1001 Albums Summary

When I was a teenager a person I didn’t like very much told me to listen to the The Undertones, because “I would definitely be a fan”. Needless to say, at the time I lied and said I’d listened to the band and didn’t think much of them, and proceeded to never play a track by them for 15 years. I honestly thought they were a Ska band. Now I wish I had listened, 15 year old me would of loved this. I’m wavering between 3* and 4*. There isn’t a single track I dislike, but they do blend into one at times. The latter half of the album from Tearproof to What’s with Terry had more individually identifiable songs and is what I enjoyed the most. I’ll definitely revisit, but at 45 minutes it’s long for a punk album.

Prior to listening to this album I had convinced myself I wasn’t a R.E.M. fan. I decided they were boring but to be honest I had not ever given them a fair chance. Well now I’ve listened and boy was I right to make assumptions. Man on the Moon is interminable. Nightswimming just goes on and on. Sweetness Follows has absolutely inane lyrics despite the weight of the topic. I think my big issue is the lyrics. They are just very mundane. I can enjoy a long meandering alt rock song, LCD sound system do a fantastic job for example. But this was so boring it took three days to get through. Giving it two stars though because, as mentioned, I am trying to give it a fair assessment, and I did quite enjoy the first two tracks, Drive and Try Not to Breathe.

I hated this less than I hate Automatic for the People. Two tracks stood out but the rest was so boring that I kept having to stop and start again. So now my Spotify thinks I love REM… and I really don’t. Finest Worksong is especially hateful.

WELL YOU’RE IN YOUR LITTLE ROOM

30 seconds in I had completely fallen in love with Supervixen. My first time listening to Garbage and I really loved it. I also have Dinosaur Jrs first album 4*, and I think this one is better. There is more variety and experiment with the music. However I’m still not sure it quite hits 5*

Really enjoyable album which I would likely have never come across if not for this project. I will definitely have to listen to it a couple of more times. It slows down towards the end which isn’t a bad thing, but it just meant I ran out of steam while listening to because I personally was not in the right headspace. There is a lot of powerful emotion in the music and lyrics, I would love to see a translation. The earlier tracks will definitely go into my daily commute playlist though.

UGH… SAID THE MAN TO THE LADY UGH… SAID THE LADY TO THE MAN 5* for that bit alone to be honest

Very enjoyable, and I can see why the Onion article has resonated with so many. However it’s just not the genre for me, and I found it a bit repetitive.

It’s the song from the sad bit of every American tv show. I’m being uncharitable. It’s a very good album. Very listenable. But I couldn’t escape the above thought. Wish I’d listened to this first before Mumford & Sons, I probably would have really enjoyed it as a teenager. I can understand why people love it. But no review is objective. So 3* entirely because of my own hang ups