enjoying right now, and they are certainly smart people.
Am I insane for thinking this whole thing sounds like nails on a chalkboard? Even without Bowie's grating affectation, the instrumentals somehow feel full of themselves, like it's all too self-aware of its own self-importance. It feels like the musical equivalent of the self-proclaimed Communist in your Intro to Art History class who won't stop talking about how much better Dalí is compared to the Rembrandt you're actively talking about because it's still September and you're not there yet in the syllabus, and even after the professor tells him we'll get there in November and he stops talking, his presence alone starts to annoy you, because you're just spending every class waiting for him to start talking again. This whole album annoys me, even when it's technically being "quiet" with its experimentations. And honestly, these experiments don't even feel that ahead of the curve! I can hear free jazz and other, earlier synth pioneers all over this album who did these things better and earlier than this fucking record. And that's not even to mention how obnoxious I find Fripp's guitar sound and playing style.
Honestly, I want to say "Heroes" is this album's only saving grace, but I don't even really love it all that much as a song. If this album – or Bowie – grows on me by the end of this challenge, it's not because I grew as a person, but because I developed Stockholm Syndrome.
1
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Fri Jan 07 2022
World Clique
Deee-Lite
When I was 11, VH1 counted down the top 100 one-hit wonders, and listed "Groove is in the Heart" at #14. They mentioned Bootsy Collins’ participation, who I recognized from the Beginner's Bass book I had gotten that Christmas. I also really liked the snippet they played a lot. So, even though I pretty much only listened to pop-punk at the time, during my next trip to Strawberries Records, I picked up the full CD. My mind was instantly blown. As silly as it sounds, World Clique was my gateway into dance music. (I enjoyed it so much, in fact, that it also inspired me to dig more into the full CDs of other one-hit wonders, which served as my own personal music history education throughout my teens.) While I’ve always loved this album, the older I got, the more it rose in my personal Top 100. By the time I was in college, it was solidly in my Top 10 favorite albums ever, and it’s remained there to this day.
It’s bubbly and fun to dance to, but it’s also layered and has all these unique textures that you can unravel if you listen closely. It’s also deeply aware of its lineage, and I think that helps solidify it as a classic, because it’s reverent without feeling academic. This is really what I want most out of music – on the surface, pure fun, and if you want more, you can dig into it, but you can always just enjoy it on that surface level, too. It’s camp and inclusive and cute and catchy and feels communal. I love it so much, it’s flawless through and through.
5
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Sat Jan 08 2022
Screamadelica
Primal Scream
Definitely not for me, but I totally get the hype around this. I personally think it’s strongest when it’s close to pure ’90s dance, and it’s rarely close enough for me. While everything here does have at least a hint of a dance elements or two [i.e. mostly when it sounds closer to a remix than an original rock song], it’s never enough to distract me from its base influences of British indie or psychedelic pastiche, and I’m not the target audience for either of those sounds. Still, I never once wanted to turn it off, which is insane, given its runtime. If a friend played this for me at their house or in their car, I wouldn’t be bothered. I get how this could be someone’s favorite album, and I now know why it’s on a lot of lists like this, but it’s not for me, simple and plan.
3
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Sun Jan 09 2022
The Gershwin Songbook
Ella Fitzgerald
If you ever said, “Damn, I wish I could hear Ella Fitzgerald sing the phonebook,” then this album is for you!
To judge it as a singular body of work like any other album on this list feels deeply unfair, and maybe misses the point. It was always meant to be a “choose your own adventure” from a listener’s point of view where you stick to one LP or one side. I’d even argue it was never meant to be an album for public consumption, and that it was actually meant to be used as evidence of Fitzgerald’s importance within the musical/standards canon. That said, Fitzgerald can really sing a song, and these renditions are really a tight. There really is something for everyone here. Ten people could pull out their favorite 10 songs, and you’d likely have ten different new versions. Ironically, I think that’s why this works best in the context of modern playlists, where you can easily pull out your favorites and leave it at that.
So yeah, I don’t love all 59 songs here. No one does. If they claim they do, I’d assume they’re just being pedantic and are afraid to disagree with highbrow-ism. There’s some discs I love, and some I hate, although there’s at least one song on each disc that I adore. Sitting and listening to it straight through is a pain in the ass; rating this as I would another album on this list feels oddly disrespectful, too, and judging it by those standards, sure, I’d give it a 3. But this wouldn’t be a 3 like my other 3s, because I’m not on the fence about whether I think it’s good or enjoyable. It would be a 3 by the standards I’ve set out because I don’t like more than 29 of the 59 songs here, although I do get right to that line. I also won’t revisit this as a single sit-through ever again, so long as I actually finish the challenge this go-around, so that also means it should be a 3. But again, that isn’t the point of this album, and I know that. Oddly, this does achieve my main rule for giving 4 stars – would I buy this on vinyl and actually play it? I 1000% would, and I’d be foolish not to if I found it in the bins. I do think there’s better albums to represent Ella, though, but then you run into questions of whether to also showcase other people at the same time, or just give Ella all the shine. Of the songbooks I’ve listened to before, this is my favorite, and contains 2 of my favorite songs ever (“They All Laughed” and “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off”), and both renditions are my favorite renditions of those tracks.
It’s a hard one to judge, because I don’t regret listening to it. I think Ella Fitzgerald is wonderful, I love her renditions, and I like the Gershwin song book, even if it sounds same-y after 3.5 hours, but then again, anything would. At the end of the day, this is extremely good, and essential listening, but once you find the songs you like, you can just revisit those, or listen to this in bite sized pieces. The only real critique I [and most people] have is that it’s exhaustive, and not an album you sit down to listen to like others, but by acknowledging that, I feel better rating this higher as a collection of songs that are all great. But don’t listen to this in single sitting, or you will be annoyed.
4
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Mon Jan 10 2022
Tea for the Tillerman
Cat Stevens
At first, I really thought I was going to hate this, but as soon as the drums kicked in on “Where Do The Children Play?,” I was sold. This man knows how to use dynamics, he knows how to write a chorus, and he knows how to write very poetic lyrics that make you contemplate life that never distract from his pop sensibilities. Maybe I’m just old now, but this really is a warm blanket of an album, and I don’t see how anyone could hate it.
My Dad is also a huge fan of this era of ‘70s soft rock from his teens and early 20s, and growing up hearing him play records by Bread and Harry Chapin, it’s funny to realize now how quickly influential Tea for the Tillerman was to a subgenre that basically defined the sound of an entire decade of music. Like, when you imagine ‘70s pop music that was actually on the charts, you’re imagining this folk-rock style that is explicitly drawing from this album. And while I think its copycats added a lot more piano and orchestration, which eventually morphed into Yacht Rock, it’s clear that this album is the progenitor of it all. More importantly, it was the high water mark for the sound, and actually holds up today, unlike those copycats. Glad I finally listened to this, truly a gem.
4
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Tue Jan 11 2022
Here Come The Warm Jets
Brian Eno
Eno was just in silly goofy mood 🤪😜🤣
Nothing on here takes itself too seriously, and that is very apparent right away, so it makes all the weirdness and experimentation very easy to swallow. Plus, even when he’s being a weirdo gremlin who doesn’t want to appeal to the masses, Eno is really good at writing a pop hook. I fully walked into this expecting to roll my eyes for 42 minutes, but this is exactly what I want out of experimental music. No matter how weird it gets, it’s fun!!
4
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Wed Jan 12 2022
Joan Baez
Joan Baez
I really wish I could praise this, because nothing about it is explicitly bad. I understand if people find her voice annoying, especially when she belts, and I also get that this style of music can be boring if you don’t like folk. And while I think those critiques are fair, I also don’t mind anything here. Not to say I would revisit this frequently, but it has its time and place and purpose, both historically and in someone’s record collection.
But then I factor how frequently I checked my phone while this was on. Not only to see if the song was over yet, but to do other things. I paused this to go on TikTok for 20 minutes. Twice. I paused this to do chores. I changed the song to listen to other artists not once, but three times! And I think that’s the things – this album is important, but Baez is also incredibly boring. The fact that she doesn’t do anything unique [by today’s standards] with her traditional folk songs suggests that maybe, in the end, while there’s nothing “wrong” with this album, there’s also nothing particularly good about it, either. The only songs I actually enjoyed were “El Preso Numero Nueve” and the CD-reissue bonus tracks. So while I could argue apathy but say it’s still enjoyable enough, I also don’t truly believe it’s actually enjoyable. Important, sure, but I never want to listen to it again.
2
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Thu Jan 13 2022
In It For The Money
Supergrass
Damn, 12 year old me would have adored this! It fills that preteen desire for grunge-esque, angsty sounds, while adding something new because they’re not from Seattle. At the same time, a lot of this sounds like an oil and vinegar cocktail of Oasis and The Smashing Pumpkins, which is pleasant to my ears, but also, why am I not just listening to either Oasis or, preferably, The Smashing Pumpkins? I don’t dislike this at all, and there’s nothing bad here, but the longer this went on, the more derivative it felt. Still good, but definitely not essential, and I should’ve assumed that based on the fact that I had never heard of this album before even though I had heard of their debut a million times.
3
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Fri Jan 14 2022
Songs In The Key Of Life
Stevie Wonder
I mean, it's no Stevie Wonder's Journey Through "The Secret Life of Plants" or anything, but I guess it's still pretty great, maybe an 11/10, nothing crazy.
5
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Sat Jan 15 2022
Pornography
The Cure
I love The Cure so much 🖤🥀😭
And I don’t even love their goth era as much as their new wave era, but this is still amazing!!!
4
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Sun Jan 16 2022
Mr. Tambourine Man
The Byrds
I dislike that I really like this album, because it is the album that launched a thousand ships full of jangle pop, Pitchfork-core, pretentious indie bands, and we are still suffering the consequences 50+ years later.
But Mr. Tambourine Man is just so happy melodically yet so melancholic lyrically, and I’m a sucker for both of those things. This album is a sweet spot between everything I love in music and everything I hate.
Also, I’m a sucker for a fisheye lens, so there’s that.
4
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Mon Jan 17 2022
New York Dolls
New York Dolls
This New York Doll (🏳️⚧️) is a newfound fan of New York Dolls (🤘🏻)
5
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Tue Jan 18 2022
Straight Outta Compton
N.W.A.
Straight Outta Compton is one of those Starter Pack™️ CDs you buy when you’re first getting into hip-hop. You latch onto the edge and power of the first two tracks, and you continue to spin it based on name and influence alone until you’re “ready” for actual deep cuts. It’s been almost 20 years since I listened to this in full, and I was worried. My memory told me that I never really loved this the way I loved other Starter Pack™️ albums, so I was expecting to hate it now that I’m older and know a lot more about the genre overall.
And honestly? It held up!! It comes out guns blazing with “Straight Outta Compton” and “Fuck Tha Police,” but it continues to hold its own as it goes. The production is an important factor here; even when a song bleeds into verse 4 or 5, the sample-heavy turntablism is ear candy, always keeping a steady groove that’s never chaotic or overwhelming, unlike Public Enemy or The Beastie Boys. The other key factor is Ice Cube, both on the mic and behind the pen. It’s insane how good he is, even by the standards of rap post-1992. His pen game is strong and helps create a lot of the group’s chemistry, although The D.O.C. is no slouch, and MC Ren holds his own just fine. Once Cube’s on the mic, though, it’s over. Honestly, he’s so good, it’s more annoying when he’s *not* on a song.
Is it flawless? Not at all. I think the middle is a little weak, where the beats are slow and the rhymes are particularly corny [e.g. “wacky wack,” the entirety of “Express Yourself,” especially given historical context]. It also suffers from way too many verses, awkward skit-like talk, and some dated mixing. But the final leg wins me back, thanks to “I Ain’t Tha 1” and, again, Cube being an incredible rapper, and that energy stays through to the end.
Obviously, this is essential listening on historical importance alone. Seeing some reviews about the “violent” lyrics conjures up images of Tipper Gore, and could not miss the point more. Sure, the misogyny/homophobia are what they are, but people rarely lobby those same critiques at ‘80s rock, do they? So I’m glad these lames had to be exposed to this important piece of history. But music is also more than history, and while some of Straight Outta Compton does sound dated, none of it sounds as dated as I initially feared it would. In fact, a lot of it still feels very fresh. Not that anyone under the age of 40 would claim this as their favorite album. Sure, technically speaking, I’d prefer Death Certificate, 2001, No One Can Do It Better, or even Eazy-Duz-It, but none of those make sense without this. Plus, Straight Outta Compton is still a great listen beyond its history lesson, with a lot more hits than misses. I’m won over all over again.
4
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Wed Jan 19 2022
MTV Unplugged In New York
Nirvana
I’m too young for MTV Unplugged, and by the time I was a preteen, Nirvana was already being played on classic rock radio. That said, Nirvana’s studio albums still have an impact when you listen to them; even if I missed it in ‘93 because I was a little newborn, I ✨get✨ Nirvana and why they matter, and when I first listened to their studio albums, I knew immediately why Cobain specifically mattered.
This unplugged set, though…I feel like I’m missing something?? It’s good, because Nirvana was a great band and Cobain was charismatic as hell. The covers are cool. These acoustic versions are cool. But there doesn’t seem to be any value to this beyond it being a cool tidbit of extra material for diehard Nirvana fans. And sure, I like Nirvana, but I like Nirvana because I like music, not because I’m a Nirvana fan. It’s cool, but it doesn’t strike me as essential listening.
Is it because it broke the mold of Unplugged sets up to that point? Because if that’s it, well, that doesn’t mean much of anything now that Unplugged isn’t a thing. Is it because it was a posthumous release of an important set? Again, that feels like fan material, not essential listening. Is it because it changed people’s perspective about Nirvana and allowed them to project an assumed trajectory of the band based on a performance that had predefined parameters, because once again, cool, but not essential. The only other justification I can think of is that it was just a great live set, but then…just watch the live set, don’t list the recording minus the visuals as essential. This whole dilemma is frustrating, because there isn’t anything “wrong” with this album on a technical level. It’s a good set. I wouldn’t seek any of these versions out, but I enjoyed having this on. As fan service, it goes above and beyond. But that’s all it feels like to my ears. It’s fan service.
It’s cool, but not essential.
3
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Thu Jan 20 2022
Loveless
My Bloody Valentine
I have tried for years to get into this record. I’ve listened to it so many times, in a variety of situations. I’ve been sober, and I’ve been under the influence of all the drugs I’m comfortable taking. I’ve listened to it sick with a fever, and on the elliptical at the gym. I’ve listened to it driving home at 3am, and during my commute on a normal Tuesday morning. All my friends have told me why I should adore this album, and so have all the critics and online posters. I know all about the innovations to guitar playing (trust me, I have ears), and I know why they’re an important band. I’ve heard gorgeous stripped-back covers and intriguing reinterpretations. I’ve heard these songs in every day life too, on TikTok slideshows and played through the speakers of an art school house party. I first picked up this CD when I was 15 and listened to it on repeat once I got my driving permit, trying to figure out both the rules of the road and this record. I picked it up because I knew it was important and innovative and I needed to get it and get into it.
15 years later, I’m past getting into it. I’m still just trying to get it at all! I know there’s hooks and pop songs buried beneath, and I know why those elements are buried under layers of fuzz and abstraction, and I get that half of what makes this important is the fact that it buries everything. And I enjoy a few songs, especially the ones where the hooks are right there, hard to miss. But for the most part, even when I see the hooks beneath an ocean of distortion, even if they’re not necessarily 10,000 leagues under the fuzz, I’m not really sure if I even *like* most these songs. I like some, and really like one or two, but it’s not enough to validate how many times I’ve forced myself through this in hopes that it would finally click. And tonight, 15 years in, I was hoping it would finally click.
And once again, after a sincere and honest try, I walk away with the same conclusion: Loveless is okay, and I get why it matters, but it is not for me at all. I don’t loathe it, and I’m glad it exists, but I am over trying to force myself to love this. I would never in a million years put this album on for my personal enjoyment, and I’m mature enough to finally admit that liking something because everyone else says you “have to” is dumb. I don’t personally enjoy Loveless, I would never revisit this for pleasure, and I’m done trying.
2
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Fri Jan 21 2022
Fetch The Bolt Cutters
Fiona Apple
When this initially came out, everyone from Pitchfork critics to parking garage attendants praised it as a perfectly-timed pandemic-addled exploration of isolation. And at the time, I didn't get it. I generally loved Fiona up to this point, but something about Fetch the Bolt Cutters felt distinctly too self-aware, too deconstructed, too heady.
And this is why we sit with records for a few years! Revisiting this was a treat, and made me [finally] realize how amazing it is. I think the original context of the pandemic hurt my initial understanding, actually. Fetch the Bolt Cutters isn't isolationist; it’s begging for community, specifically community from women, which is important because it does so in a culture that wants women to isolate from each other. The percussiveness also works a lot better now after several listens and a bit of time; sure, maybe it's because I'm not stuck in the house banging my head against the wall, both literally and figuratively, but I take it less as a primal scream of anger, and more as a primal scream of femininity, akin to a seance. More importantly, now that I've had time to sit with my initial reaction, I'm able to listen to this and actually pick up the hooks, pick up on the off-kilter grooves, pick up on Apple's inherent pop sensibilities that are still there, just deconstructed like a burger at a 2-star Michelin restaurant. And like that burger, no matter how strange it may have felt to eat it, your taste buds will dwell on it for the next week. Literally, I’ve been humming the hooks to a lot of these songs the last few days, which is cool because they are not “normal” hooks by any means.
This doesn't mean this album isn't obtuse – it very much is. It's coded-language, it's a college-level thesis paper, it's difficult and not something you'll get on spin 1, and maybe not even something you'll get on spin 50. I see why this may not be everyone's jam. This is the kind of record that shows the vital flaw of this project, because one day to process an album is not possible for something this dense. But thankfully, this isn’t my first rodeo with Fetch the Bolt Cutters, and this go around, it finally clicked. I'm still unsure if I would listen to this album in pieces/pull out specific tracks, or even play this frequently, because it is a very, very dense and intense full listen, but you don't need to revisit something constantly to know that it's masterful and great for certain situations. And while I’m still going to say When the Pawn... is my preferred Fiona Apple record, I’m deeply, freshly in love with Fetch the Bolt Cutters, and I think I'm finally comfortable saying that she may have a completely flawless discography. So deserving of that Perfect 10 from Pitchfork, and I’m happy to finally be on board.
5
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Thu Feb 29 2024
Thriller
Michael Jackson
It’s still severely overrated and I don’t really listen to the tracks on Side A on their own much, but when you sit down and give it a full listen…saying it’s anything less than amazing and pure fun is just being pedantic. And that’s despite the fact that “The Girl Is Mine” is cringey as hell.
5
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Fri Mar 01 2024
Music for the Masses
Depeche Mode
I can’t tell if this is pop music made by goth people, or goth music made by popular people. It might be both. Either way, not for me.
My reaction to most of this album was, “oh, I respect that as a decision,” not, “oh, I would listen to this again in public” because an idea isn’t a song, it’s just an idea, even if it came first and is a good idea. “Strangelove” is the sole exception; hard to deny that song slaps.
Maybe this deserves a revisit later when I’m more depressed, hornier, or both.
2
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Sat Mar 02 2024
Dire Straits
Dire Straits
Deeply surprised that I didn’t hate it. It’s breezy and chill Boomer Dad Blues-Rock. That’s its strength, but also its weakness, because aside from the side openers, most of it passes by my ears like sand.
Don’t know if it needed to be in the book though - it’s not like it “inspired” a ton of bands like it afterwards. Besides all the worst townie bar bands, but that’s no fault of the record itself. But that’s probably why it’s in the book.
3
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Sun Mar 03 2024
The Suburbs
Arcade Fire
I never understood this era of indie music, or this era of Pitchfork-core. I was the target audience of this album – applying to film school, going to hipster house parties, over with her hometown but also hopeless about the future. And yet, I never got this album, or Arcade Fire in general, besides a song here and there. It just felt more trite and put-on, even compared to my own suburban angst.
Over 15 years removed, and I still feel the same apathy towards this music, and this band, and this general aesthetic. There's a song here and there that I can't deny, and generally, it's well-made, but it's still trite and it's still put-on – an aesthetic for the then 30 year old journalists to project onto, not one to be consumed by actual Millennials.
It's only in the book due to the hype at the time, and the fact that it fancies itself conceptual. It's not going to stand the test of time, and the fact that we now know he's a gross creep helps me not feel guilty about not understanding the adoration.
2
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Mon Mar 04 2024
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Elton John
An immediate Holy Shit ™ album and it rarely lets up. It's both unapologetically sincere and tongue-in-cheek camp, and that dichotomy only underlines the gorgeous tone of nostalgic queer storytelling explored throughout.
Sometimes this means it crosses into cringe, and sometimes that cringe is dated and gross and really makes you question if this needed to be a double-album even if compositionally those songs still kinda hit, but then those sore spots are over and you're back into piano-glam greatness.
Absolutely great, will be picking it up next time I go record shopping for sure.
4
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Tue Mar 05 2024
Fear Of A Black Planet
Public Enemy
There’s an argument to be made that this is the greatest hip-hop album ever made. In a way, it’s the culmination of everything hip-hop aimed to encapsulate since its inception, and it helps that this then shaped the sound of the genre to come while still being in a league of its own because it's so detailed, which meant that almost no one would ever be able to redo this style.
This is an example of art that may not be made for me, but I can still enjoy it and give it its flowers. It deserves all its praise as a pinnacle of culture. It is what music is meant to be in my opinion – expansive, confrontational, researched, reactionary, yet still ultimately enjoyable despite all that. But then again, PE was always for the punks.
Easily my favorite PE album, because it expands their sound so much, but it feels like it's done purposefully as a way to target their message. Maybe not as important to Music History ™ as its predecessor, but I believe you can hear its impact more. And while it's not my favorite hip-hop album ever, it's solidly in my personal Top 100.
5
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Wed Mar 06 2024
Vulgar Display Of Power
Pantera
From the first note, it’s obvious that this ruined hard rock for the next 25 years at least. The sound of butt rock, but with more precision, but it doesn’t make me love it. It’s just heavy chugs, and yet not slow enough to give a beat down vibe. It just sounds like the music of a Gen X alcoholic plays in his garage while he lifts weights, annoyed that he doesn’t have a six pack but happy his arms make him look like he could punch a bouncer for kicking him out after he hits on a group of 19 year olds.
There are brief glimpses of a more speed/thrash sound that I enjoy a lot more, but they feel more tacked on than sincere. Makes sense, since Pantera themselves said they saw this album as an opportunity to “fill a void” created by Metallica post-Black Album.
Also I hate these solos. They take the worst lessons from Van Halen and exaggerate them beyond comprehension. Like it’s worse then Slayer, and that’s saying a lot.
I swear I really love metal, I love punk, I love thrash and groove, I love all the subgenres this is pulling from. I just don’t think Pantera is for me; it’s so obvious their influence was brief and bright, and while that’s important to include in a book like this, it doesn’t mean the album holds up with time.
1
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Thu Mar 07 2024
Deep Purple In Rock
Deep Purple
The definition of doing too goddamn much. If they were tighter, it’d be a better record, but I also think that their noodling bullshit is why this album is here. But to normal ears, the drums are too much, the guitar work sounds like the type of shit a 14 year old boy does to impress his friends, and the vocals are just flat out bad. There are no songs here, just jams, and that sucks.
Maybe I just need to be stoned in a Trans-Am to get this, but I think this is just White Boomer Dad music history, not actually important.
1
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Fri Mar 08 2024
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
If this wasn’t made by a supergroup of legends who play better on their worst days than 99% of the global population, no one would say this album is well made, memorable, or noteworthy. Too British and too bland for me to care.
1
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Sat Mar 09 2024
Superunknown
Soundgarden
If they ever invent time machines and make them accessible to the general population, my second trip – after first going back and telling my younger self what "transgender" means in hopes that she doesn't waste 29ish years in the closet – will be to go back and smack all my friends between the ages of 11 - 14 and yell at them for not introducing me to Soundgarden sooner.
This particular album is a bit too long and has a bit of filler that feels a bit repetitive, but the highs are very high, and the lows are still enjoyable. I just adore this era of grunge, when it was still basically a midpoint between punk and sludge, and Soundgarden feels like the exact midpoint. Will be explore more of their discography right away!
4
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Sun Mar 10 2024
Steve McQueen
Prefab Sprout
I’m a poptimist and a hopeless romantic. I like what I like, even if it’s a little awkward and silly, and this is definitely awkward and silly both lyrically and musically. It’s not flawless, and works better as individual songs on a playlist than an album proper, but it’s so fun and so right for my tastes that it earns a personal 4.5 stars. Great find for lovers of kitschy ‘80s pop.
5
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Mon Mar 11 2024
The Beach Boys Today!
The Beach Boys
In the age-old debate over The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, I have always chosen a Third Coast – The Beach Boys. Unfortunately, my adoration for the group has always excluded this album.
Today! is a record of historical importance more than anything, not only for the band, but for music overall. It’s basically the blueprint for the Pop/Rock Album, and the production techniques and compositions cannot be overstated. But albums like this often feel like homework. The real question is: are there exceptional songs? Are they enjoyable beyond their historic significance? Is it in frequent rotation in my house?
And I personally answer “well, no, not really” to all those questions.
Now, if you’re wondering if these songs are compositionally good, then yes, it’s the fucking Beach Boys. Even the bad songs are well-written. But unlike the albums before this, it’s not kitsch and ridiculous despite its dated sound; it’s just dated, and as a result, it comes across as stale. And unlike the albums that came after it, it’s not consistently throwing gorgeous arrangements and flawless songs at you; it’s “getting there,” but it’s far from consistent. There’s a handful of bright moments, especially in the middle, but they aren’t frequent enough to warrant the rest of the album acceptable. In fact, it’s trying so hard to be “great” that the majority of it ends up feeling forgettable, and some songs aren’t even fleshed out enough to draw you in and be listenable, not just by modern standards, but by the standards of 1965.
I’ve tried so hard to see what others see, both today and in years past. And there’s moments where I start to warm to it. Side A starts off weak and uninspired but by “Don’t Hurt…” I start to find The Beach Boys I know and love, even though arguably none of these songs are particular high water-marks in the full scope of their career, excluding “Help Me Rhonda,” even if I love “When I Grow Up.” But then Side B, even though it starts okay, it just…Like, I get *why* the orchestration matters historically, but it’s all so bland and insipid. And then, it ends on the most banal chit-chat in all of recording history up to that point!! Honestly, “Bull Session” is so infuriating, it fuels my dislike more.
In the end, while “hate” is a strong term, I can’t say I love or even really like this album. Even when it’s close, it’s never close enough, and that’s why I never relisten to it in full.
I’m honestly upset to admit this, because there’s not *enough* Beach Boys on this list imo, so my apathy towards this will inherently make it look like I hate the band overall. But I also can’t lie. Sure, it deserves to be in the book, and it isn’t a worthless listen if you haven’t tried before, but it’s not something I’ll revisit much in full, if ever, and I’ll only pull a couple of songs off of it. It’s a bridge, a piece of history, but I don’t care for bridges or history much if I don’t actually enjoy it.
3
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Tue Mar 12 2024
Hot Fuss
The Killers
Is this a great album, or was I an 11 year old kid just getting into music when this first released and it was inescapable at the time? Why not both?
It’s relentless with its sequencing. My memory was that the last few tracks kind of sputter out before it sticks the landing, but that's definitely not the case. Maybe my tastes have just become more refined with time, because I actually love Side B more. I think the back half is why this album is even on the list. Sure, the singles were inescapable, but Side B is proof that the Killers acted as a Alternative subgenre-link for indie, dance, emo, and punk, and kind of played a bigger role in modern post-genre aesthetics than one might think. Not that the band itself meant to do that. This album is just serendipitous – right vibe at the right time. It also helps that, musically, this is tight as hell (especially the bass; I've been trying to play like this for nearly 20 years!)
I mean, who am I kidding? I’m a Millennial alternative girl through and through. I’ve always adored this album. It’s weird, has a little something for everyone, and makes me dance. Some of my favorite songs of all time are deep cuts from this album (“On Top” and “Change Your Mind” specifically). Personal top 100 album; every listen inspires a full play through. Classic, no need for me to be snobby just because giving Hot Fuss a 5 makes me realize how old I am.
5
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Wed Mar 13 2024
Venus Luxure No. 1 Baby
Girls Against Boys
I was raised a hardcore girl during the peak of the "post-hardcore" scene. I read Alternative Press' back pages, where they highlighted "influential albums in the scene" and I then sought those albums out at Newbury Comics like a fiend. I was a "memorize every band on a label" girl. And sure, I don't listen to this music much anymore, but it is part of my DNA. I know my shit. I loved this shit.
And that's why I was confused...why had I never heard of this album? Sure, it's well before my time, but that never stopped me. I know my shit, or at least I thought I did. And the answer is simple – this is not "post-hardcore." This isn't even in the scene. Sure, I get that these are retired Dischord boiz, but this music has more in common with post-grunge than post-hardcore. It's chain-smoked and wrapped in pleather, it's wrap-around sunglasses and buzz cuts and 90s Cool, the soundtrack to Need for Speed. It's not part of the scene, it doesn't know anyone who's edge, there's no box hairdye in its medicine cabinet, and this is not being included in the Tony Hawk soundtrack, because it's too aggro.
Is it bad? Not for what it is, no. But I'd argue it's bad for what it *aspires to be*, and that's somehow worse. It also isn't my jam. It's not my scene. I find this strain of rock-in-the-wake-of-grunge to be boring, muddled, and macho without reason, which is why I gravitated towards the post-hardcore scene, because at least those boiz were attempting to process their emotions. And this album is not processing anything, certainly not sonically. It just runs together into a single dull slog. There's moments where I see a glimpse of promise, and also understand how they were mislabeled, and I know sometimes it's "once a punk, always a punk," but this has more in common with Shinedown than Fugazi.
My question is why this album? Why not Quicksand, or Jawbreaker, or At the Drive-In, or Refused? Fuck, the 1-to-1 replacement for this is Jawbox's "For Your Own Special Sweetheart" (although I'd say Jawbreaker's "Dear You" is maybe a better representation of the scene etre). Who cares if I don't love this – its inclusion is a purposeful exclusion of actually important punk/hardcore albums from the era, and also a deep misinterpretation of what "post-hardcore" looked like and would look like. It's a blatant misinterpretation of a subgenre, and a bad representation. That makes me even more upset. The fact that it's boring made me want to turn it off, which warrants a low rating anyway, but the fact that it has a seat at the table over anyone actually important to the history of post-hardcore warrants my angry rant.
1
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Thu Mar 14 2024
Being There
Wilco
For years, I just assumed Wilco was a twangy country band that tapped into rootsy Americana in a way that made Pitchfork writers give them too many flowers. A friend recently corrected me, saying they're a lot more indie rock than I was imagining, and insisted I should give them a listen.
Well, this is serendipitous. And I don't know if that was a good thing.
Sometimes, you hear an album and you know it's very good. But you also know it's not totally for you. That's exactly how I feel about this album. Sure, it's a lot more indie – a lot more alt-rock – than I assumed, but it's also very folksy, very twangy, and my Northeastern ass has a hard time with those sounds. And the rock/indie textures here is also something I traditional don't adore, either. Still, there are a lot more moments that I liked than I assumed there'd be, and it's more than half the record.
But that's my other issue, too. This is soooo long, it becomes exhausting. And it's exhausting and feels long because it's all over the place. I feel like the best critique of this album is that it could've been a solid 5 stars if it was half the length, and cut down to 10 songs. I have a thing for short albums (maybe punk culture; maybe ADHD), but this throws way too much at me. The issue is that I'm unsure what to cut. I personally prefer the barn burners, but I'm sure a lot of Wilco fans prefer the slow burns. If you cut half this album, do you cut it 50/50, or according to texture? Because 50/50 is the same results to me, and otherwise one is a classic and the other is a bland album I would never revisit.
Clearly, I have struggled with conceptualizing this album in my head. I think Wilco's a cool band, I think there's an album by them I may like in the future. Hell, I think some of these songs will end up on a future playlist for me. But in its entirety, I'm not here for Being There, but I'm glad other people are in attendance.
3
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Fri Mar 15 2024
The Score
Fugees
I remember this record better. The highs are incredibly high, and they're largely all Lauryn Hill coming through with some of the greatest verses in hip-hop history. But the lows stand out. Wyclef and Pras are...a lot more boring than I remember them being. It's not like they're bad, but they pale in comparison and weigh down the record on most tracks. The last few songs after the title track feel excessive, and while I don't hate them, the album should've ended with the title track and cut that feature. Maybe it's a sequencing issue, too? Also, the mastering is weird. The fake vinyl sound is annoying as hell. And the skits not being their own tracks ruin this – they're either really bad or outright unnecessary.
Golden Age Hip-Hop albums are often bloated, but this would have absolutely benefited from a tight, concentrated edit down to 10 tracks, at least if you insist on keeping the skits.
I complain only because it's flaws are obvious, but again, the highs are high. There are stretches of this album where it is just stone-cold-classic after stone-cold-classic, and that basically means the problems come out in the wash. It's still a classic record, and the quintessential "intro to hip-hop album" – I know it was that for me – and that reason also validates its acclaim. It's not a 5 star record, but it's an important record, and one that I think serves an important role in most music nerds' journeys.
4
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Sat Mar 16 2024
Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Nick Cave is tailor made for my tastes: gothic lyricism, complicated composition, but always enjoyable either as a head-banger hymnal or an intimate therapy session. This album has both, cleanly split between their own separate discs. It's music for lapsed Catholics, and I am one of those lapsed Catholics in the target audience.
At the same time, I feel like this is not the best album Nick Cave ever made. Sometime you hear an album you love, and you know you'll love the band overall, but even though you love the album, you know there's something better in the back catalogue, you just need to find it. Oddly, I've seen some people disagree, claiming this is his peak, but I doubt that. While both albums are very good – and let's be honest, they are two independent albums, stand-alone artistic statements – The Lyre of Orpheus feels a bit weaker, a bit too tight to be confessional but too loose to be honest. I also think Abattoir Blues wobbles with the last couple tracks.
But don't get me wrong, I'm still impressed with this album. It's not life-changing to me personally, if only because I'm past the age where it would've been life-changing, but I am really really interested in exploring more Nick Cave coming up. I won't be shocked if this grows on me to the point where it becomes one of my favorites by the end of this challenge. Still, at the moment, it has just a smidge too many shortcomings for me to say it's flawless. Great new find, light 4.5.
4
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Sun Mar 17 2024
Virgin Suicides
Air
One of my favorite books ever; one of my favorite movies ever.
I've never been the type of person who listens to film scores as their own free-standing pieces of music, but I get why this is included. As a whole, it captures the essence of the story and presents a fully independent aesthetic. I would buy this on vinyl and play it in the background while I had a few girl friends over to gossip and drink off my bar cart. It's good background music, but there's a lot of details to unpack upon close listen. My first listen made me assume I'd never pull out individual tracks, but throughout the day, I kept revisiting this in pieces and I found myself gravitating toward it a lot. I guess that's also why the TikTok girls have latched on to certain songs to use as background sounds.
It sounds like girlhood, in its entirety, and in its pieces. Just like its source materials. Which is crazy coming from 2 men. I don't know if their sonic style is really my vibe, but here, it 100% works.
Not my favorite film score ever – where is Wendy Carlos' Clockwork Orange interpretations?!?! – but very good and deserving of a listen.
4
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Mon Mar 18 2024
Axis: Bold As Love
Jimi Hendrix
I've never been a psychedelic rock girl, not just because I can't really smoke, but because I find most of it dorky, pseudo-intellectual, and self-indulgent. Even so, I can't deny that the talent of the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Jimi obviously had charisma, but all three are tight as hell. There are moments where the skill displayed here just brings me back to when I was 12, first learning guitar, and everything noodly and wonky sounded mind blowing. And then there's the classic high-points, the dense blues-based ballads and hard rockers. It's an album that demands respect.
But that's also all I can really give it, too. I respect it a lot. I know it's, technically-speaking, a showcase. But while my 12 year old brain likes the virtuoso noodling licks, my adult brain knows this is trait and self-indulgent flash. It's made worse by Jimi's cringey lyrics. And then there's the blues-based songs, which i find immensely forgettable – including the classics like "Castles Made of Sand" and "Little Wing." I think the moments that sound closest to their debut – the hard rock cuts that are pretty straight-forward with flash segments that don't engulf the song – are easily the high water marks for me, but those moments are basically nonexistent here.
Overall, this feels like the limitation of Hendrix's legacy; for all his pure talent, he was still a product of his time, and those times were...incredibly stupid and self-indulgent. Even down to the cover, that Boomer attitude reigns supreme on this album, and it's the exact attitude that turns me away from psychedelic rock in general. Even when it's performed by some of the best, I think this kind of music just will never do it for me. I respect this a lot, but I know the highest personal praise I can give it is apathy. I'm not looking forward to a large piece of this challenge, clearly.
3
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Tue Mar 19 2024
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters
Why this Foo Fighters album???
It's totally passable, but it literally sounds like a man without a band. There's moments, sure, but...this doesn't feel like it's even a good representation of the band. It exists in the grunge/post-grunge grey area, but also lacks the the 90s emo aesthetic the SDRE members would bring once they joined, and those elements are important to the band's overall sound. Although I get it if you're looking for historical documentation of the post-grunge sound, but I don't even know if it's actually the correct historical document to point to (Live's "Throwing Copper" or even Bush's debut would be better inclusions over this for that purpose)
Also, The Color and the Shape are *right fucking there*!! Not like it's a flawless album, but by comparison! Aside from "Big Me," this album is completely dismissible. I will forget about this record by tomorrow, which shows how important the next album is to the Foo Fighter's legacy.
2
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Wed Mar 20 2024
Among The Living
Anthrax
Cools punks used "Reign in Blood" to get into metal; dorky punks used "Among the Living." I have always been a dorky punk, and I think this may be my favorite thrash album. If you were a preteen who liked comic books, Stephen King, and were a bit too politically informed for a middle schooler, you're going to like this album, even if you're now a full-on adult. I'm this album's target audience.
My biggest gripes with it have always been the mixing being a bit muddy (your producer was right, guys), and that the songs are a bit too long, but that's more a critique with them being a thrash band instead of a punk band, which is a personal problem, and not a valid critique. This said, I don't think there's a bad song on here, it's just pieces of songs that I would rearrange, which is a testament that this is great if the critiques are mostly about personal preference.
Easily my favorite thrash metal album.
4
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Thu Mar 21 2024
Bad
Michael Jackson
Some killer, but no Thriller.
3
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Fri Mar 22 2024
Done By The Forces Of Nature
Jungle Brothers
This feels somewhere between a DJ mix and a dated Golden Age Hip-Hop album. Clearly, the fact that it exists in that grey area is historically important, but the result is oddly boring. The growing pains of that innovation are evident. Even as a fan of both genres, early House can feel a bit repetitive, and early hip-hop flows can lack a bit of charisma while also feeling lyrically preachy. Combined here, during both genres' toddler years, the result is bit of a drag, sonically and intellectually, and requires a lot of active listening for something that isn’t actively engaging, at least not by modern standards. The length is certainly not a benefit, and the inclusion of cool jazz elements only ties an anchor to the album's foot. Now, most of this would be forgivable – this is one of the first albums to Do This™ sort of thing, after all – and even if I found it bland by today's standards, I'd have to respect it for setting up those standards. But all that goes out the window the second they're joined by their contemporary peers, who all sound so modern and fresh on the penultimate track. That alone basically negates any credibility I was about to give this album out of “respect.”
The thing is, though, I really liked their debut when I was going through the Rolling Stone Top 200 Hip-Hop Albums list a year ago. Maybe because that album had clear standouts and obvious singles. And maybe that’s why this was included in the book over their debut; this is clearly meant to be an album-length statement. There’s brief glimpses of something like a single here and there, but those are cut off in favor of the DJ mix element, and I think that makes this inferior. I get the sense from some lyrics on this record that they were a bit bored by the idea of chart success, but "I'll House You" is miles above any highlight I could find here, and feels more historically important, too. Sure, this is also an important album, but important albums aren’t required listening if they're not enjoyable. And while none of it is ever technically bad even despite its age, sometimes I think being boring is a worse offense, especially when you’re supposed to have been the inventors of hip-house, a subgenre that's all about energy.
If time mellows your art out to the point where you sound like the antithesis of your creative mission, then maybe you never achieved the original goal in the first place. I worry that sounds harsh, because again, my main complaint is that it's just a poorly-aged product of its time, but I physically cannot imagine anyone rating this highly if they never grew up listening to it when it came out.
2
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Sat Mar 23 2024
Coat Of Many Colors
Dolly Parton
It's incredibly hard to hate Dolly Parton, unless you're being nit-picky. If her voice doesn't charm you, you at least have to respect her skills, especially for the genre. Similar, even if you don't love the country-twang of the music, you can't deny the flawless talent of Nashville studio guns, and specifically with Dolly, it's hard to deny her skills as a pure songwriter. This is why Dolly has become one of maybe five exceptions to the phrase "I don't like country music." Personally, she was my main exception, at least until I actively worked to be less closed-minded, and while I still have difficulty being open to the genre (aside from female singers), I've never once had trouble with Dolly. She's just that good, and her music is truly captivating.
All of Dolly's talents are on full display on this album. Her voice can be transcendent, especially when she sustains a note. The playing on here is out of this word, especially the bass/rhythm section. Most importantly, Dolly's songwriting is sharper than anything. Sure, the title track is great, but then there's the storytelling of "Traveling Man" that pulls you in like good gossip, or the grooving "Here I Am" that nods to stylistic changes to come, with its sonic breathing room that almost gives it a call-and-response record. "Early Morning Breeze" is like a country-fied Joni Mitchell, and "My Blue Tears" and "A Better Place to Live" just feel they'd inspire a small town bar sing-alone. You can bob you head to this, or you could sit with it like poetry – what more could you ask of music?
I do feel like the main weak points here are the Porter Wagoner songs. Sure, they're still good, with great performances, but they all feel palpably backwards-looking, and it doesn't help that they slow the momentum of the record down in a way that isn't reflective like the title track, but more like, "Okay so the A&R said you need a ballad here, here, and here." On a 10-song record that's not even 30 minutes long, 3 only-great songs stand out. Those songs aside, there's very few slights you could give this album on face-value.
In the context of Dolly's full career, though, I do think this is one of her weaker "classic records." Personally, I prefer "Jolene" or "Love is Like a Butterfly" overall, if only because they cut down Wagoner's influence a lot, or even "Here You Come Again" through her '80s output, though I accept that my love for those albums is more the taste of a queer Poptimist having fun and not listening with critical ears. Still, I think in some ways, there's a lot of hype around "Coat of Many Colors" as "the greatest country album" that makes me roll my eyes a bit, even against Dolly's own discography. But that should not in any way be misinterpreted to mean I dislike this album. In fact, I think if you were trying to sell country as a genre to anyone, this might be your most well-around example of everything the genre can offer.
This is a lot of words all to say that Dolly Parton is a national treasure with a ton of great albums, and this is one of them.
4
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Sun Mar 24 2024
Californication
Red Hot Chili Peppers
This album proved 3 things to me:
1. The '90s were a decade of excess that ultimately harmed American society in ways that can still be felt today. This album is an excellent example. While this critique isn't really the album's fault directly, it's still a clear product of its time that can be used as a clear sign of trouble to come.
2. The Loudness Wars ruined music, but at least they started out with the worst offender first and got it out of the way. When the levels clip, these songs become almost unlistenable, even at a low volume. Why is the bass rattling? Why are soft guitar licks mind-numbing? Why do the cymbals sound like static? A remaster would fix this a lot, but then we'd still be faced with Point 3.
3. RHCP are burdened by the Prog Rock Band Dilemma™️. They're so talented that they struggle to hold it together 90% of the time. Like a gym rat who can't help but flex his arms when he's flirting with a girl at the bar while talking about the Joe Rogen Podcast – your muscles won't cover up your gross personality, no matter how impressive they are. Also like a gym bro, the RHCP are sexiest when they're just sitting there looking pretty. The ✨soft✨ songs like "Scar Tissue," "Otherside," "Californication," and "Porcelain" all stand the test of time, and while they do have small moments where you see through the sweetness and get the obnoxious musical jerk-offs, it's nowhere near as mind-numbingly insufferable to sit through as "Parallel Universe," "Get on Top," "I Like Dirt," or "Purple Stain." Normally, the juxtaposition of the annoying noodling songs with the pop crossover cuts would annoy me, but here, the latter serve as a much-needed breath of fresh air, especially on an album so long and exhausting. Hell, this album starts to overstay its welcome the instant Kiedis sings, "Ding, dang, dong, dong, deng, deng, dong, dong, ding, dang," with full sincerity. In fact, Kiedis sings some of the most stupid, inane lyrics I've ever heard. His lyrics are almost more annoying than the flashy playing, honestly.
This album is maybe the beginning of the end for rock music as popular culture. I think it should be included in the book not because it's essential listening, but because it's a sign of the end. Sure, it was insanely popular at the time, but that popularity is a Faustian curse. Few other pure rock albums since have gone on to achieve Californication's level of success, and all the other examples I can think of are more niche, or equally braindead. In a way, this was the future RHCP's vision of music always predicted, adding too much rock to soul/funk and adding too much groove to rock to the point where neither sound reflected its point of origin when they played it. When you do that, you essentially kill the genre you're trying to actually exist within. And while RHCP aren't the only suspects in the murder of the genre (U2, Coldplay, even Gorillaz and the White Stripes, or arguably Arctic Monkeys and Imagine Dragons today, who are both trying to raise Rockism from its hospice care deathbed), this album encapsulates all the red flags into one time capsule.
Californication is mostly a so-chaotic-it's-forgettable slog of tracks freshened up by a handful of decent gold nuggets of moderate value. But this is not the gold rush, it's the bottom of the barrel, and the only reason we're holding onto the nuggets here as a culture is because they're some of the last ones we'll ever see.
2
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Mon Mar 25 2024
Sign 'O' The Times
Prince
It's motherfucking Prince, arguably my favorite artist of all time. From his self-titled album up through Love Symbol, I'd argue that even a bad Prince song would be anyone else's best. Therefore, there's no such thing as a bad Prince album. It's all down to personal preference.
And Sign "☮︎" the Times is a matter of preference. I've always felt like this is a Critic album, not a Fan album; it's boundary-pushing, expansive, and indulgent – all qualities critics fawn over when executed by the darling du jour who already has multiple classics under their belt. Personally, I always find these types of albums exhausting. They become instantly dated, because they use too many "new" sounds, which make them experimental for the era but old-fashioned a few years later. They're long-winded, which means more great material to mull over upon release, but the cream rises from these albums over time and become the only worthwhile pieces. They're too much of a good thing, and they often engage the egos of artists with already-huge egos, and it makes the music embarrassing over time. To me, Sign "☮︎" the Times has all of these flaws. Songs like "Housequake" and "It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night" are pretty unexciting by today's standards. There's a lot of only-great songs here – "Hot Thing," "U Got The Look," "Strange Relationship" – and I sincerely think this would've been his best if it was only a single disc. (Again, personal preference; I dislike most double albums). And there's moments where Prince is at his most...Prince, and not in the gender-bending, sex-icon sense, but more in the moralism, the religiosity, and even the playing. The title track is easily the worst offender, but also it's there on "The Cross," though better executed, or the extended outro sections of "Playing in the Sunshine," or the molasses build of "It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night."
Yet despite this, there are tons of high points on this album, which, given the amount of sheer material on this thing, is impressive. "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker" is easily my favorite Prince song, and songs like "It," If I Were Your Girlfriend," "I Could Never Take The Place of Your Man," "Starfish And Coffee," and "Adore" are all career highlights. Career highlights from a man who has an entire decade dedicated to career highlights.
Again, a bad Prince song is still another musician's greatest achievement, and so a messy double album is still a great album. If someone argued this was their favorite Prince album to me, I'd get it completely. Because this is an excellent album, just not flawless to me. But flawed Prince is still incredible and iconic, so this remains required listen.
4
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Tue Mar 26 2024
Live And Dangerous
Thin Lizzy
This is a fun little 2-for-1 package: a greatest hits album and a live album! It's a shame that there's no proper Thin Lizzy album in the book, because they're great, but their strengths are on full display here. And really, there's a lot of strengths seen throughout Live And Dangerous. Amazing playing, breakneck speed, raw power, and charisma off the charts. Not only on the singles – although the high-tier songwriting is even clearer in these live renditions for songs like "Jailbreak," "The Boys Are Back in Town," and "Still in Love with You" – but also on the more unique deep cuts, these hard rock gems that only pimple-faced, dorky stoner boys would've known at the time. I think the combination of fast, face-melting playing and Lynott's stage presence are the backbone of this album, and make its live show runtime feel tolerable for not being in the crowd proper.
Still, I think there's two glaring issues. The first is Lizzy's more prog-adjacent tendencies; songs like "Emerald," and "Johnny the Fox Meets Jimmy the Weed" are...exhausting? Nerdy? Embarrassing? Choose your adjective, I just find that they drag the vibe down from cool to chess club real quick. I'd also argue that Side D, while a great capturing of the essence of a live show, starts to wear thin on me, and makes me recognize that the album is probably overstaying it's welcome.
But those negatives are minor when compared to the energy displayed here, even if largely overdubbed. It's a great live album and I'd gladly listen to these renditions over the original recordings moving forward.
4
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Wed Mar 27 2024
The New Tango
Astor Piazzolla
Inevitably, there will be albums in this challenge that not only push me outside my comfort zone, but beyond my depth of knowledge and comprehension. The New Tango is the first album I've encountered so far that makes me feel this way. I know nothing about Tango, so how could I begin to appropriately appreciate the New Tango?
If this were still 2009 and my 1997 Toyota Corolla stick-shift was still kicking, and I had this stuck in the CD player connected to the tape deck until I bothered to pry it out, I could see this growing on me. There's clear talent on display here, that's obvious. The more this leans into jazz, the more I enjoy it. Burton's talents as a vibraphonist are captivating, and "Vibraphonissimo" is a clear stand-out. I also like the energy of "Nuevo Tango," which is where I think Piazzolla brings the biggest jazz influence for himself.
However, the rest of this album feels dependent on either a smooth jazz element or classical elements. And I’m as unfamiliar with those sounds as I am the tango. And maybe it’s my unfamiliarity with those genres, but the whole thing felt very melodramatic in a way I find disengaging and uninteresting. The fact that these moments eclipse the avant-garde, the jazz, and even the virtuosity of Piazzolla and Burton both, as well as the backing band, feels like noteworthy sticking points. Even the violin is louder in the mix than Piazzolla, which feels counterintuitive.
I wonder, if I were to see a video of this performance, would I be swayed? Do I just need to revisit this later? I sat with this for a few days, trying to revisit it and feeling unable to ever feel the desire to even want to examine it and sink my teeth in, and I think that’s the root of my issue with this album. It’s not that I don’t understand its importance or its compositional brilliance, it’s just that, really, this is not the sort of album I enjoy. It’s not one I’d revisit aside from trying to continue to “get it,” but it also seems like it’s not the album that’s going to sway me to enjoy this style of music any time soon, though it does as much as I think any album could to get me to the line. But here I am, still at the line, and my honest reaction is apathy and respect, nothing more.
3
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Thu Mar 28 2024
Hot Buttered Soul
Isaac Hayes
There's a spiritual nature to Isaac Hayes' records that just leave me floored every time, contemplating conversion to Scientology, and Hot Buttered Soul might be the best example of that. It's ironic that I already played this independently from the challenge earlier this week, because it'd been a while since I listened to it in full, and it really is *that* good. I used to listen to it while writing college papers, because it's excellent background vibe music, but you can also fully engage with it and find something new and rewarding to fixate on.
You could argue that the track length, detail, and the singularity of this album are a sort of Achilles Heel, as they're strengths to the album proper but weaknesses if you want a more casual listen, but I wouldn't. No other 18-minute song in the history of recorded music makes me sit my ass down faster. The fact that 75% of this album is cover songs is crazy, because this is cohesive as hell, an Artistic Statement™️ if I've ever seen one.
While I think it may be just outside my personal Top 100, there's a magic to this record that I can't deny. It's essential to a whole half of American music history in a way that I can't understate, and it holds all the allure I'm sure it did upon release 55 years ago.
5
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Fri Mar 29 2024
Clandestino
Manu Chao
Doing both too much and not enough simultaneously.
2
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Sat Mar 30 2024
Tidal
Fiona Apple
To write and release an album this harrowing, this deeply painful, so palpably learned and lived in, drawn from knowledge so obviously acquired from terrifying experience after terrifying experience, all before the age of 20, you have to understand one thing – womanhood is a petrifying risk, and the path to the summit via girlhood is a cliffside walk all the way up. But even the hauntings along the way can be genuinely gorgeous under the right, delicate light. Fiona Apple knows how to cast that light just before the beauty wilts. Every song here, from the sparsest piano ballad to the most orchestrated pop single, blurs the line between sensual and eerie, mixing dark lyrics delivered in a whisper across a variety of old-school pop and jazz aesthetics. It sounds like they were plucked out of the tradition, or like they've always been here. But only Fiona could've made these exact tunes, modern but universal, designed to pull tears to your feet. This is just one excellent example in a discography filled with multiple examples that only overshadow this record because, again, she was a teenager when she wrote these; a part of me doesn't care that I think "The Child Is Gone" and "Pale September" are only good, because I still am in awe of them, along with everything else here.
This is music so emotional, words can't describe the tears, so it's better to just listen for yourself and bear witness.
5
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Sun Mar 31 2024
A Wizard, A True Star
Todd Rundgren
When the guy with mismatched shoes outside the 7-11 who’s always talking about alien abductions and government conspiracies hands you a blunt that looks dripping wet and suddenly, starts to make a lot of sense.
4
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Mon Apr 01 2024
Raw Like Sushi
Neneh Cherry
There’s a such thing as having too many ideas at once. I’m normally a fan of this era of turn-of-the-‘90s pop that blended hip-hop, dance, r&b, and synth-pop into a chaotic soup, but normally, all those artists either had a) a standout hit with a couple supposed-to-be minor hits [because most were one-hit wonders], and/or b) a dominant genre they fit within, where they used all the other genre aesthetics as textures to their sound. This album doesn’t have either: “Buffalo Stance” charted, but it is really difficult to imagine how or why with today’s ears; meanwhile, the rest of the album is just an onslaught of different of-the-era sounds, all of which are done poorly for the time, and sound worse together today. I see the appeal of Neneh Cherry on paper, especially for 1989, a year of changing tides and potential, but the execution is subpar. It’s not bad in a campy way, either, it’s just deeply forgettable. I guess it’s valuable to see how weird pop music was at this time, but there’s better reference points than this.
2
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Tue Apr 02 2024
A Hard Day's Night
Beatles
One Direction’s “Midnight Memories” for Boomers – two timeless singles and then boardroom-crafted teenybopper filler. Actually, scratch that, because I like the 1D album better overall, and both "A Hard Days Night" and "Can't Buy Me Love" are low-tier Beatles singles, even for the first half of their career.
Important for what the Beatles became, sure, but it's the least essential original material in their whole discography, in my opinion. At least the film is actually fun.
1
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Wed Apr 03 2024
This Year's Model
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
Elvis Costello made emo/pop-punk albums before those genre labels existed. As a grown-up emo/pop-punk girly, I am the target audience for Elvis Costello. Great record with only a couple missteps, big fan!!
4
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Thu Apr 04 2024
L'Eau Rouge
The Young Gods
At first I was going to be a bitch and roast this – and to be fair, it does start off on a very unappealing and difficult foot – but as it went on and with a few more listens, I warmed up to it a lot. It’s far from the most interesting no wave/industrial music ever, and I think a lot of the ideas for its strange, dark cabaret elements work better on paper than on wax, but it’s ambitious and animalistic and chaotic, which was 100% the goal and they definitely achieved it. Personally preferred the more straight-forward metal tracks, but I still respect the weird musique concrète tracks a lot. With a little bit of an open-mind, this is pretty enjoyable, especially if you like heavy music, experimental music, or both.
It’s not going into instant heavy rotation if only because I have some semblance of sanity, but it’s a cool discovery that I wouldn’t have found without this challenge, which is pretty cool I think!!
3
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Fri Apr 05 2024
Hail To the Thief
Radiohead
I've always felt that Radiohead is sonic Ambien, with the lyrical depth of a teenage stoner and the experimental depth of said teenager's father when he's pickin' up that ol' six-string.
This album is proof that I'm not just a hater. And I'm kind of disappointed, because it started out a bit more energetic and emotive! But alas, by track 3, my eyes glazed over, like they almost always do when I listen to Radiohead, and it was all downhill from there.
2
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Sat Apr 06 2024
Let It Be
The Replacements
I was already being actively sold on this album as soon as I put it on, annoyed that I had somehow avoided it in my youth despite it being an obvious and known influence on the Midwest emo and 2000s pop-punk bands I loved at 17. Then "Androgynous" came on, and my nonbinary transfemme ass just started sobbing.
Shout out to these drunk punks for being allies in 1984 😭💛🤍💜🖤😭
And shout out to them for being the first hardcore band to break the mold in a way that's actually cool while still making a killer hardcore record!! I'd ask "where has this been all my life," but I'm just ecstatic it's in my life now. Brand new favorite album, will be playing it into the ground for years to come.
5
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Sat Apr 06 2024
Blood On The Tracks
Bob Dylan
This one’s hard for me, because I like Bob Dylan, but I don’t think I love Bob Dylan. I understand him as a poet, as a folk artist, as an important contributor to the American Music Tradition™️. There are plenty of Dylan songs that I enjoy, lyrically, intellectually, emotionally in my bones. There’s also a lot of Dylan songs that I hate – the more band-oriented, the abstract, the allegorical, and worst of all, the long-winded.
Blood on the Tracks has both of these Dylans. Not to an exhaustive degree – in fact, it’s probably an even split of the two – but it’s just enough of a 50/50 divide that I’m torn. The raw songs that return him to his roots, like “Tangled up in Blue,” You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go,” and “If You See Her, Say Hello” really hit me, even though I’m not going through a divorce or anything. And I think this album benefits from the fact that it starts very strong, and it ends pretty strong.
But then there’s this middle section of longer songs, filled with allegory and abstraction and meandering Dylan-isms, and it just drags me down, and it takes me out. “Idiot Wind” and “Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts” are the worst offenders by far, but I’m also only okay with “You’re a Big Girl Now” and “Meet Me in the Morning,” and the actual closer, “Buckets of Rain,” is a bit too much of a wallflower for my taste. And I understand why these songs are the way they are, why they’re on this record, and the purpose they serve, but they just do nothing for me.
I’m struggling to imagine if this record could grow on me. Dylan can have that effect. It also feels like a record where I’ll always revisit certain tracks, but rarely the album in full. But then again, the elements I dislike have always been the elements I dislike about Dylan. In the end, I think I’m slightly beyond neutral (a 3.5; this is where the 5 star rating system falls apart, at least at a glance), but not far enough to say I’m fully on board with it, at least not yet.
3
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Sun Apr 07 2024
The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
Genesis
Theater kid music (derogatory)
Very well done for what it is, no doubt, but a tedious chore to actually listen to unless you have a brain full of Sondheim songs.
2
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Mon Apr 08 2024
Ambient 1/Music For Airports
Brian Eno
For background music I'm only supposed to hear while I'm in line at TSA, it sure did trigger a mini existential crisis.
Honestly, I just can't believe the goofy little gremlin who made Here Come the Warm Jets also made this gorgeous ambient album. Like, the range!!!
Full transparency, though, I think Music for Airports is one of those albums where a star rating feels inappropriate. It's kind of removed from pop music criticism. I'm not going to actively listen to this all the time, but I do thoroughly enjoy it, and I will definitely listen to it passively. But it's also not an album that I'm meant to "enjoy" by definition; it's an artistic statement, closer to a composition than a pop album. That also means it's a bit unstuck from time, and places Eno in the lineage of your Bachs and your Beethovens and your Mozarts, not in line with his contemporary rock/pop peers.
At the end of the day, though, this is a gorgeous album, a genuine work for art, and essential listening that I really enjoyed, and I'll be using this as my writing background music moving forward.
4
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Mon Apr 08 2024
Hotel California
Eagles
I went into this expecting sonic torture, but like…this is really good??? And fun?!?!
It makes me want to have a woman with excessive lip filler sit on my lap while I drink a piña colada and imagine Ms. Lip Filler is my ex-wife who left with the kids 5 years ago today, and, simultaneously, it also makes me want to lean over the bar and bat my lashes at a man until he comes over and asks what I’m drinking and I make him order a Sex on the Beach just to hear him say, “Sex on the Beach,” while he tries to nonchalantly move his hand down my waist.
Hotel California is just sleaze in its totality – as light-hearted fun, as a deep and dark sadness. It feels like flipping through a guest ledger of a Motel 8 in a beach town on a cold January afternoon. Sometimes it’s a bit self-indulgent and on the nose, but for the most part, it’s virtuoso without being too serious, and a sincere depiction of a time and place. After actually listening to it, I just think it became overplayed and that its time and place got a reputation as a result. But don’t let that fool you, because this is an excellent album, through and through. Not flawless (I am clearly not living “Life in the Fast Lane”), but pretty damn close.
Also, Providence, Rhode Island got a shoutout, so it’s an instant love, in my eyes.
4
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Tue Apr 09 2024
It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back
Public Enemy
Always had a problem with this record, to be honest. It’s good, don’t get me wrong, but I think it’s severely overhyped.
Obviously the lyrics are as pointed as they are on any PE album, and the production is great, but compared to the rest of their discography? I just don’t see how you can listen to Fear of a Black Planet and still say you prefer It Takes a Nation, because the follow-up improves on this album in every way. That doesn’t discredit this album’s influence, but a lot of influential hip-hop records get discredited all the time because they became “instantly dated.” And a lot of elements here are very, very dated: the DJ mix vibe, the turntable/interlude tracks, the BPM, the song length, Flavor Flav’s role as a hypeman, etc. Even some of the lyrical critiques feel very 1988 [“Channel Zero” especially], and while politics go out of fashion quick, they shouldn’t feel this stale on a supposedly “timeless” album.
It’s not bad, and I get that it inevitably has to be here, because I know contextually it meant a lot. I just think it doesn’t deserve the hype as the genre’s pinnacle when it’s not even the best PE record.
3
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Tue Apr 09 2024
The Genius Of Ray Charles
Ray Charles
I think music like this is reallyyyy hard to rate and critique with modern ears. Does it sound good? Absolutely, and that puts it leagues above other contemporaneous records. But is the music listenable to modern ears? Not particularly. This sort of big band jazz has been regulated to a certain type of cocktail bar/coffee shop/mid-tier Italian restaurant, and unless you’re trying to throw a try-hard dinner party, there’s very little reason to listen to this type of music. It never feels timeless, or even exceptional. It’s just “good for what it is,” and that’s extremely boring and forgettable to my modern ears. And I like it, but I’m not going to go out of my way to ever actively listen to it, either.
I wonder if there’s maybe a better Ray Charles album to include on this list, because this is not doing much for me, even if it’s good for what it is.
2
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Tue Apr 09 2024
L.A. Woman
The Doors
Call me crazy, but I don’t think the local bar band should’ve let the barfly sing with them while he’s actively blacking out.
At least they’re a tolerable bar band, even though, based on their blues-heavy riffing, I know the other patrons would try to hate crime me if I tried to get myself my usual fruity little drink.
2
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Wed Apr 10 2024
In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida
Iron Butterfly
It really catches you while it’s in a rough spot. The mix is strange, the playing feels out of sync, and it starts out with a pretty obvious rip-off of the “Light My Fire” keyboard riff. You just know these guys are C+ musicians at best. When the vocals came in, I immediately went, “Oof, that’s a choice for this dude to sing.”
And so, Side A continues on as a messy, mediocre, forgettable slog. This isn't atypical for particular this era of psychedelic 🌼Flower Power🌸 drivel, but this is notably bad. I do get how the fuzz guitars and organ sounds can add a little ✨something something✨, but it’s not done well enough to even feel influential. In fact, I’m hearing a lot of flubbed notes throughout. In many ways, this is the quintessential $1 record, or worse, one thrown into the basement stacks, meant to be forgotten forever.
And then the title track comes on. And like, it doesn’t need to be 17 minutes long, but it works. Despite the musicians behind it, it works. It doesn’t save this album or validate it or elevate it to the status of an essential piece of art to listen to before you die, but it saves it from an eternity of basement mildew by giving it something worthwhile. Unfortunately it’s not worthwhile enough to make it worth anything close to legitimate praise.
2
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Wed Apr 10 2024
Abbey Road
Beatles
I notoriously dislike the Beatles, and I believe every song on Abbey Road is as close to “objectively perfect” as you can get in music. Yes, including “Maxwell's Silver Hammer.”
5
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Wed Apr 10 2024
Back At The Chicken Shack
Jimmy Smith
Sometimes, there’s nothing much to say about an album. It’s fine. It’s relaxing. It’s jazz. It’s solid. They’re all great players. The organ tone is cool. It’s not inventive, but it’s not offensive, but that’s also not much of a compliment. It’s fine. Cool, I guess?
It’s not an album that stands out in your mind once it’s finished, and while it’s never bad, that fact alone brings it down a peg for me, because if I won’t remember it next week, it shouldn’t be in the book, especially a book that excluded so many jazz classics from this era.
2
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Thu Apr 11 2024
Maxinquaye
Tricky
The contemporary praise for this is astounding, and made me anticipate one of the most jaw-dropping albums ever. Instead, I got Portishead Lite™️, with some bland rapping that draws from ‘80s American pop-rap. It’s serviceable, but not at all memorable, except when it moves away from trip-hop and/or is lyrically crass for…the sake of commentary, I think??
There’s a reason no one has heard of this unless they were alive and/or living in the UK in the mid ‘90s.
2
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Thu Apr 11 2024
Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
OutKast
The world knows this is two solo albums fused together in an effort to boost sales and not piss off hip-hop heads, so you have to take the sum of each part.
To Big Boi: A good but never great first solo effort. He’s always been a great rapper with great classic tastes, but often those tastes feel derivative, not expansive, and that is very much the case here. It has its moments, but even at its height — “The Way You Move” — it’s never exceptional. Worse, Big Boi shines in comparison to other rappers, which is why he’s shined post-Outkast on his features, not in his solo albums, where there’s just…too much of him. The biggest issue is that this sounds distinctly 2003/2004 with its cluttered, everything-and-the-kitchen-sink production style, which doesn’t help its case when it wasn’t particularly unique even for its time. It’s also way too long, which is, again, clutter. It’s never horrible, but it’s never special, either, except in how dated/annoying it can be stylistically. 3/5
To André: Doing everything can certainly prove a point, but that doesn’t mean you *should* have done everything, because sometimes it can distract from the point entirely. There are soooo many ideas here that I would adore with some hard editing, and/or even the balanced addition of a Big Boi verse. I know this has been compared to Prince a lot, but even at his most ambitious, Prince stuck to a style, and that’s The Love Below’s biggest issue – it has no singular vision. (Ironic, given that Speakerboxxx’s main issue is that it has too narrow of a sonic vision.) It goes from R&B to rap to jazz like an undiagnosed kid in a candy store. And the lyrics are equally childish, especially from a Top 5 Dead or Alive Rapper who’s known first and foremost for his pen game. I can’t rate it too poorly because it does include “Roses” and “Hey Ya!,” but even a couple all-timer songs aren’t herculean enough to save this mess, even with the midpoint boost from some fine but not good neo soul tracks that still suffer from André’s excessive horniness. Speakerboxxx may be monotonous, but The Love Below is a chore, and that’s a greater offense. Some think this messy sort of chaos means the album was ahead of its time, which it isn’t, it’s extremely dated, but ignoring that, it feels like an artist burning out in real time, and time has kinda proven that narrative true. The man literally became a jazz flutist, which is cool, but maybe that’s the direction of someone who’s done all he can do in the pop realm. Based solely off of The Love Below, it seems like all he could do was “Roses” and “Hey Ya!” Which is still better than most of us can do, but I don’t need the rest of the mess to get to the diamonds. In conclusion: if a sample of Aaliyah’s “Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number” makes me want to listen to THAT R. Kelly apologist song instead of your song just so I can be listening to Aaliyah instead of you, then you’re doing something wrong. But hey, cool jazz cover of “My Favorite Things.” 1.5/5
OutKast has always been greater than the sum of its parts. I get how this ended up on this list based off sheer popularity, but it’s bad representation. Still, the sum of the parts here result in the same feeling the whole gives me – a couple great singles from two people who can’t work with or without each other, making one feel numb and the other feel manic, making me feel respectively apathetic and exhausted.
2
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Fri Apr 12 2024
Beggars Banquet
The Rolling Stones
In my experience, fans of The Rolling Stones tend to be really vocal defenders of “what rock and roll used to be,” and really vocal crusaders against, “the shit they play on the radio now.” No one likes these people, but they all seem to like The Rolling Stones. I never really knew why, but their attitude alone convinced me to avoid the Stones at all cost.
After listening to the traditionalist wankery of Beggars Banquet for the first — and probably last — time in my life, I now know why those people all really like The Stones.
2
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Fri Apr 12 2024
Live!
Fela Kuti
A great introduction to Fela Kuti and Afrobeat. It’s an upbeat genre, despite the fact that Kuti instills a lot of political messaging into it, which is obvious even from the song titles alone, but that contrast really works. It’s hard not to groove along to this, and the energy and charisma are intoxicating.
The inclusion of Ginger Baker on the back half does a lot to ~dumb down~ the rhythms for a Western audience, but honestly, I prefer Tony Allen’s playing on his own. Honestly, Baker’s inclusion brings this down a notch, because it feels purposefully introductory. And frankly, those back half Westernized tracks feel a bit boring toward their end. And I’m not even talking about the drum solo, which is just nerd shit, anyway.
Not that I didn’t also use this as an introduction, but now that I’m revisiting it, I can see why it’s both essential if you’re new to Afrobeat/African music, and inessential once your ears get tuned. But it’s great because Kuti is great – he has like 4 or 5 grade-A classics under his belt, excluding this album. And the fact that this is still great on top of that proves his power as a songwriter and band leader. A great listen regardless!
4
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Sat Apr 13 2024
At San Quentin
Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash does excellent stage banter + a couple pretty good songs.
3
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Sat Apr 13 2024
25
Adele
Master craftsmanship, but not particularly compelling.
Most of this is sappy Boomer Mom balladry, which is fine and even great sometimes. “When We Were Young,” “Love in the Dark,” and “All I Ask” are all standouts within this style, but even at their best, these songs don’t particularly feel relistenable to me. There’s not many situations I’m in where I’d put this on, unless I’m going through a nasty divorce, run into my high school ex during our 25 year reunion, or my spouse died, which is all odd because those are not topics a 25 year old should being writing songs about. I’m not against Adult Contemporary, but I would love something ~else~ from Adele. There’s glimpses of that here when the producers Wall of Sound the ballad model and add a backbeat – “Send My Love” and “Water Under the Bridge” are the best examples – but even those moments are more Wine Mom Pop than actual pop music. They’re the standouts of 25, but they’re not standards of Adele’s catalog, or even of music in general in 2015.
I just found this whole listening experience strange, because I do like half this album. Just as a whole, it doesn’t ever stand out as something special. I honestly think it comes down to a sequencing issue – all the bare ballads are lumped together on Side B, all the orchestral songs are lumped together in the middle, and the most contemporary sounding songs are lumped together on Side A. The songs meant to break up this tonal monotony are all the stinkers off 25. Plus, the album opener and album closer should have been reversed. It’s just sequenced incorrectly, and it feels like there’s no variety as a result. But also, 11 songs are not enough to give any album range, especially an Adele album, where she seems to stick to one very rigid and outdated sound. As it stands, though, 25 is a draining, drab, dull, bore ride.
In the end, I’m left feeling like 25 is 100% inessential, no matter how well it was made or how well it sold. If Dimery truly thought this album was essential, he’d have added a Michael Bolton album, a Celine Dion album, a Cher album, and an early-era Mariah album – aka other Adult Contemporary albums. But none of those albums are on here, while Adele is, based only on sales alone, and it’s obvious that’s the case. Just because something is all over the bargain bin, that doesn’t make it essential listening; in fact, normally, it’s the opposite.
2
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Sat Apr 13 2024
Beauty And The Beat
The Go-Go's
In my eyes, this album has only two flaws:
1. Choosing to name a song “Skidmarks On My Heart.” (Even though it’s one of my favorite songs here.)
2. Not being able to time travel and including “Vacation,” which I now know is unfortunately on their second album. If it had been on here, though, I’d have rated this 6 stars.
I just adore bratty cheerleader punk, and Beauty and the Beat is the blueprint for that entire aesthetic. Crazy that I haven’t heard this before. New favorite album, and a perfect Warm Weather Record™️.
5
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Sun Apr 14 2024
Bookends
Simon & Garfunkel
I don’t know if Simon & Garfunkel ever made a flawless album together, but Bookends is as close as they got. There’s a real sense of an Album-with-a-capital-A going on, with the orchestration and seamless transitions, with the concept narrative and high production value.
The issue is that Capital-A-Albums mean songs/interludes that work in context, but not on their own. Plus, personally, I think this swooning version of S&G isn’t my preferred version of the boys; I like them quainter, a bit closer to their roots in the scene, and a little less purposefully shooting for high-brow.
Still, I just love these two pretentious, precious boys dearly, so yeah, I’m a fan of Bookends.
4
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Sun Apr 14 2024
Kind Of Blue
Miles Davis
I’ve always struggled with Kind of Blue, mainly because I think I’ve always preferred my jazz to be loud and obviously experimental. Knowing that, I really tried to walk into this listen with an open mind, some prior research on modal jazz, and some timestamp explanations to follow along with so I can actively know what I’m actually listening to in real time.
And it really, really helped! Kind of Blue is rarely overt in its experimentation; it’s no Giant Steps or The Shape of Jazz to Come or even Bitches Brew. On face value, it sounds almost cliché, like music your grandparents would listen to, and sure, it’s undeniably pretty, but if you don’t gravitate toward pretty music, Kind of Blue can be an initially/superficially boring listen. But after learning exactly what is going on here moment-to-moment, it all clicked into place, and during my second listen, I could finally see the experimental patterns landscaped by Davis and Co. throughout this record.
And also, it IS just an incredibly pretty, gorgeous, flowery album. The ballads do a lot to give that impression, but I also think “Freddie Freeloader” sets a similar tone, if not an adjacent mood. My preferred tracks here are still the most ✨jazz✨ tracks, with the obviously modal solos in “So What,” which are more clear once you know what that means, and the stuttering dissonant clash of “All Blue.”
It’s still not going to be my go-to jazz album, but I’m definitely on board now with this being important, not just because other people say it’s important, but because I can *hear* why it’s important, and I'll gladly be listening to this more frequently now!
4
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Sun Apr 14 2024
Dirt
Alice In Chains
I walked into Dirt expecting to love it – grunge that teeters on the brink of alt-metal? Sign me up! – but in practice, it’s just the template for every post-grunge pseduo-sad but still masculine band from 2002 that got too much airplay on Hard Rock/Real Rock™️ radio throughout the 2000s, indirectly ruining radio as a whole.
While AIC ekes out above those guys, it’s not by much. There’s cool tonal elements here and a couple excellent songs (“Them Bones,” “Dirt,” and “Would?” – all notably the opener, midpoint, and closer), but there’s a LOT more songs that are only “pretty good.” They play around so much with tempo and style changes that my ears can never really catch the groove, literally or figuratively, and a lot of the layered guitar work feels tacked on, especially for the solos. And boy, does it overstay its welcome.
Not at all the record I expected, and frankly, while it’s perfectly fine, I’m left a bit saddened by how underwhelming this felt. If you want dark and grimy, listen to actual sludge metal, and if you want something more uptempo, listen to any other grunge band. You won’t regret listening to Dirt, sure, but you’d find more substance by listening to others instead. This is just trying to have too much of both lanes, and becomes a master of none as a result.
3
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Mon Apr 15 2024
Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)
Eurythmics
I wish I liked this album more than I did, but aside from the obvious bulldozer of a title track, I found this record oddly boring. I could say the tracks were way too long, that there’s a little too much ‘80s-era synth experimentation, or even that there’s very little material here with hit potential, but that’s not what struck me as odd, because I typically like new wave despite these issues. Really, Sweet Dreams just gave me the sense that Eurythmics are a Greatest Hits band.
So, in a strange twist, this boring, mid-level new wave album with one stellar song and a couple decent but forgettable cuts made me explore more of their discography, and I discovered that, while their next 3 albums are all better than Sweet Dreams, Eurythmics are, in fact, a Greatest Hits band.
That said, Annie Lennox’s Diva? Pretty fucking great! Should be in the book over Sweet Dreams, easily.
2
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Tue Apr 16 2024
Odelay
Beck
David Foster Wallace ruined an entire generation of middle-class white men.
But at least this has a groove that prevents it from ever becoming as annoying as it sounds like it would be on paper.
3
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Tue Apr 16 2024
American Idiot
Green Day
When I was a pop punk obsessed preteen in 2005, you were either a fan of American Idiot or From Under the Cork Tree. I stood staunchly in the latter camp, and even deep into my teens, defended my stance against this era of Green Day.
Listening to it now as an adult, I admit my wrongs! I still replay a lot of the emo classics, as any Elder Emo does, but very few actually hold up beyond nostalgia, and even then, “hold up” is a loose term. American Idiot, on the other hand, really does hold up! The production is incredibly tight, and sounds excellent and fresh to this day. The musicianship is top-notch, and it’s even more evident now how their elder-statesmanship helped them stand out at that time. And for a lofty concept album, it’s rarely a boring or pretentious listen, where 8 minute songs rarely feel longer than 4 minutes, and the energy is also there, even during the somber moments. And now, with maturity and the hindsight of time, the political critique feels especially on point, and maybe even works better today.
I’d say there’s a handful of critiques to throw at this. The amount of slurs is a bit of a dicey minefield, and even looking beyond the short-sighted Conservative BS of Political Correctness blah blah blah, it does feel counterintuitive to the point being made; at the same time, punk has a history of white men saying slurs to be subversive and then realizing in retrospect that that was a dumb move and distracted from the message, and I think that’s the case here too. I would also say the fact that tracks are glued together as single tracks is dumb, but that’s a very specific streaming-era critique that feels almost ahistorical; sure, it annoys me today, but during the CD era, it would’ve only annoyed me when/if I was trying to make a mixed CD. Finally, I think Tré Cool should never sing ever again, but it *is* only for a moment and during a medley, so it’s forgivable.
These critiques are not enough to bring this album down from its height. The only reason I hated this in 2005 was because I thought calling something pretentious and hating it made me smarter. I’m now an adult and know that’s an equally pretentious move. I have ears. I love pop punk. I always have, and I always will. And while my favorite pop punk/emo albums were solidified a decade ago, from a critical perspective, this is a high-water mark for pop punk and a crucial listen, especially today.
5
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Tue Apr 16 2024
The Low End Theory
A Tribe Called Quest
How do you rate an album that was formative to your tastes, but that you rarely revisit any more?
I’ve had a really hard time trying to gather my thoughts on The Low End Theory. It was the second hip-hop CD I ever bought, right after Ready to Die. I know this album like the back of my hand. Once I started to drive, it was the one CD that never left the CD changer. It was maybe the first album where I had to research what the lyrics meant, because the references were to things that happened 2 years before I was even born, and also because I am very white. Along with DatPiff, it’s probably the reason why I was actively on the hip-hop blogs in the late 2000s. As an introduction to hip-hop, this album taught me not only to love the genre, but *how* to love the genre. It shaped my teenage love for backpacker hip-hop, and also nudged me toward jazz before my ears were probably even ready for that genre. It is the definition of a 101 Course on hip-hop, and remains the best example to throw to someone who “likes everything but rap and country.”
But I’ve grown a lot since then. I still love hip-hop as much as ever, and I listen to basically all of its subgenres, from modern cloud rap and trap to Golden Age to Bling era 2000s rap. And I like a *lot* of “conscious hip-hop,” both classic and modern. But something about this album on a relisten rubbed me the wrong way.
Objectively, it’s good – Tip and Phife are excellent rappers, with strong pens and great flows. The beats hit, the features are cool, and the style of mixing jazz with hip-hop still sounds modern, even if the mixing feels a bit quiet for my loudness war ears. There are some standout songs – “Buggin’ Out,” “Jazz,” and “Scenario,” plus “Skypager” as a personal fav. So why the hesitation?
Maybe it’s the fact that the mere existence of the unlistenable, homophobic “Georgie Porgie” gives this record a certain stink that makes me realize maybe it’s not as socially aware as it claims to be. But critiquing an album for a song that isn’t there is dumb. Maybe it’s all the inside baseball talk about the music business, which feels very lame and very omnipresent when compared to the less-frequent but more impactful story-telling songs like “Butter” or “The Infamous Date Rape.” Maybe it’s the fact that Q-Tip gets over 20% of this record all to himself, which feels…egotistical, and kinda weird? Maybe it’s the built-in censorship, and while I know it had to happen to get Ron Carter’s immaculate bass playing, it still feels a bit holier than thou. And that’s maybe the issue.
The Low End Theory just feels…preachy now??? Like, I got into rap too early to get on the “rap is crap” train and complain about its vulgarness, which is all based in racism, internalized or externalized, but there’s a sheltered nature here that The Low End Theory can appeal to, especially to white listeners. It feels deep and complex, and in some ways, it is, and on some tracks, it is, but it’s also not *that* deep, and has some complex problems baked in. And acknowledging those issues doesn’t make it a bad album, or even unlistenable, but it also brings it down a notch from the canonized pedestal I placed it on when I was 12. Because I think sometimes it’s totally fine to think an album is good, great even, and still feel like you’ve outgrown it.
Besides, Midnight Marauders and We got it from Here… are both better albums, easily, and I stand by that statement because they’re both still heavily in my listening rotation, while The Low End Theory just isn’t.
4
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Wed Apr 17 2024
Headquarters
The Monkees
I want to be kinder, because for a Made for TV band, it's pretty impressive that they even got to make their own thing. But, also, maybe they were a Made for TV band for a reason.
2
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Wed Apr 17 2024
Wild Gift
X
Possibly the first hardcore album to “not be a hardcore album,” whatever that means, but it’s definitely a very ✨music critic✨ move to pick this over the more traditional hardcore record everyone in the scene actually likes.
And when compared to Los Angeles, this is just bland psychobilly with absolutely no edge. And I don’t even enjoy Los Angeles!! Wild Gift does have a couple solid songs — all songs where Exene is given more space to do her thing — but by the end of its short run, it all blended together, and even the good stuff fell into the background. And that’s why I really can’t say I’ll ever revisit this.
I’m so confused by this book’s taste in hardcore, and I know it’s going to make it look like I hate punk music in the end because Dimery keeps picking inessential/bad hardcore albums. Ugh!!
2
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Thu Apr 18 2024
A Date With The Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers
This style of music really went out of fashion way too fast. I know it's ephemeral, but there's something about it that makes me so giddy and teleports me back to being a teenage girl talking with my friends on the kitchen phone about nothingness while my Mom pretends not to listen. And I was doing that almost exactly 50 years after this came out!
Also, I really, really like this style of production. Everything sounds crisp. Those drums? Ugh, my god, so good! Also that guitar sound. And those harmonies are tight as hell.
I do think A Date with... is still a bit too ephemeral, and doesn’t stick with me as much as I would like/as much as other teen pop from this era. Still, this is leagues above the copycat shit The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and all the British Invasion boy bands were doing only three or four years after this, so for that alone it deserves praise.
3
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Thu Apr 18 2024
Ogden's Nut Gone Flake
Small Faces
What the fuck did these lads put in my tobacco tin and why am I kinda okay with it?!?!?!?!?! 🫨💨🌀🌛😵💫
3
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Fri Apr 19 2024
Hypnotised
The Undertones
I like what I like, and I like stupid but strangely introspective pop-punk bands. I’m more surprised that I like it done by these Mad Lads, because often UK-isms prove to be a barrier for me, but I guess my love for pop punk clearly supersedes everything else.
Not like this is flawless, life-changing, or even essential, arguably. But what pop punk album is?
4
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Fri Apr 19 2024
Smile
Brian Wilson
Poor, poor Brian Wilson.
I feel like this album suffers under the weight of its legend. Had it come out in ‘67, it truly may have been one of the greatest albums ever made. It didn’t, though, not in the way Wilson intended. And this version isn’t the album he intended to put out, either. This is still a rough listen, though, because you can so clearly hear *what* the vision was here, but time hasn’t been kind to Wilson, and the weight of his tragedies are so evident in every note.
Listen, though. It’s still essentially a Beach Boys record, and I love The Beach Boys, so I didn’t hate anything here. And there’s moments on Smile where the skies part and the colors become more vibrant and you start to hear one of the greatest albums ever made. Unfortunately, those moments are too infrequent and very fleeting. There’s also a lot more fun moments of silly inversions of school yard songs and nursery rhymes, and you chuckle and find it endearing, but your joy feels a bit forced, because it sounds like Wilson is forcing a smile, and what you’re actually hearing is a wince. And maybe that’s the point, sure, but in this version, I think it’s really, really hard to listen to it without the knowledge of all the years between its conception and the actual release date of the music.
And that’s the biggest issue — this is a record full of hindsight, and that hindsight ruins a lot of its magic. And while it’s still The Beach Boys, it’s also not; the harmonies aren’t as textured, the session players aren’t the Wrecking Crew, and 40 whole years have passed, and the world where The Beach Boys meant something has long disappeared and now we live in a world where The Beach Boys mean something else entirely, and unfortunately, Smile contains very little of what they meant *or* what they mean.
One day, I’ll get around to listening to the bootlegs/The Smile Sessions, because I think there’s a lot of potential on display on this belated version. But on face value, this version of Smile is not the masterpiece it could have been, and potential and concept are not enough if the music doesn’t actually come together in the end.
3
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Sat Apr 20 2024
Purple Rain
Prince
Since I was 13, this has been my go-to answer whenever people asked me my favorite album. It's not my most played today (that's Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides), and it's not the one that had the biggest impact on my brain chemistry (that's The Shape of Punk to Come), but when I think of albums I both love listening to all the way through and can make no critiques about, I think of Purple Rain.
Music is 1000% subjective, but Prince makes very convincing arguments that sometimes, music can be objectively good, and Purple Rain might be the closest to an "Objectively 10/10 Album" in the entire history of recorded music. From the guitar solo on "Let's Go Crazy" to the drums on "Darling Nikki," from the chart-success of "When Doves Cry" to the second half of "Computer Blue," to the flawless climax of the title track – there is not a wrong note, not a single wrong melody, absolutely nothing you can lobby against this album. It's poppy, it's danceable, it's intellectual, it's sexual, it's romantic, it's easy to listen to for fun, and easy to listen to if you want to cry. Every track could be someone's favorite song ever. It's the sort of album that requires a full listen every time. It's a masterpiece, a high water mark for Prince, for rock, for funk, for pop, and for music in general.
Easiest 5-star review ever. I have a bad feeling this is going to be the listening high-point of this challenge, but then again, that would've been true if I had gotten to it on Day 1088, too.
"I'm not a woman/I'm not a man/I am something that you'll never understand" 🖤💜🤍💛
5
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Sat Apr 20 2024
Machine Head
Deep Purple
Was I just in a bad mood when I listened to In Rock? Because Machine Head is soooo on my wavelength. Do I actually like Deep Purple?!
All the problems I had with In Rock — meandering songs filled with mediocre solos, failed prog attempts, and too much organ — are tightened to the point of nonexistence on this record. Instead, this is just a tight, proto-metal album with hard rock rhythm, gritty vocals, and neo-classical solos. Sure, it’s the sonic equivalent of hotboxing a Trans Am, but something about this is just a good, heavy vibe. And the fact that “Smoke on the Water” is one of the lesser songs on here should convince you of its overall quality.
I do still think this could still be tighter overall. There’s some studio flourishes of flanger and organ effects that make me roll my eyes, and, conversely, there’s some bad vocal takes and stiff solos that don’t knock it out of the park. And sure, the end does go a bit off the rails for me: “Lazy” is just lazy blues rock pastiche, and “Space Truckin’” did not need a drum solo. But unlike on In Rock, none of these issues become so all-encompassing that I can’t tolerate it.
Overall, this is just good meat-and-potatoes hard rock in the era right before it turned into actual metal. That’s all Deep Purple ever needed to be — in fact, trying to be progressive feels like the band’s Achilles Heel — and sometimes, that’s more than enough to elevate an album to classic status.
4
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Sun Apr 21 2024
Neon Bible
Arcade Fire
To my own surprise, I don’t hate it, but it definitely doesn’t feel essential in any way.
It feels less put-on than The Suburbs, that’s for sure, but it still believes it’s deeper than it actually is. But the melodies are also very catchy, and while the compositions are a bit overwrought with twee orchestration, it never reaches the tipping point where it becomes annoying. I do think a lot of these songs overstay their welcome, though. I also don’t love Butler’s voice, its tone gets under my skin, and I personally would’ve loved to have more of Chassagne’s vocals doing these songs instead.
I think this album actually helps me understand my disinterest in Arcade Fire. Musically, while it’s not my personal typical cup of tea, I think it’s very good and interesting, although it’s always at risk of crossing the line and becoming “too much.” At the same time, lyrically, it feels pretentious and try-hard, straight out of a bad poetry workshop. They are the definition of “one step forward, two steps back” for me. On top of that, while I know they were big at the time, I’m not convinced that they actually had any influence; almost two decades later, I don’t hear this sound or aesthetic coming from anyone who wasn’t originally from this scene. And that makes it feel unessential.
More importantly, the pros and cons of listening to this albun even out in my ears, and I’m still not putting on Arcade Fire any time soon on my own volition. But at least Neon Bible is a tolerable listen, so there’s that.
3
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Sun Apr 21 2024
Blur
Blur
Quintessentially British, quintessentially ‘90s. Yet somehow, I really like it!
Either you like Blur’s shtick or you don’t, and even though I’d only heard Modern Life before today, I think I just like Blur’s shtick. This is an all-over-place record with a lot of studio bullshitting, which is normally a negative trait for me, but to my own surprise, it all works. Every song is so good, and each one stands on its own merits. There’a lot of style changes across the whole thing, but somehow, it always sounds distinctly like Blur. The whole album benefits from the greatness of each of its parts. I like some parts more than others, obviously, but my liked songs outshine the songs I disliked. I expected this to be sprawling, especially for a 14 track album, and in concept it certainly is, but as a listening experience, it’s oddly breezy, and always engaging.
I’m sure once this challenge has shoved a few more Blur [and Britpop] albums down my throat, I’ll kick myself for not rating this 5 stars, because by then, Blur will be my favorite band of all time. But for now, I think a strong 4 stars shows how much this stuck with me.
4
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Sun Apr 21 2024
3 Feet High and Rising
De La Soul
This could come out tomorrow and it would still feel ahead of the curve. The skits and “joke” songs aren’t even a real distraction here, because they’re actually funny and actually sound like a group having fun together making music.
Easily one of the most important hip-hop albums ever, but who gives a shit about influence, because as music, it’s flawless and so relistenable, and has basically everything you could ever want from a hip-hop album. It’s just one of those records that instantly inspires me to play it all again as soon as it’s over.
And this is debatably not even their best album!! De La got played in the history books by not having an easily available back catalog for most of their career, but god do they deserve the praise. Stone cold classic.
5
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Mon Apr 22 2024
The Clash
The Clash
A rather embarrassing fact about me is that I cannot understand a British accent at all. I know it sounds fake – a lot of my friends think at first that I'm bullshitting them, especially because I'm mostly okay with an Irish or Scottish accent, and accents in general, too – but it's 100% an auditory processing issue. I don't know why, but a British accent sounds like mud in my ears.
That's important, because I literally had a hard time understanding this album, and this has always been my issue with The Clash.
I should like this band more than I do. Of the first ✨big✨ punk bands, I think The Clash had a bigger impact on the direction and sound of punk, not only in the UK but in the States, too. (Literally who is doing The Ramones or The Sex Pistols today? It's all based on The Clash, and this album, or earlier proto-punk bands.) But this record just does not impact me like I want it to. Even when a song is 2 minutes long, somehow, The Clash makes it sound like it goes on forever. Politically, I agree with them, but when I read the lyrics, it feels kind of underwritten, especially given their reputation as a lyrical band. And again, I cannot for the life of me understand the vocals at all. I like that it's not entirely aggro but still always has edge, but sometimes there's also too much breathing room on a track. I like the influence of reggae, but they also seem to be doing it a disservice, somehow. And these things are all distractions I can't get over.
And believe me, I really want to like this album. I would like a song, like "Career Opportunities," and favorite it on Spotify, and then it goes into the Oi! breakdown, and it loses me, and I'd unlike it. I did this for over half the album – a pump fake 4 star record, if you will, where little choices would get under my skin and turn me off completely. It does lose some steam in the last leg, sure, but for most of this, I truly think this is a "me issue." I don't hate it, but I would never revisit this for any reason.
Is it important? Yes. Is it essential listening? Yes. Does it belong on the list? Absolutely. But do I personally enjoy it? Unfortunately, I think the answer is no. Simply put, I just think, for some weird reason that goes against my tastes, The Clash are not for me.
3
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Mon Apr 22 2024
Want Two
Rufus Wainwright
Having listened to both Want albums and only the two Want albums, I can safely say that the best thing Rufus Wainwright ever did throughout his entire 20+ year career was his duet with Carly Rae Jepsen on "The Loneliest Time," aka one of the greatest songs ever made.
3
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Mon Apr 22 2024
Want One
Rufus Wainwright
A better, gayer, more theatrical Radiohead. Still not my vibe, but a million times more tolerable.
3
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Tue Apr 23 2024
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
David Bowie
Sgt. Pepper's ruined music for a solid decade. That, or, I just find Bowie obnoxious.
This is so overloaded with ephemera. I hate the soul pastiche. I hate the 50 additional, unnecessary instruments. I hate these pseudo-conceptual lyrics. I hate the way Bowie sings. I hate the way Bowie ENUNCIATES his words! It's everything and the kitchen sink, and it's all just fabricated drama for the sake of drama, which means it can't even be called camp because, per Sontag, it's too self-aware that it's being campy, and that is maybe exactly why I hate this.
I knew I never liked Bowie and could never get into this album very far no matter how many times I tried, but truly, listening to this was the biggest chore of this whole challenge so far. I turned it off several times because it just got under my skin.
I hate this album. I hate Bowie. Worst album I've heard so far.
1
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Tue Apr 23 2024
Chirping Crickets
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
I just realized that Weezer’s cover for The Blue Album is probably a reference to this album. Because the look just like Buddy Holly 🤯🤯🤯
Also, seriously, this holds up surprisingly well. Side A is much stronger because the slow-dance songs on Side B are not this band’s strong suit. Still, this is actually listenable and doesn’t sound like a bunch of novelty songs, unlike most ‘50s rock ’n’ roll. Just some white boys bustin’ it down sexual style, GOATed with the sauce. Huge fan.
4
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Wed Apr 24 2024
#1 Record
Big Star
I knew I'd eventually get to an album where my gut reaction was, "I need this on CD, and I need to be stuck in a situation where it's the only CD I have on hand because it's in my Walkman, and then, and only then, would I like it." Unfortunately, those days are long gone, and I somehow missed Big Star back when those days were very real, even though I knew they were important and influential and a point of reference for so many bands.
A part of me wants to say this is two records. The first part belongs to Bell, who I don't really see as an "forefather of alternative rock," but rather a fairly mediocre mimic of CCR and other one-hit-wonder rootsy blues-based hard rock groups like Kansas from that era. I don't particularly like that sound, really at all, but I especially don't get this version as an alternative to mainstream rock. I find most of these songs to be filled with too many bells and whistles, and I also find Bell's singing to be annoying. But, then again, sometimes, the Bell songs are very tight and the guitar fucks, and I'm sold. Obviously there's a bit of nostalgia for the That 70s Show theme song "In the Street," an obvious lightbulb moment, sure, but I think my favorite Bell song is "My Life is Right."
Then, of course, there's the Chilton songs. Recently, my Spotify has been suggesting "September Gurls" as an autoplay song, and I do like that song, so I'm not surprised that of the two, I like Chilton's songs more. "Thirteen" is obviously a standout, not only for this half of the record, but for the album in general. But at the same time, some of the Chilton songs on this half are wayyy too drab, way too quaint, and felt like Paul McCartney pastiche, and I mean that as an insult.
And here's the thing, I want to say it's 2 records from two different solo projects, but I can't. "The India Song" ruins that, not just because it's bad, but because it's by neither of the band leaders. And then the closer is a duel-song of nothingness. But even when I want to make this clear distinction, I can't, because I can hear Bell and Chilton cross-pollinating, especially on Side B. And that cross-pollination? It's not for me, but sometimes, it's almost for me.
If I'm generous and say this is a 10-song record, I like more than half of it, and I like 3/5 songs each songwriter brings to the table. But do I *love* them? Ehhhh, not really. I get how this is cool, but I don't find it particularly interesting for its time. On top of that, I can see the seeds of a great band, but they're also not ✨there✨ yet, not just because they're allowing shit like "The India Song" to slide into the track list to appease their poor bassist – they're still learning from each other as collaborative songwriters, and they're not done learning, and it shows. Still, I like enough material here to be intrigued. I wouldn't buy this on vinyl today, but I could imagine revisit it and liking it more. Honestly, the hype may have fucked with my brain chemistry, but while I don't get it, I at least get its allure now, which is enough to justify a relisten once I'm further on with this list.
3
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Wed Apr 24 2024
John Prine
John Prine
It’s like reading the poetry notebook of the guy who goes to the townie bar every night, orders a Shirley Temple, and never says a word to anyone, but will sit there people-watching until close.
It’s funny, it’s critical, it’s got social commentary, it’s sad, it’s heartfelt. And musically, it’s engaging and varied; the acoustic, folk-adjacent songs have just enough of a backing band to keep you invested, but they can also kick it up a notch and melt your face off, too. I’ve only heard this once before when a friend put it on his record player for me, and I liked it then, but this time I can really dig into it and appreciate how deep Prine is, both sonically and lyrically. And I think there’s a lot to dig in to here, and both elements are very well balanced, which makes it even better.
Even as someone who isn’t a huge fan of Country music, this is an instant standout.
5
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Wed Apr 24 2024
Millions Now Living Will Never Die
Tortoise
I speed-ran the math rock subgenre in my youth, moving from American Football to Hella to Meshuggah in the span of 6 months my Junior year of high school. Along the way, the post-rock Slint-inspired stuff never caught my attention, as it was either too sparse or too quiet for my ears. I craved the extremes, and the post-rock stuff felt like Brooklyn Divorced Dad™️ music to me, music made for a calm show with no pit where you can lean against the doorframe beneath the exit sign, nursing a PBR, not concerned about how much your knees will hurt in the morning.
I’m older now and work in an office, and when I occasionally loudly listen to the math rock I used to like, my colleagues will turn to me and ask if I’m doing okay, mentally, and that happens more often than I’d like, so I tend to just avoid that type of music while I work. So I now get the appeal of post-rock - it’s tame but still weird and off-kilter. And Tortoise does a good job with their weird repetitive riffs and jazz-influenced structures. It is listenable, and well-made, and maybe even important to the genre, although, again, because I wasn’t initially sold 15 years ago, I barely know what the post-rock essentials are, so never hearing about this until today is a silly critique. If you want ambient, jazzy post-rock, this album serves it up hot and ready.
But I don’t really need this in my life, personally, so I’m not really sold on this either. It is very, very bland. And that has a time and place, but I’d rather have my coworkers assume I’m having a mental health crisis because I’m listening to The Dillinger Escape Plan than assume I’m old as fuck for listening to this.
2
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Thu Apr 25 2024
Who's Next
The Who
You know what? One Direction *was* right, "Baba O'Riley" *is* the best song ever!
Somehow, I missed The Who entirely, besides the singles and the classic rock radio staples, but none of those songs motivated me to dig into a full album, for some reason. Which is funny, because listening to this, I realize The Who is an album band. The singles are great, but in context, they're even stronger, and somehow hold a bigger impact. "Baba O'Riley" is great when it's on the radio, but it shines best as an opener, and the same can be said about "Won't Get Fooled Again" as a closer. "The Song is Over" is an incredible side closer, and while on first listen I thought it should be the real closer, I actually like that Side B is just this all-killer-no-filler assault of talent and songwriting perfection. As a band, they're all on the top of the mountain; I could focus my ears to any one of them and be blown away (particularly by Moon, whose drumming is fascinating, even today). But you don't need to be a musician who nerds out over their playing abilities, because it all still gels extremely well.
Unfortunately, "My Wife" is on this record, which prevents it from being flawless, and because this is such an Album-with-a-capital-A, I won't be pulling out individual songs frequently, but I'm still floored.
Now I'm excited to get to hear what else they have to offer. Honestly, thank god there's more of this band on this list, because if it's all like Who's Next, then I'm going to have a great run with them.
4
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Thu Apr 25 2024
Live 1966 (The Royal Albert Hall Concert)
Bob Dylan
The first half is a boring acoustic set that feels like Bobby D’s reciting his unedited lyric notebook and busting it down sexual style on his harmonica. It’s the kind of thing you either love or hate. And listen, I like Dylan, particularly folk Dylan, but this is exactly where I jump off the Bobby D express train. This set is mostly meandering moaning. So yeah, Disc 1 isn’t for me.
Now, as for Disc 2? Honestly, it justifies not only why Bob went electric, but the sheer ✨energy✨ that must’ve filled the room once he did. It still suffers all the same issues as Disc 1 — unedited lyrics, sprawling jams, harmonica galore — but a backing band really numbs those nuisances, and makes Dylan fun to listen to, even more fun to listen to live than on his albums.
This bootleg makes that contrast really clear, and you get the sense that it truly must have felt like a revelation to hear these two sets back-to-back. You can complain about the validity of including a bootleg, a live album, even another Dylan album, but honestly? It feels more necessary to include this than the two studio albums that originated most of these songs. Listening to this makes the electric controversy clear, and this feels like an appropriate historical document.
That said, do I actually enjoy it? Well, yeah, half of it, but it’s still not an all timer favorite, either. Its contrast may have historical value, but my ears are inverted from the ears who initially heard this performance; the acoustic set is still boring, and so I inevitably dislike half this album. Meanwhile, while the electric disc made the controversy click, it still sounds like, well, a bootleg — peaking levels and all. While I would put this above Blood on the Tracks, it’s still not fully “there” for me. And maybe that’s because, nearly 60 years later, Dylan’s not all that exciting to hear, and the things that made him a musical god are now par for the course. And this feels extremely par for the course, no matter how much historical framing I place around it.
3
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Fri Apr 26 2024
Illinois
Sufjan Stevens
Chaotic muchness. Esoteric and vast, the product of a bookish talker influenced by queer Christian guilt.
I’m old enough to know that Sufjan isn’t the cottage-core, quaint songwriter teens today think he is. I’m fully aware he’s a product of the Keith Herrings of this world and the maximalism of the 2000s. I was the target demographic for Sufjan when this album came out, and I knew that, but I still hated it. I didn’t know how much I was the target demo — I still thought I would die in a small New England town, I still was deep in the closet, I still thought I was above this level of pretentiousness. Still, my friends, from the punks to the hipsters, always insisted Sufjan was great, I just needed to give him another chance, especially this album, if nothing else. And so I tried, multiple times over the years, and yet, though I did warm up to it gradually with each revisit, I always walked away feeling negative toward this album.
Maybe Brooklyn has finally rotted my brain after 8 years, maybe I can finally see the queer themes now that both Sufjan and I are fully out, maybe I’ve finally accepted that I’m annoying, but, whatever the reason, I’m finally positive on this album. I’m not 100% convinced yet that it’s a masterpiece. I still find the filler tracks deeply annoying, even if they are melodically sound, because I hate songs that only work in the context of an album and nowhere else. I still find this a bit overwrought, and in the finally stretch, its sprawl goes from exhausting to grating, though never so bad that I want to turn it off. As a result, I do find the first half much, much stronger, and wish it had stayed with those first 12 tracks only, or maybe go up to 15 songs total and stop. I do find it annoying and a bit like “I took a bunch of Adderall, grabbed a encyclopedia, turned to the index, read every article under the ‘Illinois’ header, and here’s everything I learned, no filter,” and that’s a bit annoying.
But when it works? God, does it work. There’s just this magic to Sufjan’s nondescript descriptions that gets at the soul of something deeply Millennial, deeply post-9/11, dare I say chronically online, but oddly early to it, like a Wikipedia article sprint in an attempt to make sense of the chaos around you. It’s this longing to be a capital-A Artist™️ in a world where that no longer happens often, and by naming everyone you want to be compared to from the history books, it clicks. Also, sonically, this is very good. I think this album definitely has a singular sound, and if you don’t like that sound, 75 minutes of it can get boring, but I think he plays around enough in that sound to push its boundaries that it warrants its length. I do wish he went further with it, but this man said he would make an album for every state, so I think the sprawl here feels minimal compared to whatever sketches he may have had on file.
As I said, I’m not 100% sold here, but I’m pushed just over the edge enough to know that I’m basically a fan of this, and will grow more confident with that the next time I listen. It doesn’t sell me on Sufjan, though, and I think if this book was written today, he’d have a lot more representation, and that would make me like this less because I know I don’t like his latest indietronica approach at all, or even Carrie & Lowell. But if we’re only stuck with Illinois, I’m feeling that Illinoise, baby!!
4
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Fri Apr 26 2024
Whatever
Aimee Mann
Minivan Mom Music™️ for your elementary school Art Teacher who also works part-time as a barista at the place with the Global Village Coffeehouse wallpaper and smells slightly like weed, but, like, bad weed, like the kind grown by the Super Senior who isn’t attentive enough to have a green thumb but who will eventually become the CEO of a multi-million dollar dispensary chain that charges you $40 for a bag of five 10mg gummies that you take to delete the Sunday Scaries because you’re in your 30s now and for some reason the thought of spreadsheets trigger an anxiety attack.
Oh, right, Aimee Mann, ummmmmm……🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️
2
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Fri Apr 26 2024
Sticky Fingers
The Rolling Stones
The fact that I thought “Brown Sugar” was “Start Me Up” tells you all you need to know about the Stones’ songwriting abilities.
In all seriousness, though, I actually like this. It’s heavier and in your face, but there’s a lot of dynamics. The lead licks kick in the door and the rhythm section is tight as hell. Jagger can really command a track, with badass verses and sweet chorus melodies.
It’s not like this made me a Stones fan or anything, but there’s a good energy here that feels much more unique than Beggar’s Bargain. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still too much pastiche for me, but at least they sound like a unique band, and that goes a long way.
3
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Sat Apr 27 2024
Oracular Spectacular
MGMT
I think MGMT is to Millennials what The Moody Blues is to Boomers. Good, sure, but mostly, you had to be there to get why it’s important. Their importance feels intangible. Words can’t really explain what it is about the music itself that matters. If you weren’t there, sure, the hits are still solid, but it never feels particularly unique stripped of the context of the time. I truly believe that once all the Millennial critics retire, MGMT will go the way of The Moody Blues, directly toward the bargain bin.
But as a Millennial? Fuck, man, I don’t even like this album as much as my friends, and I still love it. It’s too fun and was the soundtrack to too much of my life for me to not adore it. It’s got a couple stinkers, but there’s just something about this album that speaks to that Great Recession era of pain. It summarizes what the kids now call Indie Sleaze that to me felt like we were all just trying to numb our collective shitty adolescence. It’s gaudy but somehow sexy, cheap but kinda chic if you squint. And I think there’s a bit more steam in its engine for the moment, as long as the American economic remains in the drain, which is why it’s remained a critical darling and found some newfound fans. I doubt that will last forever, though, because things tend to get better, eventually, and even if they don’t, new voices come onto the scene to represent the pain. But until then, “Oracular Spectacular” will remain beloved in my household, and will continue to be until I die and someone else throws my copy in a bargain bin.
4
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Sat Apr 27 2024
Buena Vista Social Club
Buena Vista Social Club
This is one of those albums hyped up so much that there’s no way it can live up to the expectations, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad by any means. In fact, it’s pretty great!! But it is an extremely difficult nut to crack on first listen.
A part of me is still intimidated by the Cuban elements, but they’re not so intimidating that I’m unable to hear the honor and tradition on display. Thankfully, the jazz elements are pretty obvious, and allow anyone to latch onto this, as long as you like jazz. It is much, much stronger in its opening third, though, and can start to feel overly traditional as it goes on, but the final leg closes strong in that style. And there’s still good material in the middle, as long as you don’t need it to be 100% in your face.
I think it’s definitely an album that needs to marinate with the listener, and as someone who has a hard time with “albums you need to sit with,” this isn’t an instant love. I feel like this book’s main flaw – and the main flaw with music nerd lists in general – is that all “World” music gets lumped together without enough historical context, so you’re a bit lost at sea with only the crossover material as guidance, and sometimes, those records don’t give me as a music nerd enough to feel properly educated in any critique I may have. And knowing this book has a bit of a fascination for Cooder’s brand of ‘90s crossover-World albums, I’m unsure if I should read the lounge/calmer songs as a bit overly Westernized, or if that critique shows my ignorance. Especially when I feel like this whole album is a grower, even the tracks I liked instantly, because it’s dense and, well, still a jazz album.
What I do know is that on pure vibes alone, it’s a perfect Summer Sunday album, a good relaxation album, and an album with layers. Once my ears let go of the hype machine, I think I’ll have an easier time moving from respectful enjoyment to active enjoyment, so in the meantime it’s getting a strong like from me.
4
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Sun Apr 28 2024
Dog Man Star
Suede
It feels extremely important if you’re British, but otherwise? Eh, okay, I guess??
Honestly, if the production didn’t feel so insanely dated even compared to its contemporaries, I’d enjoy it a lot more. I get that it’s trying to sound dated in an attempt to sound timeless, but frankly, that choice is a brick wall that holds back a lot of the potential magic here. I also don’t love the Bowie pastiche, but that’s more a personal gripe with Bowie — these songs are better than Bowie’s, even if they’re rip-offs. Still, this is the closest to a 4-star rating an album can get without achieving it. It’s a sloppier Kirin J. Callinan, or a more sophistipop Pulp. I see its influence, and I like a lot of the songs, but something always holds it back. A chipped gem is still chipped, after all.
3
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Sun Apr 28 2024
A Northern Soul
The Verve
Mom!!! The lads are at the door again trying to sell us Britpop!!
They’ve been here for almost an hour and it doesn’t seem like they’re leaving any time soon. Yes, I’ve already told them we’re not interested. Yes, they did bring up the fact that we liked Blur. No, they are not as good as Blur. Yes, they sound like a Econ major’s dorm room in 1995. I mean, what they showed me wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good, either. Just a lot of noodling chaos. Yeah, I think they’re very high.
Okay, they left!! But I think they’ll be back next week with more of the same. Yes, I’ll just close the blinds and turn off the lights next time so they don’t know we’re home.
2
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Sun Apr 28 2024
Sunshine Superman
Donovan
When I say I dislike psychedelia, this is what I’m talking about. It’s not expansive experimentation with depth and good songwriting, it’s just overcrowded kitsch. Rambling nonsense lyrics, ~unique~ instrumentation (who knew a sitar could sound so obnoxious?), and just a general “everything plus the kitchen sink” energy to each arrangement here. Even the best songs suffer because of it. And yes, the best songs are the singles — “Sunshine Superman” and “Season of the Witch” — which suggests a bigger critique, that Donovan is a singles artist, maybe even a would-be one-hit-wonder who happened to hit a lucky streak thanks to right place/right time. And yeah, that’s what I expect from “Hurdy Gurdy Man.”
It’s not the worst thing ever, but tolerable is not a compliment. Easily my least favorite psychedelic record so far, and very obviously inessential unless you adore this era of music.
2
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Mon Apr 29 2024
Seventeen Seconds
The Cure
Controversially, this may be the peak of The Cure’s goth post-punk era for me. I had to sit with this truth a lot, because I don’t personally love them for their goth era. Do I really want to rate this a 5/5? Does it achieve that status, even if I would place other albums by The Cure above it?
Is it a bit sloppy, a bit loose with its playing? Yes. Is that maybe the result of an amateurish first attempt to shift the band’s entire aesthetic? Maybe. Are there a couple of instrumental songs that are just padding tracks? Sure, but strangely enough, I would listen to them out of context from this album, too.
Despite its obvious critiques, this album just has a mood, a vibe, and that vibe is like a siren. It’s an enticing record, a life-changing record, even. I know it was for my high school girlfriend, who went from twee to goth a week after she first heard this and “Juju.” (Thankfully we’re cool now, so there’s no hard feelings around this listen.) There’s a pop sensibility here in “A Forest,” “Play for Today,” and “M” that appeals to me, keeps me going as a listener. And that’s then mixed against this very cool, slow-brewing darkness in songs like “Three” and “Seventeen Seconds” that perks my ears up, and I can’t avert my eyes, like I’m seeing a wolf during a walk in the woods.
Honestly, I think I’m just trying to justify my emo love for The Cure, one of my favorite bands ever, and that’s silly. My emo heart loves The Cure and this is some of their best 🖤🥀⛓️🖤
5
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Mon Apr 29 2024
Eagles
Eagles
I really dismissed the Eagles for no reason, because I think I love this band!
This album is definitely not on par with Hotel California, which I now wish I had rated higher, but I still enjoy this s/t debut. It’s a lot less sleazy, more Music to Play With the Windows Down™️, and a lot more country (there’s even a little bit of banjo in the background), but it’s pretty consistently good, shockingly so for a debut.
The Henley and Frey cuts are the clear standouts here, though, and without them, I think I’d be a little more apathetic to this overall. Like, those are ✨classic✨ songs, even the non-singles, and the rest are just, well, songs your Dad played the Summer of ’72 while working on his Firebird. You know, songs that teleport you to a very specific time and place, and give off a very specific mood, and either you’re into that mood or you aren’t.
And even though this girl would never lift the hood of a muscle car out of fear of breaking a nail, I think I love the whole vibe of an Eagles record, whether it’s more Southwestern and country, or Californian and beachy. Sad that this is where my journey ends with them formally, but informally, I’m about to crack open a cold one and chill out to their entire back catalog.
4
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Mon Apr 29 2024
good kid, m.A.A.d city
Kendrick Lamar
I was a sophomore in college when this came out, very active on r/hiphopheads, and, at the time, a guy. I’ve loved this album since the day it leaked.
I’ve long argued this is his best album, and relistening in full for the first time in maybe 5ish years, I’m even more convinced that I’m right. Start to finish, no skips. It’s lyrical and deep, but it’s also hard and catchy. I’d argue it’s maybe even a party record, or at least, obviously, a driving record. It’s referential and reverent, but it’s also explicitly personal. You could point to a song and say “ah that’s the hit,” or “oh that’s the deep song,” but I think every track here has an element of each style to it. It’s a dense record, but it’s never so dense that it’s exhausting. Actually, it’s an incredibly easy listen for a hip-hop album this layered. Even the goddamn bonus tracks are incredible!!
King Kendrick 👑
5
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Tue Apr 30 2024
Rumours
Fleetwood Mac
My aunt got trampled by the crowd when she went with my Dad to see Fleetwood Mac at a sold-out show in ’77, literally breaking her arm just to see this band at their absolute peak. Now, I play her copy of this album religiously once a month, and hold it with the same reverence I’d hold any family heirloom.
This is simply one of the greatest albums ever made. It’s one of those records where it’s so good, it’s not even fair to put it in a personal top 10, because yeah, everyone with ears adores this record, unless they’re purposefully being a contrarian. It’s the definition of “this sounds like a greatest hits album” because every song is just so deeply integrated into pop culture by now. There are no weak songs; my least favorite song, “Second Hand News,” would be a high-water mark for any other band, and only pales in comparison to the rest of the record it opens, because on its own, I adore it. I even go to bat for the McVie songs, because “Oh Daddy” and “You Make Loving Fun” are maybe my favorite songs here. It’s femme and witchy and sparkly thanks to Nicks, it’s reflective and somber and sultry thanks to McVie, and it’s bitchy and biting and masculine thanks to Buckingham. It’s rocking, it’s heavy, it’s pop, it’s folksy, it’s jazzy, it’s got a bit of everything for everyone. And even after decades of listening to it, today I still was hearing new elements I never noticed, which is the sign of a record that transcends criticism, in my opinion. This record is a cultural touchstone, so important to modern life that it’s now hard to see a world where it doesn’t exist.
Flawless flawless flawless!!
5
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Tue Apr 30 2024
Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul
Otis Redding
A perfect late afternoon record, especially with a joint and a book. With Otis, you know what you’re getting and it’s always going to be great: brassy backing tracks, strong charismatic vocals, and pop standards you heard all your life without knowing it was Otis Redding who originally wrote it all along. He’s always got a little uptempo soul, a little downtempo blues, and a couple sultry ballads. It’s pitch perfect ‘60s soul, and fills that niche flawlessly. There is no such thing as a bad Otis Redding song or album, and Otis Blue is no exception.
That said, this album does have a lot of covers – more here than on later albums – and I’ll be honest, the covers are the weakest versions of these songs. And I’d even argue that, for the original cuts here that became well-known off their cover versions, they’re also the weaker version of the song in question. And because of that, I have a hard time meeting Otis Blue on its own terms.
It’s still a very good album, one I’d gladly own and listen to, but it’s never going to be a personal favorite, either.
Now, if we were talking about Pain in My Heart or The Dock of the Bay….
4
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Wed May 01 2024
What's That Noise?
Coldcut
I like what I like, and as someone who listens to DJ mixes on Soundcloud while she works, this is 100% up my alley. I just like everything about it – the gaudy female vocals, the frequent cutting, the sample flips to give the illusion of lyrics, the tacked-on raps. It is the Platonic Ideal of an NYC Block Party circa 1985, even though this is from 1989 and was made by two Brits.
It is a hard album to rate, though. Not as a matter of personal taste, because again, I know this is to *my* taste. But it’s hard to listen to some albums on this list and not consider what is “missing,” especially when you consider genre pioneers. And this album/Coldcut feels distinctly ~lesser~ if the focus is to highlight innovators. It took slightly too much research to figure out why Coldcut was influential, or if they even were influential at the time, even though I could identify flags like the Tommy Boy US label distribution or the remix of “Paid in Full” being on that album’s CD reissue. And while I walked away concluding that Coldcut is, in fact, an important band in the history of House/Electronic music, I can’t help but wonder if Inner City’s “Paradise” or Fingers Inc.’s “Another Side” would work better as pioneer representatives, or even Lords of Acid a few years later, even if “Lust” is more New Beat/Techno. Still, I can justify “What’s That Noise” as perhaps influential on the DJ mix aesthetic so many use today, although I’m not entirely sure if that influence is as direct as others. Then again, House/Electronic music is not an album genre, and the pioneers can’t be easily summarized in a list like this. I can’t shake the fact that this is not on streaming, though, and all the YouTube comments are noting either a single track’s use in the Japanese game show Gaki no Tsukai (which is already a niche within a niche of online cultural awareness), or its inclusion on the 1001 Album list…which means this probably isn’t even directly influential to DJs today.
“What’s That Noise” seems to suffer most from the fact that it sounds secondary, even for its time, and therefore can read as inessential. If you can strip your brain away from the challenge and listen to it on its own merit, though, I think this is a wonderful ‘80s House album, and if you like turntablism, sampledelia, and DJ mixes, you’ll probably enjoy this like I did. Ultimately, I think it earns its keep on this list, but I’d feel better saying that if early House was better represented overall.
4
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Wed May 01 2024
Stardust
Willie Nelson
One of the quintessential Late Night™️ albums. Given its construct, it’s hard to tell where the term “pop standard” ends and the term “country cover” begins, but maybe that doesn’t matter much anyway. If you walk in hating country, you’ll be okay, because it’s never so twangy that you can’t hear a pop tune, but then, if you don’t want to hear traditional pop standards, well, these are closer to a bar singer than Frank Sinatra, so you’re going to be okay.
Some of the cuts here are the best versions of the song ever imo, regardless of genre: “Blue Skies,” “Unchained Memory,” and “Someone to Watch Over Me.” And the other versions aren’t too shabby, either. There’s a couple songs here that I’d only play during a full listen, mainly “Moonlight in Vermont,” but at a tight 30 minutes, this is an easy full listen, and an obvious “play it back again” record.
Nelson’s voice is just so gorgeous, like it feels factory calloused, worn out and patched like an old flannel, but somehow has this model-esque quality, too, with striking blue eyes that would make your lip quiver and your spine shiver if you stare too long. I think that’s the most compelling element here. His voice is just so amazing, and it begs you to revisit each song as soon as it’s over.
Absolutely a gorgeous record that has more depth behind it than you’d initially assume. Not flawless because not every traditional pop song holds water, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if my least favorite songs are someone’s favorites, and vice versa. Honestly need to dig into Nelson’s own music now just to hear more of that golden voice.
5
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Wed May 01 2024
Electric Prunes
The Electric Prunes
Wow, ‘60s mixing did these boys dirty, but the invention of the tremolo pedal made them do themselves dirty, too.
You used to be able to go into record stores, befriend the old man who owned the place, and eventually, he’d bring you down to the basement, where water-damaged records were stacked to the ceiling. These records were forgotten one-hit/no-hit wonders, records with absolutely nothing of value, records meant to be sampled or used as frisbees. They were so inessential, the record shop owner usually let you fill a bag and give him $5 and call it a day.
This is the quintessential example of that type of record. It’s not the worst thing ever made, though its flaws hold it back. With better mixing, it could be a great garage rock record, with touches of psych rock. With less psych rock studio bullshitting, it’d be a memorable record, one that moves from the basement to the bargain bin. With a stronger, less studio fuck-around Side B, it’d be a solid 3/5. But unfortunately, it has major flaws. It’s a very odd inclusion as a result. I’ve heard more insufferable, but this is definitely the most forgettable.
Would probably make a great frisbee, though!
2
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Thu May 02 2024
Low-Life
New Order
What the hell is this? Is it new wave, synth rock, or even just straight-up dance? Or is it post-punk, maybe even dance-punk? Are New Order savants, or can they not play in sync, either with themselves or a metronome? I can’t tell if this is avant-garde pop genius, or a sloppy mess of punks going pop, and it just so happens that they’re early enough to the party that not having a handle on how to play with new technology earns them respect instead of ridicule.
But then they take a perfect song like “The Perfect Kiss,” which, despite their sloppy playing, is still a well-written song, and add in stock sound footage of frogs and other bullshit. Or they meander with songs like “Sunrise” or “Elegia” and just rip off their post-punk contemporaries [including their former selves] with less finesse. The closest they get to winning me over is “Sooner Than You Think,” but there’s just soooo many overdubbed guitars that don’t gel together well, it just pulls me out. And then there’s songs like “Face Up” that feel completely out of place on this record, way too uptempo and new wave oriented to even sound like the same band.
I think if it was even slightly tighter, I’d be okay with it, though not fully in love. Yet if it was any looser, I’d be a lot more upset that I had to listen to this. The fact that it’s only 8 songs makes me feel a lot more apologetic, honestly. As it stands, it’s just too messy and undefined to convince me of its supposed unique genius. Maybe next time New Order will stick to a singular vision and actually care about playing well together.
2
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Thu May 02 2024
Let It Bleed
The Rolling Stones
Between my distaste for Beggars Banquet and my mild amusement with Sticky Fingers sits Let It Bleed, a record where all I have to say is, “Yup, that’s The Rolling Stones, all right, American blues pastiche with a couple cool hard rock guitar licks and fun vocal work by Mick Jagger.”
My apathy suggests that I may be officially off The Rolling Stones hype train, despite never actually being on to begin with. Unlike Beggars Banquet, I don’t find it grating, but unlike Sticky Fingers, it’s not a tolerated listen, either.
Honestly? I think they’d be better if they were American, but they aren’t, so, oh well, meh.
2
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Fri May 03 2024
California
American Music Club
Maybe I don’t get it, but this feels like country music for indie rock snobs. And very little of it is all that interesting. It not only doesn’t sell me on country music, but it also gets under my skin and reminds me why I hated indie rock snobs for most of my life. If there were more songs like "Bad Liquor," I'd hate it more, but most of it is just bland and forgettable.
2
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Fri May 03 2024
Rattus Norvegicus
The Stranglers
The Stranglers: “Hi there, we’re a weird, very English not-punk punk band with horror-themed lyrics and lots of organ!”
*Listens skeptically to Rattus Norvegicus, only to hear a weird, very English not-punk punk band with horror-themed lyrics and lots of organ*
Me: “I don’t know what I expected here....”
2
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Sat May 04 2024
Amnesiac
Radiohead
Do I….like a Radiohead album???? Ew, I hate this for me. But also, I’m a sucker for a drum machine and a groove, and there’s a lot of that here.
When it’s back to our regularly-scheduled boring moan sessions, though, I’m out, and yeah, half this record is still that, and I hate it.
But I like half a Radiohead album! There’s hope for me still!!
3
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Sun May 05 2024
Power In Numbers
Jurassic 5
I can tell that this book was written in the mid-2000s because no one would include Jurassic 5 in any hip-hop canon unless that list was made at the peak of backpacker rap, aka hip-hop for white kids that felt intellectual but mostly could fit in well with the Tony Hawk Underground and SSX Tricky soundtracks. It’s a “subgenre” that not only feels inherently problematic in retrospect, but also now sounds dauntingly traditionalist in the way it mimics the outdated simplicity of ‘80s rap, allowing it to be annoyingly arrogant about its perceived respect for the genre over Bling/Crunk/Gangsta rap, even though it arguably respects the genre less by insisting hip-hop should never have grown or expanded its sonic palette. But also, god, is it boring as hell to listen to as a result, unless you’re a dweeb who gets offended by curse words or typical gangsta rap topics because it’s “inappropriate.”
Jurassic 5 is the quintessential backpacker hip-hop group, and Power in Numbers [along with their previous effort, Quality Control] is a good example of that scene. Not that this is the backpacker masterpiece – sans Madvillainy, that belongs to Deltron 3030, God Loves Ugly, any pre-RTJ El-P effort, or, my personal vote, The Minstrel Show, although that may not even qualify as backpacker rap – but J5 is a good distillation of everything *wrong* with backpacker rap, and showcase why the label was eventually meant to be offensive and a critique of its white fans. This album is a slog and a half, filled with pretension and holier-than-thou subjects mixed with strange, nearly conservative politics, all presented in a stilted way that sounds like it’s being delivered by a 50 year old man with an extensive Kangol collection. The beats are fine, and are the one non-traditionalist element in this whole album, thank god, but unless you physically preoccupy yourself with an activity that prevents you from reaching over and hitting the skip or pause button, I can’t imagine anyone actually listening to these songs by choice unless you’re new to hip-hop and/or were/are a backpacker in 2024 somehow, or one of those Zoomers into “alternative rap.”
An unessential listen, and an obviously dated inclusion even within the context of the book.
2
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Mon May 06 2024
After The Gold Rush
Neil Young
I’ve had a hard time gathering my thoughts on this album. It’s easily the one I’ve had the hardest time digesting quickly enough to share an opinion on it, at least so far.
In some ways, it’s masterful. I was built to love Neil Young, and I’m shocked I’ve never dipped my toes until now. Sure, his harder rock songs and off-kilter solos are 100% my jam, but even slowed down to acoustic folk tracks or piano ballads, his poetic lyrics and heart-on-his-sleeve sentimentality boost these tiny tunes into monuments. After the Gold Rush is an album that’s hard to listen to one-by-one; it begs a full listen. It’s a summer sunrise album to listen to over a cup of coffee, a late night spring album to listen to while you cry over an ex-lover, and a cozy fall/winter afternoon listen you spin while you read. It all washes over me as a singular statement, one that cannot be pulled apart, an album that only makes sense in a single sitting, and an easy argument for a masterpiece.
And yet, the fact that After the Gold Rush *only* works as a whole has been exactly what’s throwing me off. As an album, it certainly has a time and place, and while it can work well in multiple contexts, it also isn’t a “constant obsession” listen; I wouldn’t listen to this on my commute to work, while I write, while I eat dinner, while I work out, at a party, etc. And there are very few songs I would listen to on their own, except “Southern Man,” which is so rattlingly unlike anything else here, purposefully so, even, that its inclusion feels strange in the first place. Everything else is great, but it’s not something I always want to hear, because it’s too muted, too quaint, too understated.
Ironically, it’s this low key nature that can also make a full listen a bit underwhelming, and make some songs blend together to the point where it no longer sounds all that inspiring, all that standout, all that special. I think that’s a pump fake, in a way, but it only makes it harder to process. And when everyone tells you this is the peak of Young’s entire career, it makes me a bit confused, because even though I really, really like this album, it’s not perfect, and almost feels overhyped.
Yet, at the end of the day, I’ve kept coming back to this album. Not obsessively, not driven by the feeling that it’s an instant favorite, but more as a casual new comfort, a “peaked curiosity,” a sense that I want to get to know Neil Young more, like texting a bookish introvert after a first date to the movies . It’s an album meant to grow, meant to be cultivated as the seasons change, and one that might be a standout, but also might end up just being a gateway to Young for me.
I may grow much fonder of this record with time, and I may regret giving it a 4 now, but I think it’s unfair to validate a higher review until I am fully comfortable with the man’s discography. And unfortunately, I am now in a situation where I can’t access most of his work until the generator gods hand it to me, so, let’s see how the next 3 years go.
4
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Tue May 07 2024
The Village Green Preservation Society
The Kinks
The sound of sunshine ☀️🤗💛
The psychedelic nonsense lyrics can be a little annoying, but they're also so outrageously ridiculous that they loop back around to being fun and funny. They also do a lot musically for songs that never pass the 3-minute mark. Not all of it is a winner, especially when it turns into Tin Pan Alley reverence, but all of it is bright and enjoyable, and never asks me to take it too seriously. And when it does ask me to go deep, it's all about this nostalgia for youth and innocence, a topic I’m a sucker for generally. But unlike most records discussing those topics, it does so in a positive, sweet, cute way, which makes it an easy and enjoyable listen, instead of one that triggers an existential crisis, and I do appreciate that.
I think that's why I like this so much more than other psychedelic records from this era. This is ironic and silly and enjoyable, compared to the high-minded serious ~insights~ other hippies insisted on expressing on their records. So while The Kinks aren't doing anything particularly exciting from a sonic perspective for the era (at least not anything obvious, unless you're a music theory nerd), what they ARE doing is having fun. And fun is important to actually enjoying music!!
Because above all else, I just love a bunch of goofy lads 🤪
4
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Tue May 07 2024
Paul's Boutique
Beastie Boys
Of all the albums described as the “Sgt. Peppers of XYZ genre,” this is hands down my favorite. But I’m as a girl who gets weak at the knees whenever she talks to some quirked up white boiz with a penchant for just saying whatever stupid shit comes to their brain, so I’m a bit biased.
5
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Wed May 08 2024
Joan Armatrading
Joan Armatrading
I know that this is a divisive album within this challenge, but I really don’t get why. It’s folky AND it’s funky – I don’t really need much more from the music I enjoy.
She does have a weird voice that I could see as off-putting to some, but I think that’s actually what makes this unique. She can also write a song, and, more importantly, write a groove. It’s not the greatest album I’ve ever heard, but it definitely influenced a lot of the albums I do consider perfect. On face value, though, this is just a great Sunday Morning™️ album – fun and groovy and folksy music to chill out and vibe with while you make your morning coffee.
But then again, I generally love lesbian folk music because duh 🏳️🌈👩🏻❤️💋👩🏻
4
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Wed May 08 2024
The Bends
Radiohead
The Bends is a decent Britpop album – a valid one to highlight, even, if you’re into the scene, though certainly not a subgenre masterpiece – but nothing more than that. It’s never bad, but it does feel distinctly derivative compared to its contemporaries, and I don’t really get how this kept Radiohead afloat long enough to get to their experimental phase, or even sow any seeds of good will. Most of this is very low-energy, and even if it’s not as sparse as the later releases I loathe, it really wears thin quick, especially after an otherwise strong start. And there’s brief moments of more grungy, loud energy that I like and I think they’re very good at creating as a band, but too much of this is just fine and coasting.
But again, I don’t hate it. It definitely sits on the cusp of the Radiohead I traditionally hate, but it never crosses the line. I don’t know if I’d call it particularly essential, especially in a book filled to the brim with Britpop albums, but I’ll accept it as a Radiohead I can tolerate.
3
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Thu May 09 2024
Rock 'N Soul
Solomon Burke
I get that it’s important to include albums like this in the book, because the Blues (especially Blues that influenced rock and soul) is an essential genre to cover in a book like this.
I don’t hate it, but it also doesn’t pull me in. I find this style of blues very…bland, uncomplicated, and uncompelling. I just find a lot of the blues very basic, and to me, this sounds extremely dated, but rarely timeless. It’s not quite soulful enough to pull at my heartstrings, but not quite hard enough to rock. And god, does it drag! It felt like it was 90 minutes of the same song, and I was only half way through.
Influential, sure, but not essential. If anything, revisiting it with modern ears makes it an even harder listen, unless you love this style of early ’60s music in general, which I don’t.
2
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Thu May 09 2024
Our Aim Is To Satisfy
Red Snapper
I now understand how this album has a cult online critic following.
I’m a sucker for this era of electronica that sits between Trip-Hop and French House where that transition is evident in the music itself. This is a good, chilled out album filled with a lot of that sound, elevated by some veryyyy impressive acoustic drum sounds. I think it’s intriguing to know this band is a legitimately band in the traditional sense, although it doesn’t sound essential to the music’s composition to my ears. It really has everything I could want from it: a couple stand out tracks I’ll add to playlists, a handful of high-energy dance songs, a few cuts with vocals to not make it sound monotonous and only instrumental, and some solid filler songs that round out and enhance the album when listened to as a single unit. It ends a bit weak and the jazz ventures aren’t all that rewarding, but those aren’t overbearing critiques imo
A very solid late night driving album. Good for fans of a niche within a niche, which applies to me. Not a favorite, but still a standout.
4
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Fri May 10 2024
Elephant
The White Stripes
Ironically I think this challenge has made me appreciate what The White Stripes do, at least more than I did when I was a teen and they were actually popular, especially with all my guitar-nerd friends. I still don’t find it groundbreaking, but the fuzzed out version of traditionalism put forth by Jack and Meg here is interesting enough and done with enough skill and finesse to make for an enjoyable record.
It helps that this has some of their best hits in “Seven Nation Army” and “The Hardest Button to Button,” which add some hard pop choruses to blue-rock solos. But I’d also say tracks like the jammy “Ball and Biscuit” and the sultry “In The Cold, Cold Night” show diversity and range that make this a unique listen.
The biggest weakness here is the run time, because even though I’d say Elephant has variety, it’s still a long listen, with too much material for one sitting, and wears thin in the last leg. And it also gets a bit annoying whenever Jack feeds into his egoistic desire to be a Rock Star™️, which is more frequent than I’d like it to be.
It’s not my favorite album ever, but I’m more pleasantly surprised than I expected. I may be overrating it for a first time listen, and I expect it will be on the bottom end of my 4 star ratings by the end of this challenge, but for now, I support The White Stripes, especially on this album.
4
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Fri May 10 2024
Scissor Sisters
Scissor Sisters
Elton John, but, somehow, make it even gayer?!
And I have to say, yasss qweens, this little queer loves to see it!! 🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈
(Also, I learned that I spent my whole life mixing up Scissor Sisters with Dresden Dolls, and avoided this band like the plague as a result growing up, and I hate myself for that!)
4
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Sat May 11 2024
Tapestry
Carole King
Music for Young Professional Women who live alone in a mid-sized American city. And while I don’t live alone and I live in one of the largest cities in the world, this still speaks to my soul.
Perfect record to put on while you cook dinner. Perfect early summer walk album, but also a great Thanksgiving album. Plenty of perfect karaoke songs. Plenty of songs to sing along with in your car while you cry.
Flawless songwriting, insanely great piano playing, powerful vocals. It just feels like music that has always existed, which means it was always meant to exist. It’s front-loaded for sure, but the back half really shows how much King influenced music overall, and that in itself is powerful. Honestly shocked this is my first listening front to back, because I will now be listening to this on repeat forever.
5
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Sat May 11 2024
Raw Power
The Stooges
I like the Stooges, I like Iggy Pop. I like this album. I’d own a copy, and I’d play it regularly. That’s enough for 4 stars from me.
But I don’t love it. It’s not the revelation Fun House was for me, it’s a bit more basic, and it’s somehow more contrived and self-aware, which makes it less raw. Also, the mixing is straight ass, on both versions, and makes it extremely difficult to sit through.
4
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Sat May 11 2024
Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1
George Michael
I really hate that I hate this, because I love Wham! and I love Faith, and I love other late-era George Micheal songs. But this just sounds like an Abilities Flex™️ album, where the original praise was based on praising Michael for elevating himself above Wham!’s ✨inferior pop discography✨ (because ew, god forbid we praise queercentric music for teeny boppers 🤮🤮), and modern retrospective reviews project the HIV/AIDS pandemic onto material that doesn’t seem to be about that, at least not in my interpretation, and sometimes that projection reads strange, to say the least (because black music is about struggle and the gays community was struggling?? Like…not a one for one here…).
On face value, this sounds to me like a pop star trying to do sophisti-pop. And listen, I like a lot of sophisti-pop, but Michael sounds late to the game, and the result sounds insincere — almost like a cash grab.
Is his technical ability outstanding? Yes, and sometimes, that’s just enough to win me over. But for most of this record, I am bored out of my mind.
2
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Sun May 12 2024
Roots
Sepultura
I think there’s a valid case to made that Roots is the greatest metal album ever made, aside from Black Sabbath’s Paranoid. The investigation of Brazilian culture both sonically and lyrically are ambitious but largely successful, and it helps that Sepultura were metal masters by the time they made this. From a musical standpoint, I think this is as good as metal was in ’96. The gutturals, the down-tuned riffs, the rhythm section that incorporates Latin grooves – all of it is top notch, and still sounds impressive today.
While it didn’t invent nu-metal, it’s definitely coming to the same conclusions as Korn did, just from a radically different angle. But I also find Sepultura’s approach to this sound more sensible? more logical? At least more interesting. But I’m also a nu-metal apologist, so take it with a grain of salt.
The only reason anyone would hate this I think is because extreme metal in any sense of the word is too scary for their ears, or because they just find metal lyrics a bit silly. And while that’s fair, thankfully, I was introduced to pig squeals, gutturals, and ridiculous lyrics when I was 12 listening to screamo bands before I even dove into “real” metal, so I’m actually upset more extreme metal isn’t on this list. But at least we have Roots, and Roots is a high water mark.
5
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Sun May 12 2024
Myths Of The Near Future
Klaxons
A more chaotic MGMT, and a lesser one as a result, but I guess I just have a soft spot for this era of electro-pop, so I enjoyed it enough. Its weakness is that it doesn’t really stick with me long term, but it almost does. Like it comes close enough for me to be sympathetic to it.
This is one of those albums on this list where I’d argue I didn’t HAVE to hear it before I died, but I’m glad I did. Unsure if I’d go out of my way to own a copy, but I’d definitely pick it up if I can across it in the bin on a mediocre digging day.
3
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Mon May 13 2024
Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots
The Flaming Lips
This is the music playing over the speakers of a thrift store that charges $300 for a vintage t-shirt where the cashier doesn’t speak to you unless she thinks you’re trying to shoplift, despite the fact that the only size they have in stock in XXXS.
2
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Mon May 13 2024
Murder Ballads
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
I think I like Nick Cave; I don’t think I like Murder Ballads, in particular.
Maybe it’s because I’m listening to it in the dead of summer while I sweat my ass off with the AC on full blast, not on a dark snowy night deep in the throes of the Winter Blues. Maybe I don’t like the balladry concept, maybe I don’t like the traditional folk and lounge elements. Maybe I dislike the theatricality, and miss the harder edged post-punk of Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus.
Maybe it’s a grower. It’s not completely devoid of value, and there’s some tracks I really love. I like Cave’s general vibe – dark, edgy, brooding, death obsessed and referential. But most of this was a slog, most of it was too edgy, and most of it never caught my ears or made me perk up. But then again, maybe I’m just burnt out.
2
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Tue May 14 2024
Disintegration
The Cure
This is a strange album to classify as a magnum opus. This is the most “The Cure” that The Cure ever gets. If you like what The Cure has to offer – aka moody, washed out guitars, gothy grooves, and depressed lyrics moaned gently into the mic – you’re in luck, because there’s even more of it here! Quite literally, the songs drone on; not in a negative way, because they need the space, but these are the most spacious tracks in the band’s discography. There’s still an ear for pop hooks, but Robert Smith does his absolute best to subvert it. Still, they’re all over this record, and some of those hooks on the non-single tracks are standouts of the band’s entire discography.
Now, if you don’t like The Cure and you haven’t up to this point, welp, bad new bears, you’re going to hate this album. This is the most “The Cure” that The Cure ever gets, and there’s even more of it here! Quite literally. I get why people hate this album, because I get how and why someone could possibly hate The Cure. I, however, absolutely ADORE The Cure. I could’ve had at least 2 more albums on this list (The Head on the Door and Boys Don’t Cry, but I’d also take Kiss Me… and/or Wish). I’m not going to convince you today to love The Cure, and therefore I’m definitely not going to convince you to love Disintegration.
Now, if you argue they’re a Greatest Hits™️ band, the singles do rise above the rest, so I get it. But I’d argue the real beauty of this album is found in the songs that aren’t singles, especially on the back half, where they really dig into a vision for the band that is excessive – in length, in tone, in mood. And I’d urge you to listen to “Untitled” and “Disintegration” and try to argue that they are not on par with the singles on this album, despite their length.
Disintegration isn’t going to convince anyone to like The Cure, but if you’re already a fan, it will be one of the greatest, most interesting albums you’ve ever heard. And I fucking adore The Cure 🖤⛓️🥀🖤
5
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Tue May 14 2024
Transformer
Lou Reed
Now if Bowie sounded like this, maybe I’d actually like him. An extremely New York City record, and that makes me really like it.
Definitely has a few kitschy low points, but while they’re not the songs I’d listen to on their own, I’m more than fine with them in the context of a full listen. Especially when the highlights are so high. Even at its worst, I still enjoy it a lot, in its queerness, in its eccentricities, in its alternative spirit.
4
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Wed May 15 2024
Devotional Songs
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
It’s bad criticism to say you don’t “get it.” Whether you’re a professional critic or a casual observer, saying you don’t understand a work of art, and therefore don’t enjoy it, just means you’re missing the context that makes it a great work of art. Whether that’s context of influences and lineage, context of the medium’s history or genre’s history, or the context of its creation, not “getting it” is, in my opinion, not a critique of the art, but a critique of the critic. Especially when every audience is capable of enjoying a great work of art at face value, intrinsically based on its essence, at least if it’s truly a great work of art.
I won’t say I don’t get it, and I won’t say this isn’t a great work of art, either within the context of its technical ability [obviously great] or within the history of a genre I know very little about. But I will say I’m missing a ton of context that would help me understand why this album above all others has been included here.
On face value, I will never listen to this again, under any circumstance. I totally acknowledge, though, that I lack anything to hold it up against, no comparable album that shows a different version of this style of music. I’m also missing a ton of cultural context, so I’m unsure if this album is closer to Bach or Pet Sounds. Is this "classical” music or modern “pop” music? Finding a comparison routes me back to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, an important figure in “world music,” but….why? Was this because of Enya and the Gregorian chants, or is there a specific trigger from Pakistan at the time that isn’t just a contemporary Bollywood remix from the 21st century? Is this even the album to actually start with?
All of it feels like a lot of work for a personal project like this challenge, and while it’s good to expose yourself to new voices, obviously, sometimes, you can be in over your head. And at face value, if you don’t love something, you don’t love something. And I cannot think of a context in which I’d listen to this. Maybe I’m missing that context, but I also maybe don’t care if that’s bad criticism. I just don’t get this.
2
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Wed May 15 2024
Boston
Boston
Immaculately produced, and its highs are some of the best Music To Blast Out Your Trans Am With The Windows Down™️ ever made. Now, sometimes that’s also its Achilles Heel, because it sounds, well, like an episode of That 70’s Show. I’m also not as enamored with the prog leanings as others. It’s extremely front loaded, with a dorky Side B, and even Side A is isn’t a flawless excursion.
I think this album has almost been overhyped with time. Maybe this is just a New England thing, given the Boston connection, but this feels like an album every Dad showed their kid as an example of peak music. And it just…isn’t? Not front to back. Some of it might be, but as an album? God no. But music criticism in the 2000s seemed to confirm those opinions, so as a kid, I felt like it was one of those albums I HAD to enjoy. And now, ironically, I think the pendulum is swinging the other way, because I rarely hear anyone talking about this album. Which is also annoying, because I do want to champion its highs, and at only 8 tracks, it has more highs than lows.
Overall, I would put it on, and I’d maybe even own a copy for cheap, but I’d do so more out of principle, or maybe societal obligation as a music fan. It’s definitely something everyone should hear, but I don’t know whether it holds enough punch nowadays to be seen as a favorite by anyone under the age of 50. But there are a couple tracks here that make it all worth it, and I do think a lot of people would still enjoy this record.
For me, though, it just doesn’t have that ✨It Factor✨, that ✨sparkle✨ that it once did. While I think it comes close to a like, it lacks any true magic, so I don’t feel bad about shrugging my shoulders to it.
3
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Thu May 16 2024
Toys In The Attic
Aerosmith
The Rolling Stones for people from Boston (complimentary)
4
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Thu May 16 2024
Roger the Engineer
The Yardbirds
In the immortal words of Henry Rollins, “The drummer can’t drum, the bass player can’t play. The guitarist has one riff. The singer is this utter buffon.”
A part of me wants to be forgiving. On first listen, Side A wasn’t the worst thing I’ve ever heard, but it was just boring ‘60s blues pastiche and/or 60’s pop that goes in my ears and out in an instant, with slight psychedelic touches here and there that aren’t to my taste. I’m far from a fan of this style, so I wasn’t going to praise this, but I wasn’t mad about it, either. But then Side B just turned that up to 11, with all the worst cliches of that era, and I almost lost my mind. Like, to the point where I revisited Side A and realized after two painful active listens that, no, I hated that too, I was just trying to restrain myself from being a hater.
All the little tchotchkes in the background, the limited range and uncharismatic vocals, the rhythm section is uninspired with cluttered bass riffs and mediocre drummer, and Beck…I see what he’s doing, but to me, it both sounds basic and messy, and dare I say it, immature.
I can’t imagine this being anyone’s favorite record, unless you know too much about reel-to-reels and smell a bit too much like skunk weed. A painful listen and a boring listen – the worst combination.
1
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Fri May 17 2024
Sail Away
Randy Newman
The “She's So Crazzzzzzzy, Love Her” meme, but in reference to your quirky Dad who tucks his t-shirts into his jorts, makes an exhausting number of puns, has a big love for a mid-tier game show like Deal or No Deal or Wheel of Fortune, and is probably on the spectrum, but we’ll never know, because he doesn’t believe in “that millennial crybaby shit.”
2
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Fri May 17 2024
Africa Brasil
Jorge Ben Jor
Deep down, I’m just a girl who loves to dance, so I tend to fall fast and easy for anything with a groove: funk, house, disco, pop, and apparently samba. On África Brasil, Jorge Ben Jor 1000% delivers a dance-party record. This has it all – casual bum-shakers to vibe along to next to the beach bonfire, chaotic cuts that force everyone on the floor, slow jams that beg you to hold a lover close, and everything in between.
But this record is so much more than just dance grooves. It’s a party record with depth. Musical depth, for sure; this is some of the tightest, most technical shit I could imagine creating that still has pop appeal. But also, it has socio-political depth, using its points of reference, esoteric lyrics, and globalism to say something about the state of the world, about connected influence across continents and oceans, about black people everywhere. And by doing all that through winks and nudges, what could be seen through a translator as “simplistic” lyrics actually reveals subversive depth. And all over funky ass grooves that make you want to shake your ass!
Literally obsessed. Really hitting me at a perfect time in my life, especially during the summer. The perfect record to put on at 2am to keep the party going. I won’t be surprised if this ends up toward the top of my overall ranking by the end of this challenge.
5
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Sat May 18 2024
Different Class
Pulp
As always with Britpop albums, there’s some pretty solid Britpop songs on this. Some of them are even arguably great, or at least I imagine they’d feel epic when used in a music soundtrack or something.
In theory, I like this record’s concept critiquing posh culture and bourgeois/upper crust snobbery. There’s a handful of songs I’d add to a playlist or two. But a lot of this just feels too British for my tastes, and also a bit too forced. The hooks feel forced, the insights feel forced, the playing feels forced. Maybe I wouldn’t add them to a playlist, but they wouldn’t kill my vibe if they were on my friend’s playlist. Then again, some songs are also obnoxious, and overly British, and overly snarky in a way that annoys me, like a drunk self-proclaimed Communist who corners you at a dinner party to talk about theory. I wouldn’t buy this album for myself, but I also wouldn’t tolerate a friend playing it at a dinner party, either. Maybe I’m just exhausted with Britpop at this point, maybe I just don’t like this particular album, but I’m never going to revisit this for a full listen ever again. One time was a chore in itself. I think this is just not to my taste, even if it seems like it would be on paper (see, Commie, praxis v. theory).
But I’m also not stupid. “Common People” is one of the greatest songs ever written. That alone warrants this album’s praise. And the rest of it, while lesser, is certainly good enough to argue some level of essential listening.
2
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Sun May 19 2024
School's Out
Alice Cooper
This is what happens when a theatre kid spends their summer vacation writing a dorky rock opera about summer vacation. It's not bad, but it does make me roll my eyes a lot. At least it kicks off with one of the best hard rock songs ever, and that makes it a bit more tolerable.
3
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Sun May 19 2024
Unknown Pleasures
Joy Division
I have no idea why I hate this album, because I love gothic punk, but this is so downtrodden and glum, it just ends up sounding like a boring snoozefest to me. It has a moment or two, and starts very strong, but everything else is a drag. Each track that follows the opener drags me down and actively works against the opener’s energy. By the end, my ears are so numbed with sonic novocain that I can’t even remember it enough to know if it actually came close to clicking for me. And this has been my feeling about this record for the last 20 years.
Much like Loveless, I’m over trying to force myself to love this record. I don’t like it. End of story.
2
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Mon May 20 2024
Heavy Weather
Weather Report
Weather Channel™️ music. Like, literally, background music. There’s nothing here that upsets me, but there’s also nothing here that motivates me to revisit it, or even recommend it. Which is funny, because I’d recommend some of these players’ solo material as more essential than Heavy Weather.
The most memorable thing about this is how forgettable it is.
2
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Mon May 20 2024
Pretzel Logic
Steely Dan
Forrest Gump music. Well made, saccharine and sentimental, dorky but uncontroversial, enjoyable on an airplane, forgettable once it’s over.
3
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Tue May 21 2024
Tusk
Fleetwood Mac
The quintessential double album. If you only kept the Side openers and closers, and kept one more song from each songwriter (“Storms,” “”Never Make Me Cry,” and “Tusk,” imo), I think you’d have an album on par with Rumours.
But while this is no Rumours, it’s still Fleetwood Mac. The highs are so high, higher than the highs on Rumours, songs that would be career-defining songs for lesser artists. I think Tusk gets a bad rep for being bloated with Buckingham tracks, as he wrote 9/20 songs, and while I do think they’re often the album’s lowest points (“The Ledge”), he also has his own high points (“I Know I’m Not Wrong”). He’s no Nicks or McVie, but maybe I’m just biased.
It is an exhausting full listen — my wife and I both were like, “there’s still a Side D?!” in unison — but in a modern context, there’s a lot here that work as songs, and I think that gives Tusk its value. A step down from the peak doesn’t mean you fell, just that you walked down a few hundred feet.
All this said, it’s still no Tango in the Night…
4
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Tue May 21 2024
If You Can Believe Your Eyes & Ears
The Mamas & The Papas
While there’s a handful of excellent songs filled with 60’s pop harmonies, the majority of this is bland hippy pop that feels like it lasts an eternity. It certainly has at least two songs I could tolerate being in 1001 Songs list, but so does Cass Elliot in her short solo career, and those are even more essential, yet a Mama Cass album is nowhere to be found on this list. Suspicious, isn’t it…
Yeah, this album is not essential. And not very good. You know what songs to add to a playlist. Keep it at that and move on.
2
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Wed May 22 2024
Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Red Hot Chili Peppers
If ska music is the sound of a group of 13 year old boys ordering mozzarella sticks, then RHCP is the soundtrack to those same boys spending a day at the waterpark.
From the perspective of a craftsman, I won’t deny that this album is incredibly well made. From a “playing” perspective, from a flow perspective, and from a mixing perspective (thank god). If you like this extremely ‘90s blend of genre mishmash, then Blood Sugar Sex Magik has everything you could want – a little bit of grunge, a little bit of funk, a little bit of balladry, a little bit of hard rock. Unlike the insufferable mixing or pivots of Californication, this is very well-made, and not a fully painful listen. Grading on a scale, it’s worth the spin.
But the thing about RHCP is this: either you like their shtick, or you don’t. And BSSM is a *lot* of that shtick. And while the singles are so ingrained in my brain from my youth that I can’t help but to at least appreciate them (although I’m less supportive of “Under the Bridge”), the rest of the album is a little more intense – more RHCP, and a lot more shtick. So if you, like me, only tolerate these singles when they come on the radio, then you’re going to have a tough time with this in its entirety. No level of technical proficiency is that appealing. To me, while not painful, BSSM is an exhausting listen. And that’s maybe an even greater hurdle to overcome as a listener. By the end, even if I nodded my head to more of this album, I was so overwhelmed by the RHCP’s muchness that I felt even more upset than I was after finishing Californication.
Ultimately, for me, I find RHCP to be a singles band, where I’m able to appreciate them in small digestible doses. And as a result, there’s always at least some decent cuts in any RHCP album. Compared to other RHCP albums, the ratio of good songs is greater than bad songs on BSSM, but like all other RHCP albums I’ve heard, it’s still far below the threshold of what I would personally classify as “good.” That said, I am completely okay with being on the list and can see the argument if someone told me it was their favorite album ever, unlike, say, Californication, which should only be on this list to show what a bad yet influential album sounds like.
3
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Wed May 22 2024
Hounds Of Love
Kate Bush
The original Weird Girl™️ album, and maybe the best. And I say that as a Certified Weird Girl™️.
It just sounds like feminine transcendence, feminine exploration, and the female psyche; it speaks to my soul in a way I could never put into words.
Top 5 Dead or Alive, easy.
5
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Thu May 23 2024
Lost In The Dream
The War On Drugs
If you still live in your hometown and have nostalgic associations with Springsteen, Dylan, Tom Petty, and all other heartland rock, then you’ll enjoy this well-made, immaculately-produced pastiche album. But be warned, it’s a lot of pastiche, with songs that drag past the 5-minute mark and really test your adoration for what essentially equates to a studio cover band.
If this was 30 minutes long, I might be giving it a little more praise, even as pastiche. But at 60 minutes, it is the definition of exhausting. It’s nothing new, and unless you’re a production nerd, I can’t imagine what the appeal here is compared to its own influences. Its presence on this list doesn’t really make sense either – just include more of those classics, or new albums that present new sounds. It’s okay for what it is, but I knew that after the 3 minute mark, and then I stopped caring.
2
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Thu May 23 2024
Spiderland
Slint
This is the type of band that can kill a basement show set, but years later when you remember that you bought their tape after the show and give it a relisten, you remember why you forgot that you even had this album in your cassette collection in the first place.
2
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Fri May 24 2024
People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm
A Tribe Called Quest
The classic hip-hop debut dilemma: praised as an essential classic for its singles and for presenting a sign of what’s to come, but time seems to not be kind to the immature looseness it presents, especially when compared to the tighter, more forward-thinking follow-ups.
When Tribe is Tribe as they came to be – Phife and Tip trading verses, Ali on the mix, jazzy samples with amazing hooks – this album is worth the listen (see: “Can I Kick It”). But most of this album is not that. In fact, the rest of it is either Ali and Tip still exploring Tribe’s “signature sound,” or Q-Tip essentially rapping as a solo artists, with Jarobi as his Flava Flav-esque hype man. And like all CD-era hip-hop albums, its long runtime bloats the record to the point where I as the listener just wish I could trim the fat and have a better, tighter 30-minute album. But then again, if I trimmed all the fat here, I’d be left with very little; while there are a handful of highs beyond the stand-out singles (“Footprints” and “I Left My Wallet,” especially), it’s not as frequent as I think people think. Most of this album is badly dated, and most of it is a band obviously in search of a sound, and while that’s totally fine, it doesn’t mean this debut should be seen as a genre essential, even if the singles are genre essential tracks.
It’s fun, and some of it’s great, but it’s not essential. Midnight Marauders and We got it from Here…. both deserve a spot on this list over this record. But if you like it, I totally get it, and would still listen to a decent yet inessential debut from hip-hop legends than some of the other rockist slogs on this list.
3
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Fri May 24 2024
Remain In Light
Talking Heads
Even though I’ve never really been won over by Talking Heads, I truly tried to give this a sincere listen and walked in with an open mind. But this album? Not for me at all.
Even with the saving grace of “Once in a Lifetime,” one good pop song can’t save the rest of the album from being a rambling, muddy, pseudo-intellectual recontextualization of ~world~ rhythms that aren’t even enjoyable grooves to listen to. Truly a painful listen for me throughout, and I was trying my best not to skip it completely.
While I see the vision, I find the execution downright exhausting and incompressible, which is how I imagine I’d feel if I had to hold a conversation with David Byrne. And that’s me being kind.
1
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Sat May 25 2024
Red Headed Stranger
Willie Nelson
Country can be a hard genre to grasp. Red Headed Stranger feels not only like a primer for the genre, but also its True North.
This is a dense record, and because it’s a first-time listen for me, I’m not sure if I’ve been fully able to digest it. Country is not my genre – I know the broad strokes, but I mostly stick to more contemporary female singers that play with pop, aka Kacey Musgraves, Maren Morris, The Chicks, Shania, etc. – but I really did love Nelson’s Stardust on face value, so I was really excited for this. But unlike Stardust, whose pop tunes hit you straight on the nose, Red Headed Stranger is a complex slow-burn. Now, I’m sure if I had a more refined palette for country, the nuances of this album would feel obvious, but I’d also argue that this is the album that taught most modern country fans to appreciate those nuances, or so it seems. Nelson’s guitar playing specifically feels so detailed, so subtle but with this nonchalant confidence. Ironically, it reminds me a lot of Neil Young’s playing. This album is also varied, with a lot of different styles of “country,” from barn-burners to love songs and everything in between. It may have been against the textbook upon release, but it feels textbook now, although much more nonchalant than a Zach Bryan or Sturgill Simpson.
Still, with all that praise aside, I’m not sure if I am fully in love with this album. It’s great, don’t get me wrong, and I do like it, but it doesn’t stick with me like other albums have, even other country albums. Some of that is just me needing a lot more time with it – it’s an album that I 100% need to revisit as I continue on with this project, because I’m sure I’ll enjoy it more with time. That said, I think Side B was much more my speed than Side A; I’m not sure if that’s because the theatrical story-telling of Side A with its reprises and traditionalism threw me off, or if I just like Nelson’s voice when he’s doing more ballads and/or rock-oriented jams, but there’s an immediacy to Side B that stands out from the concept record context.
What I will say is that this album is a bit of a code-breaker, because it’s using the “language” of country music to make commentary on the genre, old and new. So now, any time I have “issues” comprehending a country album, I think this will be the one I revisit to help me see what’s going on more clearly. Because of that, I anticipate that I’ll revisit this a lot in the future, and I now understand why it’s held in such high esteem. That said, while very good, it doesn’t transcend the way I wanted it to, at least not after a couple listens. Maybe more Nelson beyond this challenge will make me regret giving it a 4/5, but I also can’t say I love this fully, just like it and appreciate it.
4
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Sun May 26 2024
Deja Vu
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
I don’t know if I love this or find it extremely strange. Maybe a little bit of both? It’s not cohesive, that’s for sure, and I think that’s what’s throwing me off.
Main thing I learned is that I really, really like Stills as a guitarist, and I adore Young as a guitarist. Both of them have such a unique style (it makes sense that they were in a band together in another life) that just sounds unlike literally anything I’ve ever heard. Stills’ playing is a lot cleaner, but I think Young’s sloppiness is actually what I enjoy. Above all else, that makes this is good listen, because the guitar work is kind of cool to hear, as long as you’re into that sort of thing.
I’ll also say, I think they’re all good songwriters. Now, I have a least favorite [Nash] and a favorite [Stills], but I’m not against any of them. I think all four have highlights and lowlights here.
For me, all the lowlights are the folky, somber, acoustic tracks that seem to fill out half this record. Songs like “Teach Your Children” and “4+20” just do nothing for me. I am a bit stuck on “Our House,” as it’s got that post-Beatles domestic romanticism of romance that’s just cute and hard to resist, but then I think about it and it makes me roll me eyes, too. The other thing I don’t love are the psychedelic tracks. I don’t hate them, surprisingly, because they’re not so left-field that they ruin a song and/or drag it down, as psychedelic stylings tend to do, but they are…jarring? They just come out of nowhere. I think when they’re grounded by Young’s eccentric playing, they work a *lot* better, but on “Carry On” or “Deja Vu,” they feel unbounded and too loose for my taste. I’d also say, even though I’m still new to Young’s discography, his songs here feel, well, like lesser Neil Young songs – like, nothing standout, but nothing bad, and sometimes he does just have a knack for something gorgeous and true, like the last third of “Country Girl,” where he nearly brings me to goddamn tears.
For me, though, Deja Vu lives and dies on the strength of its pure rock cuts. “Everybody I Love You” is a great closer, “Almost Cut My Hair” has all the gravity I think CSN&Y think the rest of album has and actually makes me sympathetic for aging hippies, and then of course “Woodstock” rips. I do like other songs on this album, but I don’t love them, or I only love pieces of them before they stray into territory I disagree with. These songs, however, are incredible standouts, through and through. While the rest of the album sounds every much like Music for Retiring Hippies™️, these 3 tracks sound legitimately timeless, vital, essential.
And like, what do you do with that? How do I rate an album where I adore 3/10 songs, but then like anywhere from 30% - 50% of 4 other songs but would fast forward past the parts I don’t like on them? My general rule of thumb is if I like over half the songs on an album but less than 90%, it’s a 4/5, but like….what about half-of-a-song? (My other rule is if I would buy it on vinyl, and somehow, I already did, I’d just never played it, and I realize it came from an old yard sale dig I did when I was in my teens, and somehow I’ve kept all those albums because it was a good dig and my crates are still mostly organized by “order of purchase.”) I think when all’s said and done, once I’m more versed in all their solo work and prior bands’ output, I may need to revisit this to make a better determination, but as it stands, I can’t say I’m looking forward to that revisit. It’s just too piecemeal for me, down to parts of the song, and no album I actually enjoy would elicit that much nit-picking from me.
3
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Mon May 27 2024
Ten
Pearl Jam
If this challenge has taught me anything, apparently, I missed my grunge phase when I was 13. Obviously, as an Alternative Rock Radio Girl™️ growing up, I’ve heard these singles, but I never really paid attention to them, and I definitely have never heard Ten front-to-back. Or any Pearl Jam album, for that matter.
Right out the gate, I’m deeply impressed by the guitar work on this. It 100% doesn’t sound like what I thought it would sound like. It has a more CCR mixed with Stevie Ray Vaughn flavor to it, just cranked up to 11. But there’s also a lot of variance on display, and the dynamic range of the band is a lot more interesting than I would’ve expected (“Alive,” “Black,” “Release”). I can see why this gets the praise it does – it’s not a classic grunge album, it’s a classic rock album in the traditional sense. And while this normally isn’t my vibe, I am intrigued.
That said, I’m also not sure if I am personally sold all the way. And one of my major holdups is Eddie Vedder. I don’t live under a rock; I know his singing style is divisive, to say the least, and I know the jokes. But even knowing what his voice sounds like, I still found it instantly shocking in the context of a full-listen. Like, I’m not sure if I’d go so far as to say it straight-up doesn’t work, because I think it does create a very unique vibe, and on some songs, it does click for me. But for the most part, I just think Vedder is more a distraction to me than an asset. Every single time I’m about to be like, “This song kicks ass,” I’m interrupted by Vedder’s howls, and each time, I said, “Ew, gross,” out loud to myself. It happened on “Once,” it happened “Why Go,” it happened on “Garden.” By the end, when it was happening, I just expected Vedder to ruin it the second his vocals kicked in.
I would LOVE to hear Pearl Jam with a different vocalist. I can tell they kill live, I can tell they’re all amazing musicians and writers, and I would love to hear an instrumental version of Ten. But I need it all without Vedder’s moans.
Still, Ten is a digestible, breezy listen with a lot to offer. It comes awfully close to a 4/5, though ultimately, its classic rock aesthetics and Vedder’s vocal styling both get in the way for me personally. It may be a grower with time, but if that happens, it’ll be a result of me listening to it track-by-track on shuffle, not in a single sitting again.
3
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Mon May 27 2024
Stand!
Sly & The Family Stone
I think sometimes it’s obvious that I play bass guitar, because even though I’m not the biggest fan of ‘60s funk/soul, this shit can still get to me. I just love a groove, and Drake’s uncle can really groove.
My thing with Sly & The Family Stone is that, for every pure soul track they do, they have just as many psychedelic funk songs, and I *really* hate that sound, because I’m not a fan of psychedelic anything, and Sly Stone *always* takes it too fucking far. I get that this was an important advancement in musical history, but my modern ears can’t take it. No matter how much groove, no matter how much important socio-political messaging, no matter how much artistry, it’s just always done in a way where my ears beg, “Please talk to me once you’ve come down from your trip!!”
Unfortunately, I think Stand! leans too much of its weight on the psychedelic, and while that might make it crucial and appealing to some, it takes me out, and ruins some otherwise great soul tracks. I would much prefer this on a track-by-track basis. Overall, the parts are greater than the sum of this album, and while that sum is not bad, it’s not something I want to revisit often as a full listen. But throw the singles and “Somebody’s Watching You,” and maybe even “Whitey,” on a playlist? I’m fully endorsing the songs themselves. It’s closer to a 3.5, but still not enough to want to give this a full listen again any time soon.
3
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Tue May 28 2024
Here's Little Richard
Little Richard
It is REALLY difficult to hate this record. I don’t know if it’s just because this sound have become ingrained in popular culture as “classics everyone from toddlers to centenarians can enjoy,” or if I’ve just had to go to too many weddings in the last few years, but this is great, front-to-back.
Little Richard’s pure charisma and rock star nature shines through – in his vocal screams, in his piano playing, in his lyrics, in his vibe. This sounds like rock music, which is crazy, because most of it is closer to softer 12-bar blues made for dances and soda shops. But when Richard kicks it, he shreds, and he can burn the roof off, even by today’s standards. And while both styles fit Richard, I personally thank god that this debut is more the latter than the former.
It’s also hard to listen to Richard and not hear queerness, because everything about his sound and aesthetic feels important and influential to queer culture. Personally, this girl can’t help but feel that and admire that in Little Richard’s music. Knowing how Richard himself struggled with his identity, despite it so obviously playing a role in his impact, is truly heartbreaking, and I hope that in another lifetime, he’s resting easier and living more authentically. (And maybe not expressing himself in such creepy, sexually frustrated ways….)
I think if these songs were longer or the album itself was longer, I’d complain about the limited range of style, but at 28 minutes, this is a bop all the way through. Sure, it’s still ’50s rock music – you aren’t going to think this is one of the greatest albums ever made unless you’re a sucker for this era writ large – but given its age, it’s incredible how well it holds up, even now. Like Buddy Holly, this is more deserving of praise and should still be played loud as hell.
4
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Wed May 29 2024
Back To Black
Amy Winehouse
One of the greatest albums ever made. I’m not normally one for pastiche, but there’s something forward-thinking about Amy Winehouse’s (and Mark Ronson’s) interpretation of retro soul that’s crasser, more biting, and more honest. It’s not reverent, it’s referential.
While I personally don’t return to the ballads like “Love Is A Losing Game” and “Wake Up Alone” as much as I do the upbeat kiss-offs of “Me & Mr. Jones” or “Tears Dry On Their Own,” there is absolutely no flaw on this album, especially on a full listen. Timeless in all the right ways, with a little something for everyone, for every mood and every occasion.
5
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Thu May 30 2024
Tres Hombres
ZZ Top
The guys who own that hair salon for men downtown sure make up a really good bar band. Anyway, yeah, let’s down another round of Coors for the table, and grab some more of those complementary peanuts while you’re up!
2
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Fri May 31 2024
Car Wheels On A Gravel Road
Lucinda Williams
To say I’m blown away is an understatement. This is everything I want in a record — female songwriter with lyrical poems about being a townie over shredding guitar. I’m far from a country girl, but Lucinda Williams embodies that punk ethos that country originally stood for in a way that really speaks to me. It still has the twang and topical focus of country, but it does so in a way that transcends genre cliches. Honestly, it’s a great entry point into country, and I’m shocked I didn’t come to it sooner.
There isn’t a bad song on this album, and to my own surprise, it is quickly becoming a newfound favorite.
5
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Sat Jun 01 2024
Aja
Steely Dan
A lot of times with music, you have to fight the urge to gaslight yourself into liking an album. You know, the classic, “All the reviews say it’s an 11/10, and all my friends adore it, so I must be missing something.”
With Aja, I’m doing the exact opposite — fighting the urge to gaslight myself into hating it. It feels…pretentious to like Steely Dan, and praising Aja suggests that I have deep-seated, TED talk level thoughts on things like ✨sound design✨ and ✨audio headspace✨. To like Aja suggests you like it not as a pop record, but as a a subversion of pop, something much more complex. It’s not the hook or the groove, it’s the 7/9 Lydian shuffle that blah blah blah. Liking Aja is coded language for a more sinister type of music nerd, one that I try very hard not to be.
But the truth is that I like Aja because I think it’s just catchy as fuck. Sure, the songs are long and it gets pretty damn jazzy, but it’s also infectious. Even a fill can be a hook, and I find that appealing and constantly engaging. Sure, it’s also complex and dense and you can dive into that if you want, or you can just sit back and enjoy the occasional Michael McDonald harmony and novelistic lyrics and vibe out!
5
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Sun Jun 02 2024
With The Beatles
Beatles
Early-era Beatles records really confuse me. The singles from that time are some of the greatest songs ever written in my opinion — even better than their late-era material — but almost none of those songs are ever on an album proper. And listen, I know enough about music history to know why that is the case, but as a result, I leave every pre-Rubber Soul album just wishing I could listen to The Red Album 1962-1966 compilation, which deserves a spot on this list way more than almost any “official” Beatles album. Certainly over With The Beatles.
I just cannot stand behind an album that is mostly comprised of cover songs, all of which are worse than their original counterparts. And like, it’s not like these covers are by obscure artist — listen to Chuck Berry, listen to Smoky Robinson, listen to the Marvelettes even!!
Don’t get me wrong, though, the original material that does end up on With the Beatles is pretty good. It’s juvenilia, but it’s pretty strong for 4 boys still learning how to be songwriters. Stronger than Hard Day’s Night in my opinion, although a lot more spotty than the non-album singles. It’s mostly growing pains, but it’s less transitional than it feels on the next couple records. I’d still argue With the Beatles is really only worth it for the opener, “All My Loving,” and “Don’t Bother Me.” After that, the boys are still too teeny bopper to maintain my interest, especially on Side B.
It’s not the worst Beatles album, but it’s not painting them in a good light, either, and remains absolutely unessential.
2
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Mon Jun 03 2024
Truth And Soul
Fishbone
I admire what these guys are trying to do. Like, a lot. The genre-bending. The socio-political lyrics. Their technique and musical prowess. Their general vibe as a band.
Sometimes, it works. A lot. Especially when they play it a bit more straight. It almost doesn’t matter what “genre” they’re playing straight, as long as it’s a single genre. And they can play across styles. “Question of Life” and “Pouring Rain” have ska and more trad reggae sounds, “Deep Inside” is more punk, and “One Day” really knocks it out of the park with its funk metal. But even if the songs are sprawling and the lyrics cover big themes, these tracks feel tight and contained.
But there’s also a lot of boundary pushing that’s way less successful. “Mighty Long Way” is too much of a blues piss-take, and I can feel that insincerity; meanwhile, “Change” is too soft to feel like it even belongs here. Then there’s the hit-you-over-the-head obviousness of a song like “Subliminal Fascism” that feels dated as hell, whereas the funk metal-ification of “Freddie’s Dead” and the point of opening with a funk cover, falls flat without its context.
Even as a punk kid, I was never sold on ska, even at its most punk, but I could still appreciate the scene, the sound, and the vibe. The vision of ska is something I could always stand behind, it’s just the chaotic sound that turned me off. And that’s basically how I feel about Fishbone. Just because I like the ideas on Truth and Soul doesn’t mean I like it in practice, though sometimes it does come close. All this said, I’m sure a Fishbone show would be a blast.
3
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Tue Jun 04 2024
To Pimp A Butterfly
Kendrick Lamar
When To Pimp a Butterfly first came out, I was firmly in the camp of “It is technically flawless, but it has very little replay value because there’s no song on here that I would play outside the context of the album.” I liked it, but I revisited GKMC way more.
Time has proven that critique wrong. If GKMC was a standout designer perfume like YSL Libre that could be enjoyed by anyone regardless if they’ve developed a nose not, TPAB is a popular niche house that pulls from different influences and incorporates it into something unique, like D.S. & Durga’s Debaser. You can still appreciate TPAB without a nose, and walk in blind, but a developed nose will get more out of it, and the longer you let it macerate, the better it smells.
I think songs like “King Kunta” and “Alright” have transcended culture, and their impact has made them more timeless than they felt upon release. Meanwhile, songs that were initially panned by fans like “i” or “u” or “These Walls” for being a bit stranger make a lot more sense in retrospect when reflecting on Kendrick’s career and hip-hop’s aesthetics today. Some of the deeper cuts that used contemporary synths that I thought would age poorly (“Mortal Man,” “Hood Politics,” “Institutionalized,” “How Much a Dollar Cost”) all won me over this time because of their strong songwriting. And then there’s still bangers throughout, like “Wesley’s Theory” and “You Ain’t Gotta Lie,” and most obviously “The Blacker the Berry.”
TPAB has also benefited from its own creative incubation. As people like Kamasi Washington, James Fauntleroy, and Thundercat have grown in popularity, the sounds being explored on TPAB are a lot more digestible than I thought they were initially. And I would say the same for a lot of the more overt lyrical topics, especially on “How Much a Dollar Cost” and “Complexion,” where that blunt writing style is a bit less jarring today.
If you asked, I would still say I prefer GKMC over TPAB. But I think it’s just a taste thing, and GKMC fits more neatly into what I traditionally listen to in my day to day life. That said, TPAB has a lot of replayability, and is arguably the more masterfully crafted record. To say it’s not a classic would be an insane statement, and it is neck-and-neck with GKMC. Both records are incredible, and easily some of the greatest offerings in hip-hop history, and even in music history in general.
5
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Wed Jun 05 2024
Microshift
Hookworms
I walked into this album assuming I’d hate it based on the description. Modern psychedelic indie rock is very much not my jam, traditionally. But, strangely, synthy space age indie rock very much is my jam!
It has a handful of casual hiccups, don’t get me wrong. It can sometimes be a bit too sparse, like “The Soft Season” or “Each Time We Pass” And sometimes it doesn’t tie up neatly enough, like “Boxing Day.” Overall, Side B is a much weaker offering than Side A, as that side has a lot more stop-start energy, but I think to say o prefer one over the other is also splitting hairs when overall, I liked it all.
It’s a stronger listen front-to-back than it is with each track heard on their own, sure, but this isn’t an album I’d normally listen to track-by-track. It works as a single-sitting flowstate album, which fits with its vision and themes. I don’t know if it’s the most essential album of the last 10 years, but I’m really glad this challenge brought it to my attention. It’s a very solid modern take on this sound, and I think it’ll age like fine wine over the next decade.
4
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Thu Jun 06 2024
Floodland
Sisters Of Mercy
The sound of pleather, a strobe light, and clove cigarettes.
Through I was never a goth, I think emo girls have an inherent affinity towards goth music. This is no exception. It’s got a little bit of everything: pounding rhythmic songs for the goth club, brooding dark songs to soundtrack your depression, gospel choirs, out-dated synths, and all the gated drums your heart could ever desire. It even has melodramatic/tragic piano ballads sung in a way where you can’t tell if he’s got cotton mouth, is having a stroke, or has the acting chops of Tommy Wiseau. Songs go on for 10 minutes but engulf you so deeply that space and time stop existing and you just become one with the darkness.
In a word, it is a stunning work of high beauty.
The fact that I like this as much as I do probably tells you all you need to know about my taste (it’s highly subjective and stupid, to say the least, but at least I’m self aware), but god I love this album. I love this more than some of albums we’re all “supposed” to love on this list. If I’m being real, I’ll revisit this a million times before I touch some high-minded double album or some artsy prog band, even the ones I already adore! This is just so up my alley, taps into the exact vibe I want to shroud myself in, and speaks to my soul in the way only dumb, dark, edgy music like this can.
God bless the goths 🖤🖤🖤
5
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Fri Jun 07 2024
Dig Your Own Hole
The Chemical Brothers
Truly, I’m just a girl who loves to dance. I’m especially a sucker for this era of electronic music, with those 303 buzzes and chaotic breakbeats. This style of music just scratches a spot in my brain. It’s the type of shit that would make me lose my shit in the club, but it’s also cerebral, and I have no problem listening to it sober during my 9-to-5.
To me, Dig Your Own Hole is a perfectly balanced electronic album – it’s equal parts club and home-producer; equal parts rolling and trip-sitting. Sometimes I think it blends together so much that it feels less like an album and more like a DJ mix, which is fair, but feels less tight as a result. And I will say, The Chemical Brothers build songs in a much slower, less efficient way than their contemporaries, so you can sometimes get lost where you ✨are ✨ in the song. But I think these are minor critiques. When they want to get a room moving, they get that room moving; when they want to make that same room think, they really make everyone sit down and meditate on their lives.
I’m not saying it’s better than Homework or even Remedy, but Dig Your Own Hole comes close, and is only a half-step down on the tier list of great 90s electronic albums. Huge fan, will be playing it loud forever now.
5
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Sat Jun 08 2024
Highway to Hell
AC/DC
If you think every AC/DC song sounds the same, you’re not actively listening to AC/DC. Sure, there’s a blues-based branding to their vision for hard rock. Though potentially adolescent, Highway to Hell shows sonic diversity and a real knack for a chorus. You can’t tell me that the title track and “Touch Too Much” sound the same or that those hooks aren’t independently recognizable. Especially on its back half, with songs like “Love Hungry Man” and “Night Prowler,” there is room for a different presentation. On top of this, the playing is so cool; AC/DC isn’t a “flash” band, but a “flourish” band, and you can hear those flourishes all throughout this record.
And look, I would never say that AC/DC are a flawless band. Sometimes they get too bluesy for me, like “Beating Around the Bush,” or even speed past the song before it can have time to breathe, like “Get It Hot.” But I would almost always defend AC/DC. I could see an argument that they are a singles band (because a Greatest Hits puts their talents right at the forefront), but I’d be damned if you tried to argue that almost every AC/DC album from High Voltage through For Those About to Rock isn’t a solid, true blue, 8/10 across the board, at the very least. And maybe that’s because I support whatever AC/DC is selling, and I stand by their whole vibe, but these are just great hard rock albums. Especially with Bon Scott, whose charisma carries his performance, and is only enhanced by the impeccable recording on this particular album
Just because it’s a cheeseburger doesn’t mean that every cheeseburger isn’t unique, y’know? And Highway to Hell is a damn good cheeseburger, motherfucker!
4
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Sun Jun 09 2024
The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
This album alone earned Dylan a Nobel Prize in Literature.
It helps that I'm a sucker for '60s folk, but the way Dylan plays is also so unique, unlike anything else from the era. His lyrics are truly timeless poetry, covering everything from protest to philosophy to young love lost, found, and lost again. Sometimes he’s serious, sometimes he’s taking the piss, but either way, his pen is strong, and the fact that it’s backed by great acoustic playing makes it even more compelling.
And I’ll be brave and say it: the way he plays a harmonica makes me think it’s actually a beautiful instrument!! Like, the end of “Girl from the North Country”?! “Bob Dylan’s Blues”?! “I Shall Be Free”?!?!
I think I prefer other folk artists from this era overall, but to me, Freewheelin’ is the peak of that sound. It’s a timeless sentiment with timeless songs, and while I think there’s maybe a couple Dylan albums that come close (and a lot that stray very far from this album’s vision, to their detriment), he’s never done anything as important as this record. It’d be my pick on a Top 100 Albums To Hear Before You Die list, that’s how essential this to pop culture.
5
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Mon Jun 10 2024
Vulnicura
Björk
Björk is a complicated artist for me. In theory, she’s my favorite artist ever – quirky, experimental, playing with sounds and genres and aesthetics that I typically adore. In practice, though, she’s more a 50/50 coin-flip artist. Sometimes, she makes the greatest music I’ve ever heard. On other albums, I can’t fathom how anyone could like her music, and those albums are usually the ones that are sparse, expansive, less electronica, and more orchestral. It’s not always the case (for example, I love Utopia), but, like, my favorite Björk album is Homogenic. I like one half of her vibe, and check out for the other half. Unfortunately for me, those sparse orchestral albums are always the ones that receive the most critical praise, the most fanfare (which makes it hard to critique these albums), and, apparently, are the exact Björk albums that make it onto lists like this.
So, all this said, I walked into my re-listen of Vulnicura a bit pessimistic, to say the least. And I’m happy to say, this revisit was very necessary, and I’m walking away pleasantly surprised!
First of all, Arca does her goddamn ✨thing✨ on here, especially on the back-half. Without her very specific brand of IDM/deconstructed club, I would find Vulnicura a bit less sonically interesting. And those Arca flourishes are all throughout this album – sparsely, for sure, but palpable enough to make this feel like a true collaboration. It is missing Arca’s distinct Latin je ne sais quoi, but I get why it’s stripped away on this record. This album’s other strength is Björk’s lyrics. Normally, I’m not a fan of her dense abstraction, but here, it’s pretty clear what the themes are, what the emotions are, and what I’m supposed to feel. This is an album about feminine transformation post-love lost, and trying to determine what a life alone looks like when you’re a grown women who just yesterday had a nuclear family and stability and, well, normalcy. (I also think these themes are especially interesting in the context of collaborating prominently with two transfemme artists on this record. Obviously, I’m not saying that was a calculated decision, or that they were only called because of that, or that this album is exclusively built off those collaborations, but it makes a lot of natural sense and is interesting from to consider. And it’s something I want to think about because 🏳️⚧️) And then of course, there’s the general goodness about Björk – her vocal tone, her vocal range, her general aesthetic, and the general vibe, which is not always the vibe you may want to live within, but it’s certainly something to dive deep into when you do want it.
All this praise doesn’t come without some critique, though. Again, historically, this is the side of Björk that I usually hate, and it’s largely because I find orchestral arrangements to be boring. Call me a pleb, but I’m no classical gal, that’s for damn sure. And this album is very much tapping into that classical aesthetic. And sure, it’s trying to experiment within that sound, which is cool. But Vulnicura is an electronica-forward orchestral album, not an orchestral-forward electronica album, and that makes all the difference. It’s not even like Medúlla, where the experiment with tradition is the point and punches you in the face when you hear it; I just feel like Vulnicura is too light with its distortion, too playful with its experiments, especially for its subject matter. That also makes it easy for critical adoration, and I think my cynical skepticism is holding me back a bit, here, truthfully. I’m not saying I dislike it, but I do need to be in a very specific frame of mind to appreciate it – one I’m rarely ever in. Because otherwise, I find this record boring, like “History of Touches” or the first half of “Family.” Even “Stonemilker” was a bit of a take-it-or-leave-it, at least until the hook got stuck in my head. I really had to play this back a few times to see if I was missing something on the more somber tracks. Sometimes I was, but other times, I think I just am not the target audience for the general sound of this album. There are moments where playing it straight still works thanks to strong songwriting, say on the closer “Quicksand,” but most of Vulnicura’s strengths is in its flourishes.
Fortunately, most of the album is strange enough and therefore engaging enough to win me over. On a worse day, I’d rate it a little lower. Not because it’s bad or poorly made – I’m not deaf – but because I just find orchestral sounds underwhelming. I need a thrill, and knowing Björk can thrill, I have a hard time accepting when she actively chooses not to. I now understand why I was against this record when it first came out – I didn’t give it enough time to breathe, and Vulnicura needs that time. Now I get it, and I know that, in the right context, this album really is worth it.
Would I prefer a solo Arca album on this list and/or a different Björk? Absolutely, no question in my mind. But without those alternative options, I’m happy to stand by Vulnicura as a very good example of late mid-career Björk, and why she matters so much to alternative music, pop music, and electronic music. It’s not a peak – and maybe not even an essential listen before you die – but if you’re on board with her discography, it’s a crucial turning point and worth the listen.
4
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Tue Jun 11 2024
The Atomic Mr Basie
Count Basie & His Orchestra
Is The Atomic Mr. Basie a good jazz record? Sure! It’s extremely traditional, especially in retrospect, but not as traditional as you’d expect. When you hear the term “big band,” your mind conjures up a very specific sound, and I would say the majority of this album is not playing within the parameters of that sound. A lot of it is a lot more low-key, melodic, lounge-esque, even. I think you either like that aesthetic in jazz or you don’t, and I typically don’t, but I still see its value. There are some bop elements to keep the attention of modern ears, though, especially in how the horns are played. Actually, I think it’s that piece that earned this album a spot in the book in the first place. And Basie’s piano playing is pretty engaging, if you like that kind of thing, but that’s not unique to this record.
But is this an essential jazz album, especially from this era? Honestly, no. Jazz is a hard genre to get into because it lacks a clear hook 90% of the time, but there are a 1,000,001 memorable jazz songs, and albums filled with jazz cuts that get stuck in your head for day. Basie has some examples himself! But unfortunately, while The Atomic is good and seems to be a noteworthy example of jazz while it was transitioning sounds, this album contains zero stand-out, flat-out, stuck-in-your-head-for-days jazz cuts. Even at its best. That isn’t to say it’s bad, because it isn’t, but it never really shines, either. Which is fine if you’re just bouncing around listening to jazz albums you pulled out of the bin, but that is far from a standing ovation or strong recommendation.
If some of these songs – especially cuts on Side B – came on my Spotify shuffle, I wouldn’t hit skip (especially if I’m in the mood for jazz, which is why they’d be on my shuffle list in the first place). But I doubt that I will ever revisit this album in full ever again after today. Maybe another Basie would have been a smarter choice.
3
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Wed Jun 12 2024
Southern Rock Opera
Drive-By Truckers
This is the kind of country album that would be mentioned in a pre-9/11 indie film, championed by the leading man (played by Ethan Hawke or Matt Dillon) while he’s driving, yapping about the poetic depth of the lyrics to the Manic Pixie Dream Girl (played by Heather Graham), who’s dressed like Stevie Nicks, not paying attention to a word he said, using the glove box to paint her toenails, and the scene is meant to add to the general theme of the film that Gen X’s apathy to American patriotism contradicts the fact that they are a generation emblematic of America itself. And I, in turn, would’ve seen this movie and ran out to buy this album, loving it before I even pressed play, and loving more as I actually listened to it.
For a Northern chick, maybe I’m more of a country gal than I thought, and I’m totally okay with this newfound revelation!
4
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Thu Jun 13 2024
Music Has The Right To Children
Boards of Canada
The idea of this album intrigues me a lot, especially as a general fan of electronic music. In practice, though, I’m quite literally not high enough to enjoy it.
If I’m going to be forced to listen to IDM, I’d prefer Burial, Aphex Twin, or Autechre — people who don’t become germophobes the second they’re around an actual beat. And while Music Has the Right to Children does have a few fleeting moments where Boards of Canada back into an actual groove, it’s never fully developed. I also just don’t care for Lo-Fi Beats to Chill and Study To, no matter how cool it may be that they’re using a bunch of vintage synths and tape machines. Influential as it may be, this is really not my vibe.
2
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Fri Jun 14 2024
Sweetheart Of The Rodeo
The Byrds
I don’t hear any rock, but god do I hear country…
So traditional that it’s hard to see what makes it original, although there’s just enough tolerable cuts to not make me want to turn it off. But even though I don’t hate it, I can’t understand why this receives any amount of praise for what sounds like a cover album played very straight. The best part of this is when it’s actually just a Byrds album; the originals, especially “One Hundred Years From Now,” are what I think people are remembering, and that colors their memory of Sweetheart of the Rodeo overall as some Byrds Go Country But Stay the Byrds record, when really there’s almost none of the later. Actually, even when it does sound like the Byrds, it’s still pretty bad. Or at least boring, if not offensive.
I lied, apparently. I’m not a Country girl. RIP to me 😔
2
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Sat Jun 15 2024
Bat Out Of Hell
Meat Loaf
Theatre kid music (mildly complimentary)
3
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Mon Jun 17 2024
Since I Left You
The Avalanches
A no-skips sonic journey that reminds you that a party is only possible with other people.
5