Time machine the 80s. It may lack some substance, but man they sure can shred (I feel this can be said about much of 80s music). And everybody knows Jump, it’s essential 80s Americana.

So this is industrial rock. They actually sample table saw sounds (“I Do Not Want This”) Questions that entered my mind when listening: Who listens to this shit? Is this guy gay? (see lyrics to “Ruiner”, one of the better songs actually) Is this music? What are these lyrics breh? (interesting… lyrics in “Closer” -also one of the better songs, Gorillaz’ Plastic Beach vibes) Did this guy listen to Deftones, or did Deftones listen to this guy? (Shoutout Chino) I don’t hate all of it, but the singer is so winy, and the music is so discordant and harsh, if they put an audio clip of forks scraping a plate in one of the songs, it would fit right in. I at least don’t hate some of the non-grating moments, though, “Reptile” didn’t make my ears bleed, I may even have enjoyed a song or two (“A Warm Place”, “Eraser” -minus the last minute). Not my genre though. Johnny Cash didn’t write “Hurt”?! I actually like the NIN original better. Also it was in Rick and Morty. Best song on the album. (I’m so glad this album is over)

This album felt like a collection of singles: a few great songs and a bunch of mid songs. None of the mid songs are at all bad, just sort of boring. It gets a four from me because the few great songs are mint, top tier - Politik, The Scientist, and Clocks. Clocks is one of the first songs I learned on the piano, good memories. Lyricism in this album is lacking, but lead singer Chris Martin has a great voice. I wonder what he would’ve sounded like if he took a more alternative route with his music…

I love Yes. Yes’ music is fast, chaotic, and upbeat, the sort of music that takes over your body, makes you stand up and move around. Chris Squire on the bass is an absolute legend, and each member in the band is spectacular in their own right. Starship Trooper and I’ve Seen All Good People are my favorites in this album. The entire album is good, unlike Fragile which has some amazing songs and some skippers. This might be my favorite Yes album. Say what you will about Yes, I know this band will certainly not appeal to everyone, not even everyone who loves prog rock, but this band very much speaks to me.

I gotta say, it seems to me that because this is Bowie's "swan song," people like this album more than they otherwise would. And that's okay, it's sort of beautiful and very human, actually. I ALMOST like the chant in the second half of the first song, Blackstar, but the lyrics are lackluster to me. I like the Eastern sound Bowie had going on in the song, but it's just not quite there for me. Dollar Days is a pretty cool soundscape. I think a lot of these tracks would be amazing live (dang, too bad), but they're not quite hitting for me in the streaming format. The entire album is just not quite there for me. I'd say Bowie was more worried about translating his mind into music than conforming to a specific sound, which is cool, that's the special thing about experimental music, but it makes for highly polarizing music. You either love it or you are appalled. Except in my case I'm sort of in between, I appreciate this album for what it is, I find it interesting, it's cool, I didn't mind listening to it, but I didn't really enjoy it either. Probably won't listen again.