Surfer Rosa
PixiesAlready knew and love this album, it’s 5 stars easy, if anything the only downside is Doolittle the following album surpasses this one
Already knew and love this album, it’s 5 stars easy, if anything the only downside is Doolittle the following album surpasses this one
I'm pretty sure I've listened to a song or two from them before and liked them and got upset because this is such a lame band name and album cover. I realize that is a massively dumb reason to not be into a band but here it is. Can an album be described as so bad it’s good. Because this album is HILARIOUS. Why’s the singer sound like that? It’s too bad to be considered good, but way too annoying to be considered interesting. The lyrics are just abysmal, when “you want some cheese with all that whine” is a hook treated with genuine sincerity you know you’re in for a trash fire. And then the instruments are so loud and dumb, and some of the riffs are so annoying. There are occasional glimpses of SOMETHING interesting, but god it’s so dumb. I love this album it’s so funny. 1/5
Opens with a classic Do it Again, good vibes all around, really dense instrumentation, percussion especially. Killer solo before that iconic keyboard riff in the bridge. Dirty Work, Jazzy instrumental, vocals are 70s as hell, and then I realize I know it! Harmonies are unbelievably good Kings, oof, this is some serious 70s cheese, there’s still some real wonders going on with the instruments, but this is a stinker. Midnite Cruiser Vibe with this one a lot more, good chorus Only A Fool Would Say That Solid Reelin’ In the Years Honestly perfect, just crisp and fun and catchy, if this was their only song they’d be iconic Fire in the Hole Kind of a bop, doesn’t do much but manages to be fun Brooklyn Love it, kind of a classic feeling singer-songwriter joint Change of the Guard Forgettable, by no means bad but nothing really stood out Turn that Heartbeat Over Again Oof, a real wet fart of an ending, feels like any other song from the time. Bad closer. The singles I know are the singles for a reason, and I do really like the overall vibe and experimentation in this record. A bit confused as to how it became SUCH a popular record and band in recent years. Good bit by no means earth shattering, 4/5
Excited for this one! One of those bands I’ve always wanted to give a listen but never have for whatever reason. I know they’re seminal in the indie genre and really want to see what I’m missing. Oh. This sure sounds like…a foundational indie album from 2007…but without any real oomph. And some really bad cliches. I’m struck by how much the mirror mirror lyric feels. Bad. It reminds me of Muse. Which is bad. Are these guys Quebecois? Yes, okay the lyrics MIGHT be more forgivable. But just, flavor, and there never seems to be much of a payoff in these songs. The biggest issue is comparing this to what came before and what came after from other acts in the genre this is just so soulless, nothing is BAD, but nothing stands out either. So many songs on this album end triumphantly, but come up feeling flaccid. I’m probably gonna lay most of the blame on the singer whose voice lacks the power to match the strings surrounding him. And generally the lyrics are just, bland nothing, I love the mainstream reviews that say this is a statement on the Bush era, and it sure is, it says and accomplishes nothing like so many passionless and meaningless protests that ruled the era. Its a 2.5 really
Excited! Only know Song 2 before listening and have heard only good things about this one. Track 3 is the most Beck influenced song I’ve ever heard, it’s not a bad impersonation honestly. So far all the songs are super tight, no complaints honestly, I can imagine though how fans of their early stuff might have been turned off by this shift. Really liking this! Not at all groundbreaking, but just a solid record for the time, the few stand out tracks are fun. I think that’s the thing holding it back from being a classic, there are some great moments on here but other than the bombastic Song 2, I don’t think any song has the staying power. None of them are bad! They just don’t stand out. I think this is a very strong 4/5, damn close to 5, but just missing an extra something, the end kinda limps along and definitely sours the whole.
Already knew and love this album, it’s 5 stars easy, if anything the only downside is Doolittle the following album surpasses this one
Know nothing about this other than I think I’ve heard the band name before. I want to like this, and it’s not BAD just…boring. I could see this being okay driving around at night, or playing in the background of a Borders books circa 2002, but I don’t think I’d ever actively search this one out. 2/5
I only know ZZ Top from their many singles and have always considered them a good greatest hits band, so exploring their actual albums will definitely be interesting. Is it an artistic statement? No. Is it fun and catchy as hell, yes. All the people on here who are on here clutching the pearls that this isn’t some brainy art rock piece are honestly so lame, this is so fun and cool. And I like a lot of that brainy art rock. Sometimes you want a really good steak, sometimes you want a shitty $5 pizza. This is that pizza, and it hits the spot perfectly, I love it. 4/5
Definitely know Stevie Wonder’s singles but not much beyond that. The first song is so bad, has 1972 cheese stink all over it, thankfully the funk comes in after and is much more fun. These lyrics…are very hokey. Like You and I is so saccharine, it really feels like it could have been a Sonny and Cher joint. Really it’s an album with two sides, on one is the embarrassingly sweet lyrics paired with undeniably incredible synth and instrumental work. There’s a reason Superstition is the song everyone knows off of this, because it isn’t a love song. There are a couple other highlights, I actually really like Blame it on the Sun, which is also not a love song. I think that’s the key. I know I like later Stevie more so I’m looking forward to these. He’s only 22 on this album! 2/5
This will be my first encounter with the Boss during this project. I love his classic albums but haven’t ever really listened to anything beyond Born in the USA, along with one or two songs he released after. Curious if this will be the understated Boss on Nebraska and Streets of Philadelphia, feels like that should be appropriate for an aging rocker. I think my experience of this album can best be summed up by my experience with the song World’s Apart. It starts with an electronic drum and an Indian/Middle Eastern vibe that had me thinking oh God is Bruce about to do some trance music is he trend chasing is this going to have a weird message that’s aged poorly. And then the song kicks off and it’s incredible, I loved it, the production is excellent, the instrumentation is great, and the whole time I’m mad because of how much I like this album. So unbelievably I’m giving this 5/5. Do I think it deserves to be on this list? Maybe not, but I do really like this.
I'm pretty sure I've listened to a song or two from them before and liked them and got upset because this is such a lame band name and album cover. I realize that is a massively dumb reason to not be into a band but here it is. Can an album be described as so bad it’s good. Because this album is HILARIOUS. Why’s the singer sound like that? It’s too bad to be considered good, but way too annoying to be considered interesting. The lyrics are just abysmal, when “you want some cheese with all that whine” is a hook treated with genuine sincerity you know you’re in for a trash fire. And then the instruments are so loud and dumb, and some of the riffs are so annoying. There are occasional glimpses of SOMETHING interesting, but god it’s so dumb. I love this album it’s so funny. 1/5
What am I supposed to do with this lol, needless to say I’ve never listened to this and have zero expectations other than bongos. You ever listen to the People’s Court theme in full? That has a killer bongo part to it. I uh. I got nothing but to listen to this. It’s 1970s funk with bongos. I don’t know what else to say. It is cool hearing sample origins! I dunno. The best parts were guitars and synthesizers. Didn’t really get the full excitement from the bongos. It’s not really bad. 2.5/5
First date with jazz here, it’s a genre I have no idea how to review, I just think stuff either sounds good or bad. But this is definitely on the good side. Love the bassist, love the atmosphere, love that you can hear people and clinking glasses. God not to sound like I’m sniffing my own farts but there is something so romantic about hearing the people milling around, they really are this extra piece of improvisation. You can almost imagine the music is soundtracking their lives and it’s hard not to imagine what the audience members are doing with this soundtracking it. I think my only complaint, and it’s entirely personal preference, is I think I like quartets and quintets more, I like my jazz with brass or woodwinds. BUT that’s very much not the vibe here. But it's also boring...
I have a train ride today and this album is 2 hours long so. You know. Should be an experience. Not a GOOD experience. But an experience. I suspect this will be exhausting, not necessarily BAD but not ya know, enjoyable. Lemmy is on this album which is cool. The bass is actually pretty good so I like knowing that. But boy oh boy is this. Fine. I feel like if I was stoned out of my mind and I saw this live in 1973 I’d say this was incredible but uh. It’s a rock album. Nothing profound is gonna be said on this one. Hey whatever happened to the Shakespearean poetry readings about stuff happening in space, the dude is comparing a really hot planet to people in cryosleep. We don’t do stuff like that anymore. Has space lost some of its luster in the years? Like this was 4 years after the moon landing so there’s still SOME romance with space. That said the poem wasn’t good. But I mean. It was a fun little thing regardless
This is definitely better than a lot of the reviews, but more from the, I like the concept and the story more than musically this is interesting and complex. I only knew the song Fit and You Know It from this. That’s the best track by leaps and bounds because it has a good chorus. This is basically spoken word, and it never evolves or really gets going. I wonder what this would be like with someone talented rapping it.
I knew all the singles on this, and that’s pretty much all I needed. It lacks the edge to be considered really great, I tend to agree with most hardcore Metallica fans that their earlier stuff is better, this does feel like an attempt to please everyone, and it worked as more people probably know Enter Sandman than most songs you’ll come across on this list. It’s overall fine, nothing terrible and a few real standouts but nothing beyond that.
I love Live Vigilantes, I just wish the rest of the album was that good. I tend to like my new wave fun and energetic, more Duran Duran, I have a lot of trouble taking the dour desperate lyrics seriously when a goofy synthesizer making it sound like Miami Vice. This is definitely a flaw of growing up when the 80s were glorified and parodied to death. Nothing here is bad but nothing captures me beyond the first track. Theres a couple of bright spots, I like when a bunch of frogs start croaking, that’s fun. But honestly it’s a forgettable ride 3/5
I only ever had a greatest hits for the Talking Heads, so I don't know what a full album experience will be like. Honestly I was intimated and wasn't sure when and where to start. But very excited for this. This rules, plain and simple.
God what a voice, how can you not love her. Honestly the only flaw of this album is it feels kinda slapped together, which it is, but who cares when the songs are this good.
That first song must have hit like a bomb when it first came out huh, like I can’t imagine what it sounded like to people at the time. Also the organ? It’s what takes this album from good to awesome. I know it’s popular to hate on Jimmy, but like, c’mon. I can’t believe there’s a Brecht cover in here. This album does have one glaring flaw which plagues a lot of albums of the time called, fuck it let’s keep riffing for 7 minutes, it gets tired after a while, and so 4/5, but a really good 4/5
Has this aged really poorly? Because I was going into this thinking I liked Bad the single and I’m coming away from it thinking it just sounds cheesy and…blegh. Like my actual reaction is a strong negative. OH NO IS THIS ALBUM REALLY BAD! Earlier this week I pulled Purple Rain, an album that is older but holds up so much better. The instrumentation on this album feel like something that would play at the zoo while the singers are telling me about giraffes or something. The hee hees and shamons are filling me with disdain. I legitimately think I hate this. SPEED DEEEMON. This is embarrassing. I know that pop music isn’t supposed to necessarily be a lyrical showcase but damn, “you changed my world, just like in the movies” what movie Michael. How did this happen? Please explain. The synth on Just Good Friends kinda sounds like a Sega Genesis which is cool as fuck. The song kinda sucks, but that was fun for a second. This is the worst album I’ve listened to on this so far and I’m baffled by that, I legitimately think I like Thriller. But this is just awful. Man in the Mirror is catchy but is also so corny and lame. Smooth Criminal is so fucking good, why is it on this piece of shit album. Michael, I will leave you alone. 1/5, king of pop my ass.
This started out so good and then kinda fell off and became such a standard moody 80s album. Good but not great.
Ho boy…don’t really know how to handle this. I’ve given it a shot before but didn’t like it but that was years ago. This is truly an example of a work of art I can appreciate and fully understand why others love and appreciate, but my god is it not for me. I just can’t get past the vocals and the noise and the lack of anything that sticks. I listened to the whole album and I don’t know if I could point you to a song or moment that stood out and stuck with me. I WANT to like this but I just don’t.
Oh good. Grime. Ehhhh. I think this being a British list really is a drain. I can assure you I didn’t need to listen to this before I die. Why’s he keep calling people pagans? To genius! It didn’t tell me. I’m sorry. Hey, this sucks! This is my second British hip hop album in 23 albums. That’s fucking awful. Hey do you want a better hip hop album from 2016? Danny Brown’s Atrocity Exhibition! Now that’s an album I’m glad I heard before I died. And it’s almost certainly more influential than what ever the fuck this was. The end of corn on the curb is the most embarrassing thing I’ve heard so far! Ay what was that Call of Duty lobby interaction. It Ain’t Safe kinda slaps tbf. And he gave a shout out to the Based God Lil B? Ok this might actually save this.
This is a perfectly acceptable album. The only bad song is the fucking blues song. Theres nothing worse than 1960s UK bands thinking they can do blues. They all did it and all of them are embarrassing. Other than that this is very clearly a good band trying to figure out their sound.
This rules. Some of the songs in the later half kinda blended together, but overall what a classic
Good album, the beats are awesome.
Oh god, low expectations on this one. This is fine. It’s actually a lot closer to great.