Oct 16 2024
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Violator
Depeche Mode
Hadn't listened to this album in its entirety and while the hits are hits for a reason and still hold up as true classics, I thought the album was a little slow at times. I still think "I just cant get enough" doesn't fit on this album - the mood is light and fun and the rest of the album is dark and moody. I did really like The Blue Dress and would add that one to a b-side playlist.
3
Oct 17 2024
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Vol. 4
Black Sabbath
Really liked Changes (hadnt heard that before) and the rest of the album seemed pretty much like Black Sabbath -- killer guitar solos and wailing vocals from Ozzy. Good album
3
Oct 18 2024
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Thriller
Michael Jackson
You wanna be starting something? Yes. Maybe it’s a dance party. Maybe it’s getting late after a cordial backyard bbq where most people have gone home to put their little ones to sleep. Maybe yours is asleep. But you — you’re far from asleep. Maybe you’re ready to start something….anything. and because you’re a good neighbor you corral the 10 stragglers left who also want to start something and don’t care about their little ones getting enough sleep into the garage where the music can be turned up without waking a baby or a neighbor. And maybe you drop the needle on side one of Thriller and hear that fucking beat and look around to see the hips start to shake. You shove strollers and wrenches and baseballs out of the way to make space on the dusty cement floor of the garage so web developers and writers and project managers can move freely. A whiskey bottle appears, more champagne, a beer bottle explodes on the floor but you just laugh. You hear Michael talking about babies “if you can’t feed a baby, then don’t have a baby” — “is he talking to me”? you wonder through the fog of booze and push the thought away to keep dancing, hoping the music doesn’t wake your sleeping kid. The beat is pulsing and urgent. “You're a vegetable” you sing along (can that be the right lyric?) and if feels like a brass band is in the room with you. It starts getting hazy and Michael’s frenetic singing makes you feel like if you keep moving you’ll stop time and tonight you want to make it all stop and just stay in this moment, listening to this beat forever. Sweat is starting to drip from foreheads, as you dance together in a hypnotic rhythm to the familiar beat that’s been in your collective consciousness for your entire lives —moving more freely now like you did when you were 5 dancing to this song in your best friend's bedroom. Maybe you look around and see your friends flailing their limbs — also pushing out thoughts of babies and middle age and waking neighbors and crushing responsibility. Because tonight we have one — to start something and have it never end. We move and shake and start to clap in a state of ecstasy as we all scream “hee ha” together. It doesn’t matter what song comes after, because this song — this moment — seems to last forever.
It feels like my birth and the release of Thriller happened at nearly the same time. There were nights sitting at the top of the stairs when my parents had a party below, this album playing too loud for me to sleep. It was the 80’s and they were in their prime. They’d shout “hee ha” while downing vodka gimlets and giggling, no doubt also wondering if they’d made the right choice about kids, worrying about their own crushing responsibility (me) and no doubt hoping that that moment could last forever. Maybe it’s still going.
We’ll never have an album so strange and so popular and so good ever again. This was it. Nonsense words (tenderoni), breathy “huh huh ugh” and “the funk of 40,000 years” spoken by a ghoul will never again be on an album that is as mainstream as this one. But it all just worked. (All except the girl is mine…that song should not be on this album).
4
Oct 21 2024
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Zombie
Fela Kuti
This was a fun one to listen to on a Saturday morning while making pottery. I like this genre a lot but prefer some other albums of the era to this one. I can see where he influenced a lot of people. Not sure I would listen again in its entirety but would pick a song out to put on a playlist.
2
Oct 22 2024
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Brilliant Corners
Thelonious Monk
Nice jazz. His style is a little frenetic for me, but you can't go wrong with a classic jazz artist like Thelonious Monk. It's more accessible than some of his other albums.
2
Oct 23 2024
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Stardust
Willie Nelson
1
Oct 24 2024
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Infected
The The
My only exposure to The The was "this is the day" which is a killer song that I sing in my head when anything important is going to happen. Like when we push Folders live -- that song will be the anthem for the day! I thought this was a weird album and want to continue giving it some time to process. It sounds very of it's time (the intense saxophone feels so '80s).
2
Oct 25 2024
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Blackstar
David Bowie
This was the last album David Bowie made while he was dying of cancer. You could hear it in the music. It's a great final album from one of the best creative forces this world had to offer us. Not sure I would listen repeatedly (maybe I'll save find solace in it if/when I experience my own suffering). I really loved his words around being free like a bird -- he has a melancholy outlook on his fate. He's not ready to go yet but somehow imagining death as something other than an end. RIP to the best.
3
Oct 28 2024
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Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme
Simon & Garfunkel
You know that moment in the party when the periphery friends leave and it’s just you and your forever bestie who you’ve known for a million years. You’ve had way more to drink than you care to admit and the energy mellows and the conversation wanders to the “old days.” You talk about who you were and how you got to be who you are now and how music has changed (or have YOU changed?) The playlist ends so you crawl over to the bookshelf and start riffling through the records. You find it. The one. You both sit on the carpet, directly in front of the speakers (it’s the only way to consume music properly) and you are primed to properly consume THIS album. The conversation fades to singing, because who can resist these goddamn harmonies. Some basic instinct kicks in and you let the vocals spring from you in a laughable attempt to harmonize at the loudest volume your diaphragm can handle. You Feel. Every. Word. Your bestie Feels. Every. Word. Your partners have long abandoned the two of you lest they feel left out of the singalong that only two old friends could truly participate in. You start softly rocking back and forth, holding hands, eyes closed, trying to harmonize after the many bottles of wine and only one of you really sounds like Simon. The other is off key and fucking up the words, but it doesn’t matter because this is poetry, man. Fucking poetry.
4
Oct 29 2024
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Queen II
Queen
Like the rough draft of Bohemian Rhapsody! I thought I knew every Queen song but this album was all new to me! It had a cool rock opera feel to it, which I really enjoy. I could see owning this on vinyl and listening to it again on a proper stereo system. Ogre battle was cool -- in fact the whole B side was really good.
3
Oct 30 2024
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Gentlemen
The Afghan Whigs
I can imagine there’s a girl who’s 18 in 1993 and she’s checking out a show at a basement bar off-campus that serves up both vegan sandwiches and punk rock and this band is playing. She hits it off with a guy wearing a wallet chain and a hoodie under a jean jacket covered in Black Flag patches and they date for like 5 minutes. He’s 24 and lives way off campus and thinks Eddie Vedder can suck it. His room is painted jet black and he smokes unfiltered Marlboro reds in bed and drinks coffee all day and all night when he’s not drinking PBR tall boys. He’s aloof, slightly alcoholic and doesn’t return calls and he’s all she can think about. He ghosts her. She goes to the record store and gets this CD so she can wallow in her heartbreak. She listens to “I keep coming back” on repeat until the CD starts to skip. She walks around in a state of depression with “Brother Woodrow” playing through her walkman headphones. This album will get her through that painful first breakup.
Sadly this wasn’t my first breakup album, but it should’ve been. If only I’d been born earlier I could see where this would’ve seeped into my psyche. I can also see how it can feel anachronistic to listen to it in 2024 when the angst-ridden patina of the 90’s seemed to wear off long ago. I still happen to love the jangly guitars, off-key vocals and weird indie cult mythology of this era so I'll likely listen again when I want to reminisce about my old love -- the 90s.
3
Oct 31 2024
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Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
I love Nick Cave and admit that I hadn't heard this album. He is one of those artists who puts out an incredible amount of work that spans decades and so sometimes I can be overwhelming. I'm impartial to his early work that's dark and creepy and verbose, but some of the later albums are so beautiful (No More Shall We Part is incredible). This one starts with a bang and kind of ended with a whimper but I will still come back to it. The more you listen, the better it gets is what I've learned about Nick Cave. Seeing him again live in May. He's a force onstage and a true artist. (Also, funny side note: Nick Cave the visual artist is also amazing. Look him up!)
4
Nov 04 2024
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Illinois
Sufjan Stevens
This is a solid album! It feels like an indie rock musical with themes that keep popping up throughout. I always love when this album comes on but I dont always reach for it.
3
Nov 05 2024
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Low
David Bowie
I love Sound and Vision. The minute I hear the beat it makes me so happy. I hadn't spent much time with the full album and it's a little hard to get into. A lot of instrumentals I could probably do without. Not as great as some of his other albums in my opinion.
2
Nov 06 2024
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Shalimar
Rahul Dev Burman
I actually really liked this album. The first track was really cool and some of the beats on various songs were great. A cool, quirky soundtrack that would be fun to have on at a party. I'll put a few of these on my party playlists (yes, my parties are fun)
2
Nov 07 2024
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Scott 2
Scott Walker
I've studied French since 7th grade, spent several summers living in the French alps in high school and have a degree in french studies, so I knew Jacques Brel well. The stereotype of the french (he was belgian) crooner, talking about ships and drinking and the cold northern cost of europe really appealed to me. When I was given a mix tape with a Scott Walker cover of the Jacques Brel song "Sons of" years and years ago, I was again drawn to this wildly reclusive, stylish, overly bravado'd musician. (It helped that the mixtape was given by a guy I truly loved). We'd smoke cigarettes and fist pump to the overly instrumental earnestness of Scott Walkers delivery and pretend we lived in another time. I get that this is not for everyone, but damn, this man can sing. And digging into his life a bit, he has quite an interesting story (there is a cool doc about him making a record in the early 2000's) as a recluse and Brian Wilson-type genius. Anyway, I will gladly put this record on and revel in the melodrama.
4
Nov 08 2024
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Buffalo Springfield Again
Buffalo Springfield
The highlights here for me were the Neil Young tunes -- Broken Arrow, Mr. Soul, Learning to Fly...all great tunes. I happen to love Neil Young and this era of music. With an older brother who picked up the guitar at 13 and dove deep into the cannon of 60's and 70's guitar rock, I went along for the ride. There was always something I could connect to in Neil Young lyrics and voice -- maybe it was that he didn't have the polish of CSN -- but man, he had the soul. Where they built beautiful harmonies, he built tension.
As an album, I thought it was little disjointed. I really liked "A child's claim to fame" and the Stephen Stills tracks. Generally a decent 70's rock album.
3
Nov 11 2024
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Different Class
Pulp
I love this album. The bravado, the anthems, the Britishness -- it's all there! Common People is a banger. Disco 2000 -- love. Sorted out for Es and Wizz basically tells the tale of being high without a cell phone in the 90's. Even after all this time, this album makes me happy from start to finish.
5
Nov 12 2024
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Songs For Swingin' Lovers!
Frank Sinatra
Can't go wrong with Frank Sinatra. Great listening for the fall to feel cozy and comforted.
3
Nov 13 2024
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Let's Stay Together
Al Green
This was a great album. I had only listened to Al Green's hits and as a full album, this really came together for me. I would 1000% grab this on vinyl and add it into heavy rotation.
4
Nov 14 2024
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Parallel Lines
Blondie
70's, CBGB-era New York is my Marvel Universe. I listen to podcasts, read books, watch any movie about this particular era in music. I can't get enough. Imagine squatting in a 3,000 square foot loft in Soho making art in a leather jacket, then heading uptown to Max's Kansas City to catch a show and there's Lou Reed and Andy Warhol. Really cool time to be alive (I wasn't to my dismay).
Blondie was always a peripheral in that universe -- not as punk as the Ramones and not as artsy as Patti Smith. But there was style. There was attitude. There were killer hooks. "While Heart of Glass" is a great tune, "One way or another" is where it's at. I enjoyed all of this album.
3
Nov 15 2024
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Damaged
Black Flag
I have tried over and over to get into Blag Flag and it's just not for me. The manosphere is too strong to get through. I need my punk rock spiked with a little sugar and this was pure adrenaline all the time. I get why it appeals to people, just not for me.
2
Nov 19 2024
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Strangeways, Here We Come
The Smiths
I remember listening to Girlfriend in a Coma when I was 13 and fell in love with the Smiths. I loved the dark themes set to jangly guitars. I didn't listen to this full album until much later and there are some great songs here. Definitely not the best Smiths album in my opinion, and not a great album to start with if you dont know the Smiths. (That would be The Queen is Dead). It gets a little too "Morrissy" in some parts like "Unhappy Birthday" lol. But overall it's a solid album.
3
Nov 20 2024
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Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
Again, 70's punk is my Marvel Universe. I eat up the lore around these bands. To be honest, Sex Pistols were not my favorite musically (New York Dolls and Richard Hell were wearing safety pins first and more interesting musically). But without Sex Pistols, we wouldn't have the Buzzcocks, Joy Division, the Fall, the Smiths etc. etc.
2
Nov 21 2024
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Get Behind Me Satan
The White Stripes
I stopped listening to The White Stripes after Seven Nation Army song hit so hard it was everywhere. I loved the first few albums by the White Stripes but as they became more produced the sound became more classic blues rock vs. sparse garage rock. A subtle distinction. That said, I did really like some of the less well known tunes on this album. And Meg White is a treasure -- seriously her drumming and singing is the best. If they removed the two massive hits (Blue Orchid and My Doorbell) I would listen a lot more. (I think Jack White got high and was waiting for pizza to be delivered when he wrote the Doorbell song.) Blue Orchid is far too overplayed at this point which can ruin any good song.
2
Nov 22 2024
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This Is Fats Domino
Fats Domino
I like Fats Domino. So Long is a great song. This was more of a compilation of songs by a great artists rather than an album. He obviously influenced every soul and rock and roll artist of the 20th century so for that I'm forever grateful.
2
Nov 25 2024
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The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses
Embarrassingly, I hadn't given this album a proper listen and only really knew "I want to be adored". The influence of this album on Brit Pop, though, is so clear. I hear Oasis, Pulp, Belle and Sebastian, Blur. This album is the British version of The Replacements "Let it be" -- jangly, poppy, dancy, serious all at once. I love it.
4
Nov 26 2024
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L.A. Woman
The Doors
Meh. I do like some Doors songs but there are so many better bands of this era and frankly better Doors albums. Jim Morrison was an inspiration for the early punks, so I have to give him that.
1
Nov 27 2024
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Vento De Maio
Elis Regina
I didn't give it to close of a listen, but could not get into the slow saxophone. Maybe there is a better album to listen to, but generally a little too slow jazz for my preference.
1
Nov 28 2024
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Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space
Spiritualized
Love the first song. The rest of the album was cool -- a bit Blur, a bit Yes, a bit all over the place but fun.
2
Dec 02 2024
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Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Wilco
This was my first Wilco album I listened to and I loved it. The first half of the album has some amazing songs -- War on War, Ashes of American Flags, Jesus etc. The album looses a little luster toward the end, but I still think it's a top album for me.
4
Dec 03 2024
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Green
R.E.M.
I remember getting this album in the Columbia House CD racket (that my parents ended up paying for dearly) and finding it a little hard to grasp as a 12 year old. It's an ok album but not an REM stand-out for me.
2
Dec 05 2024
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Justified
Justin Timberlake
Cry me a river is a good song. Too bad it destroyed another woman's career.
1
Dec 06 2024
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Will The Circle Be Unbroken
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
I went into this unenthusiastically but ended up enjoying it. Feels like a great album to have on while doing chores around the house or sipping coffee in the morning. It brought back memories of riding our bikes into Red Hook in Brooklyn and heading to the back room of Sonny's bar. Musicians would sit in a circle playing improve bluegrass. Anyone could participate, but you only would if you had actual talent. I imagine they covered some of the tunes on this album.
3
Dec 09 2024
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Are You Experienced
Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix can be overplayed but these songs are killer. May this be Love is a favorite and the Wind Cries Mary. You can really hear how he influenced punk rock later in the decade and guitar rock in general. good album.
3
Dec 11 2024
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This Is Hardcore
Pulp
I love Different Class by Pulp but could never get into this album. Feels like brit pop had hit it's peak by the time this came out. The song Dishes really feels like it's trying hard to find subject matter. I'd probably stick to the first two pulp albums.
2
Dec 12 2024
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Veckatimest
Grizzly Bear
I haven't listened to Grizzly Bear since the mid 2000s and they are pretty good band. I loved the song "While you Wait for the Others" and of course their hit is a good tune. Sometimes it dips into this land of improv jazz, discordant chords that I think ends up sounding all the same. A fine album to have on while reading a book or having dinner.
3
Dec 13 2024
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Our Aim Is To Satisfy
Red Snapper
I usually don't listen to this genre. There were a few songs I thought were ok but probably won't listen again.
1
Dec 16 2024
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Blur
Blur
A pretty decent brit pop album.
3
Dec 17 2024
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Coat Of Many Colors
Dolly Parton
Loved this Dolly album. I had only heard Coat of Many Colors (great tune) but the full album had a nice funk groove for a country album. I'd 100% buy on vinyl for a crowd-pleasing listen.
3
Dec 18 2024
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Surfer Rosa
Pixies
This is a perfect album. "Gigantic" -- banger. "Where is my mind" -- slaps. "Broken face" -- perfect. I love the tension in this band between Black Francis and Kim Deal. It's salty and sweet all at the same time. I don't remember when I first heard this album but remember spending the year after college with this and Doolittle on heavy rotation. An album apropos for heavy life transitions that really nails the excitement and dread of getting older.
5
Dec 19 2024
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...And Justice For All
Metallica
I know the song One from, you know being alive and hearing it on the radio. It's a killer song to be honest. I didn't think I would like this album, but I actually really enjoyed it. It was far more melodic than I expected on an album, almost pushing into prog rock on some tracks. I also felt like I was invincible getting so much shit done while listening to this.
3
Dec 20 2024
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A Nod Is As Good As A Wink To A Blind Horse
Faces
It's just solid, middle-of-the-road, rock and roll. Nothing super unique or surprising but everything was just... good.
2
Dec 23 2024
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Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul
Otis Redding
10/10. No notes. A perfect album
5
Dec 26 2024
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A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector
Various Artists
4
Jan 03 2025
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Pet Sounds
The Beach Boys
This is an easy album to listen to -- great from start to finish. It's not on my personal favorite albums which seems strange for someone who usually aligns with the boomer sentiment around music, but it's a true classic.
5
Jan 06 2025
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Kid A
Radiohead
I remember buying this album the day it came out and listened non-stop. There was a clear departure from The Bends and Ok Computer that felt like ushering in a new era of music. The National Anthem bass line - swoon! Motion Picture Soundtrack is a perfect final song. Idioteque is by far a favorite song of mine "We're not scare-mongering, this is really happening" gets me every time and became even more poignant during the aftermath of Sept 11 when we were all grappling with what the fuck was happening.
5
Jan 07 2025
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Parklife
Blur
Not my favorite Blur album. Girls and Boys is good and To The End, but it didnt' really hold my attention the rest of the album.
3
Jan 08 2025
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Third
Portishead
Dummy is one of my favorite albums but I hadn't heard this one. Love Beth Gibbons (check out her album Out of Season) and this album did not disappoint. Maybe not as catchy as Dummy, but they make a great low-fi ambient record with beautiful melodies over eery guitar playing. I loved it. Also, just because I can't help it....the first tune reminded me of the Can song Vitamin C from '72. lol If you like any of this album, you might enjoy that one.
4
Jan 09 2025
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Deja Vu
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Some day, if you find yourself with a newborn baby who you spend hours lulling to sleep, you choose "Our House" to sing to them. This song became my go-to lullaby every night for ~6 years and still hits for me. "Life used to be so hard, now everything is easy cause of you" became a reverse psychology mantra that helped me get through the rough infant years. Rewind by many years to a my teenaged youth, and I had Helpless on repeat, to process the incomprehensible angst I suddenly felt. These songs are timeless and gorgeous and poignant. Deja Vu is my 2nd favorite to So Far (mainly because of Helplessly Hoping) but it's a classic.
5
Jan 10 2025
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A Seat at the Table
Solange
Cranes in the Sky is such a good song. This album is really cool. I love the slow vibes and message of the album. I especially liked her inclusion of the Interludes and the colabs.
3
Jan 13 2025
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Blue
Joni Mitchell
I think I checked this CD out from the downtown library when I was in high school (yes, the Columbus Public library had an amazing music and movie selection for rental) mainly because I thought the album cover looked cool. I was only vaguely familiar with Joni Mitchell, but I couldn't stop listening to it. Carey is a highlight for me, along with California and A Case of You. The whole album is perfection.
5
Jan 14 2025
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All Directions
The Temptations
I thought this album fell a little flat. Papa was a rollin stone is a classic. I love "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", but I prefer the Roberta Flack version. I'm sure this was a great album at the time for the Tempatations to break out of their Motown pop era, just doens't seem to hold up over time.
2
Jan 15 2025
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Band On The Run
Paul McCartney and Wings
Band on the Run is a great song. I haven't gotten too much into Wings and enjoyed it. I would listen again and give it more time to sink in.
3
Jan 16 2025
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Planet Rock: The Album
Afrika Bambaataa
As a collection of beats from the infancy of hip hop, it was pretty cool.
2
Jan 17 2025
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#1 Record
Big Star
Love Big Star. They were never successful while alive and have a harrowing story of depression and addiction but influenced so many bands. This is maybe my second favorite album after Radio City but love tunes like Feel, In the Street, Thirteen.
4
Jan 22 2025
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The Nightfly
Donald Fagen
This album felt very Donald Fagen-y. In line with other Steely Dan albums, but with a little 80's influence. New Frontier is good. I think I'll need to give it more listens!
3
Jan 23 2025
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Nothing's Shocking
Jane's Addiction
Jane Says hits so hard, still to this day. This album was really ahead of it's time (it came out in '88! I mean, Faith by George Michael was no. 1 in '88 (I just looked it up)). Perry Ferrell is a freaky bohemian addict who made weird music that defied genre. Not sure I love it per se, but I love the spirit and how it felt slightly more like "outsider art" when it eventually got lumped into grunge. Not on this album, but Being Caught Stealing music video is a marvel and is burned into my brain as the most bizarre thing I could see as a child sneaking into watch MTV without my parents knowledge.
3
Jan 24 2025
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Soul Mining
The The
"This is the day" is a classic. "Giant" is on my Shazam playlist because I must've heard it somewhere and liked the vibe. It's a nice vibe. I feel like this is one of those albums you need to spend a bit of time with --I thought it had potential.
3
Jan 27 2025
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Born In The U.S.A.
Bruce Springsteen
Side B hits hard. This is a great album and has instigated many living room dance parties (mainly with my mom haha)
4
Feb 03 2025
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OK Computer
Radiohead
10/10 no notes. If you havent seen the music video for Karma Police, it's a masterpiece.
5
Feb 04 2025
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Ramones
Ramones
The Ramones still hit. A classic album that had a huge influence. Love!
5
Feb 05 2025
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Live At The Star Club, Hamburg
Jerry Lee Lewis
classic rock n roll
3
Feb 06 2025
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Like A Prayer
Madonna
Like a Prayer slaps. Express Yourself - chefs kiss! Cherish is a fav probably because it hit my neural pathways at just the right time as they were forming. There rest of the album is meh.
2
Feb 10 2025
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Dirt
Alice In Chains
"Would" is a great song. The rest of the album is not for me, maybe because it's been overplayed?
2
Feb 11 2025
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Surrealistic Pillow
Jefferson Airplane
Fun psychedelic album. White Rabbit is classic and maybe best of the genre. "J.P.P. Mc Step B. Blues" was great. Still can't believe this band became Starship and created "We built this city" but anything can happen with enough LSD.
3
Feb 12 2025
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Here Are the Sonics
The Sonics
Got into the Sonics back in my record-spinning days in Boston and I love this album even though most songs are covers. One of the best garage rock albums and a perfect album to put on at a party or DJ set. Would give it 5 but knocking it down for it's overindulgence of covers.
4
Feb 13 2025
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The Trinity Session
Cowboy Junkies
Loved the mix of reimagined old country classics (and Lou Reed) with originals. Her voice is amazing. What a beautiful, chill album. Would 100% put this on rotation at my house during the early morning hours working and sipping coffee (like right now).
4
Feb 14 2025
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Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Elton John
I hadn't heard this album in full and felt a little eye roll happen when it popped up. But I was pleasantly surprised to listen to the hits mixed in with other songs I'd never heard. The intro track (Funeral for a friend/Love lies bleeding) caught me off guard. I was like, hell yeah we're at a fucked up 70's roller rink on cocaine, but it's also a musical! No one can deny Candle in the Wind is a great tune. Benny and the Jets and Goodbye Yellow Brick road wormed their way into my ear and I spent the day with those two worming about interchangeably. The B sides are equally as good and less well known. I enjoyed it more than expected and will keep an eye out for the vinyl.
Bonus: my son's review "8.5/10 I really liked it"
4
Feb 17 2025
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Master Of Puppets
Metallica
Yeah, pretty spot on Metallica. Good for inducing a speed-like energy for getting shit done or lifting heavy weights.
2
Feb 18 2025
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Pretenders
Pretenders
This was my first time listening to this album all the way through and thought it landed right there in the middle of turn of the decade rock/pop albums. If my parents had played it more as a kid I might be more into it.
3
Feb 19 2025
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A Rush Of Blood To The Head
Coldplay
Coldplay is like the high you get from smoking a cigarette for the first time. It's fun in the moment, not too dangerous, you know that there are better, more interesting highs to be had, but this one was easy to achieve because you just stole one from your grandmother's purse without her knowing and the plus side is it won't last too long that your parents will find out what you did.
But seriously, if Chris Martin were not Chris Paltrow, the pseudo-christian rock, overly-earnest-yet-annoying-as-fuck celebrity we know him today, and if you ignored the fact that he exploits collabs with black youth culture in order to stay relevant, imagine hearing the first half of this album at an open mic night -- it would kill. Politic, In my place, the Scientist, Clocks. Those are great pop songs. I don't care that a crescendo culminating with a single chord strum was done better by Radiohead. Fine. The Scientist still slaps. Come at me!
3
Feb 20 2025
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The Joshua Tree
U2
U2 is CVS-core that has been co-opted by the corporate algorithm and shoved down our throat for our entire existence. Perhaps if we bury this album in a time capsule, go about our lives without "with or without you", and open it up in 100 years the next generation will find something interesting about this album.
2
Feb 21 2025
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Electric Ladyland
Jimi Hendrix
I can't argue that Jimi Hendrix is an icon, a virtuoso guitar player and all around peace seeking good guy. This was the first time I put this album on in full and enjoyed it. Cross Town Traffic sounded like a guy who's lived in New York City too long and has to get some lyrics down on paper before the recording session (my one hot take, even though the tune is great).
3
Feb 24 2025
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It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back
Public Enemy
Great album with some fun beats and hard hitting lyrics.
3
Feb 25 2025
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Arrival
ABBA
Some classics on this album. The other songs on here didn't hit as hard for me, but "Arrival" was a great interlude.
3
Feb 27 2025
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If I Could Only Remember My Name
David Crosby
I prefer Nash's solo stuff. Check out Better Days - it's a great album.
2
Mar 04 2025
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The Queen Is Dead
The Smiths
I met a friend Jodi in middle school on the cross country team and unlike all the other kids on that team, so was cool. Not in a mean girls way, no, like in a far more interesting way. She lived in a mid-century ranch and had a far cooler older sister named Hailee who ran the school's Amnesty International group and protested private prison labor in her spare time. Jodi was an artist. She made a fucking wood dining table as a high school art project. Her mom bought her a pack of cigarettes to use in an art piece once and she invited me to smoke one in an alley behind her house. In 7th grade Jodi made me a mix tape and one side was just The Smiths. The track list was written out on the front in handwriting I can only describe as "intentional" with small flourishes to dot the i's that I could only hope to think of incorporating into something mundane like handwriting.
So if Jodi and Hailee were this enigma of cool within suburban Ohio middle school and turned me on to this band, it was Morissey, with his fucked up lyrics and sad boy, woe-is-me attitude that hooked me. So many quotable song lyrics that explained my angst to a perfect T -"And when you want to live, how do you start, where do you go, who do you need know?" "And if a double decker bus, crashes into us, to die by your side is such a heavenly way to die." It was all a little fucked up and dramatic (just like a teenage girl). The Smiths still stand out as a band that has it's own unique sound, untethered to a decade musically, and still hits the same way it did for me back in middle school. The Queen is Dead stands as a fully fleshed out album and perhaps their best. Bigmouth Strikes again, The Boy with the Torn in his side, There is a light that never goes out -- all bangers.
Jodi is now head of design for Kohler which is still cool.
5
Mar 05 2025
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Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Beatles
Wow! The first Beatles record we've seen so far. I get why this album was important and love a lot of songs on it, but I don't often come back to it as a favorite. A Day in the Life is a killer song obviously and this album influenced nearly all music that came after it in some way so I appreciate it's place in musical lore. But my favorites albums come after this in quick succession, culminating with their final. In any case, you can't have hot takes on a Beatles album so it gets a 5!
5
Mar 06 2025
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Ill Communication
Beastie Boys
Hadn't heard this album in a long time. Love the fusion of jazz, punk, rap, etc. Q-tip's voice always makes me happy. This stands out as a modern day classic (well, not so modern anymore given its 30 years old ha!) but like fine wine somehow doesn't age.
4
Mar 10 2025
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(What's The Story) Morning Glory
Oasis
I never understood the hype around this band who thought they were gods but put out mid music at best. Far inferior to Pulp and Blur.
2
Mar 11 2025
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Electric Warrior
T. Rex
The best. I love T.Rex so much. No notes.
5
Mar 14 2025
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Kick Out The Jams (Live)
MC5
Live albums do not do it for me, so as an album this feels a little jarring. But no one can deny the influence of MC5 on the next generation of punks and for that I will be forever grateful (and so sad to not be at this actual show).
3
Mar 17 2025
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Hail To the Thief
Radiohead
For some reason I could never get into this album. Still prefer the earlier Radiohead albums to this.
3
Mar 18 2025
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Licensed To Ill
Beastie Boys
3
Mar 20 2025
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Bookends
Simon & Garfunkel
Best lyrics on this album: "Kathy, I'm lost, I said, though I knew she was sleeping. Im empty and aching and I don't know why." this really got me
Bookends Reprise is the best 1.50 minute song I can think of. "Time it was and what a time it was, it was." ugh love.
I can't help but still love Mrs. Robinson. What's not to love about this song?
5
Mar 24 2025
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Aftermath
The Rolling Stones
2
Apr 01 2025
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Bringing It All Back Home
Bob Dylan
Some Dylan songs really hit for me and others just fall flat. It's the kind of album you can have on and make everyone happy though. Still think Paul Simon is a superior singer/songwriter.
4
Apr 03 2025
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Sound Affects
The Jam
oooh I love The Jam. This was a fun album.
3
Apr 04 2025
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All Mod Cons
The Jam
3
Apr 07 2025
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Deep Purple In Rock
Deep Purple
This is Spinal Tap! Fun album. I dig it.
4
Apr 08 2025
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Paul Simon
Paul Simon
Not my favorite solo album of Paul Simon's but he can do now wrong!
4
Apr 09 2025
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Let's Get It On
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye is a national treasure. Let's get it on will forever be a jam -- reminding anyone when it comes on that love is indeed supreme.
4
Apr 10 2025
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Clandestino
Manu Chao
I lived in France in a small town in Brittany that was land locked and less charming than you'd imagine if you peel away the architecture and cafes. This small town in particular was similar to any small town in America in a lot of ways, with the same struggles and addictions. I was 22 and lived with two other Americans in school-provided housing and we seemed to attract a motley crew of town locals who began drinking in the afternoons and played cards all night. Many a night, into our tenth game of poker and 2nd pack of cigarettes Manu Chao would come on and we'd all sing and sway to this album, stumbling over words and enjoying our odd, multi-cultural debauchery.
4
Apr 14 2025
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Bossanova
Pixies
Great album. Not as high on the list as Doolittle or Surfer Rosa, but they are a great band.
4
Apr 15 2025
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Blood On The Tracks
Bob Dylan
Honestly, I get a little tired of Bob Dylan's whining voice. When he hits, he hits. I just dont feel this record as much as everyone else does.
3
Apr 16 2025
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Cheap Thrills
Big Brother & The Holding Company
I didnt realize Janis Joplin was in this band! Sounds like a good band to see live
3