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3.13
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32%
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2000s
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19
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13
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You Love More Than Most
Albums you rated higher than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Punishing Kiss | 5 | 2.41 | +2.59 |
| Vulnicura | 5 | 2.79 | +2.21 |
| Goodbye And Hello | 5 | 2.83 | +2.17 |
| Music Has The Right To Children | 5 | 2.91 | +2.09 |
| They Were Wrong, So We Drowned | 4 | 2.11 | +1.89 |
| Unhalfbricking | 5 | 3.14 | +1.86 |
| Trout Mask Replica | 4 | 2.28 | +1.72 |
| Pornography | 5 | 3.31 | +1.69 |
| The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady | 5 | 3.32 | +1.68 |
| The Downward Spiral | 5 | 3.34 | +1.66 |
You Love Less Than Most
Albums you rated lower than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nevermind | 1 | 4.37 | -3.37 |
| London Calling | 1 | 3.98 | -2.98 |
| Physical Graffiti | 1 | 3.92 | -2.92 |
| Back In Black | 1 | 3.86 | -2.86 |
| Hotel California | 1 | 3.6 | -2.6 |
| Get Behind Me Satan | 1 | 3.42 | -2.42 |
| Led Zeppelin IV | 2 | 4.36 | -2.36 |
| Slippery When Wet | 1 | 3.29 | -2.29 |
| Shake Your Money Maker | 1 | 3.29 | -2.29 |
| Rubber Soul | 2 | 4.13 | -2.13 |
5-Star Albums (19)
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Popular Reviews
Adele
2/5
It's disgestible radio soul/pop/piano-stuff, I think she's at her best when the songs have the energy to make her voice actually feel huge (Rolling in the Deep is a modern pop classic for a reason) but the more slow, ballady stuff is not something that was interesting or even anything I picked up on as notable, it's just there (the most I reacted to was the Lovesong cover but that's it)
I don't hate this but I don't care for it really, even the good songs
2 likes
The Monks
3/5
The entire concept surrounding The Monks is still one of the funniest things ever, like, what do you mean a bunch of American G.Is stationed in Germany got bored and made a band where they wore monk costumes and played proto punk? It's silly but it works by the simple identity they built up for themselves especially when their music is as unusual as their entire presentation. Not so much your average garage rock thing as they add organ or really squelchy and noisy guitar riffs, sometimes adding silly humor or commentary on 6s things. All these simple things add up to, while not an amazing album it is one that I enjoyed quite a bit.
2 likes
Ute Lemper
5/5
It's crazy to think this is how I find out about this album, not only did I never knew of this but it contains so many great and interesting songwriters, many of whom are my absolute faves. Initially I thought this was a covers album but... no? Like how the hell do you get two of the Divine Comedy guys, Elvis Costello, Nick Cave, Tom Waits, and fucking Scott Walker in the same albums to write you songs?? They all come together in their own songs to write and work on different songs of course but I like that Ute's voice/style (or what I asume is her own direction) is not lost, this sort of modern take on grand cabaret theatrical stuff and baroque pop with different influences depending on the featured writer. It's that kind of balance of a seasoned performer who has a vision and a strong voice and incredible writers that nets an album this interesting and exciting to me, which is surprising to me because I'm not somebody who likes, let alone is even interested in cabaret theatrics most of the time they fall flat by trying too hard whereas this feels like it avoids all the worst tropes of the more theatrical genres and remains all the aspects that are fuller with attitude and gusto which I think MANY cabaret/theatrical styled albums sorely miss for me.
I appreciate the range in sound and writing, but especially the final song Scope J. The closest this book has ever gotten to adding a late era Scott Walker song and immedeately its obvious how his style at the time took over the sounds, gone is the theatrics and in are the piercing drones and dissonances that transform Ute's vocals into a banshee.
I really cannot get enough of it, I possibly would go as far as to give it a 5/5 on here and 9/10 on rym on future listens because I had a great time and I love whenever someone makes music I don't think works for me work for me. Awesome surprise
1 likes
Janelle Monáe
4/5
The kind of high concept theatrical thing I just love, not only is it ambitious, it manages to land hard on its two feet by the end because of how much care is put on its concept. I think Janelle manages to make the the aesthetics and the grandiosity of basically a musical adaptation of Metropolis feel just as grand which I don't think many people can get right, but even more have so many styles of music come together so tightly and again, come out like a fully formed package instead of an overlylong mess, I guess it helps I love the way everything sounds. So yeah this is an absolute win, I need some more listens to truly get into the details of the lyrics but I'm loving it
1 likes
4-Star Albums (105)
1-Star Albums (13)
All Ratings
Duke Ellington
3/5
Its weird to parse through the complete version for the three songs included originally in the re-recording, and I think one day I want to sit down with the entire 2 Cd album but at least for the "Newport Suite", "Jeep's Blues" and "Diminuendo ans Crescendo in Blue" its all just the kind of energetic and fun jazz that just so clicks with me the most (mainly with Bebop), especially the Newport Suite which packs so many sonic emotional moments that transmit this sense of joy from all the players in the band, its always weird to describe that but those moments always make a jazz recording to me and even more with how the audience responds in turn. Wonderful stuff and totally get how this gave Duke's career a second wind
Paul Simon
2/5
So this album is sonically and historically interesting and I'm glad Paul Simon did the bare minimum for these musicians (as well as rightfully taking a stand against apartheid) but this really is the kind of album that for me and my own taste in rock it's just so not it for me. Trying to put all these cool and interesting African music aspects into an 80s pop rock shaped whole whose production could make a lot of these sound flatter than they otherwise should is a shame because in concept I like the idea of this and in the songs like "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" really does come together but in others like the title track it really doesn't come together because they feel uneven in the inclusion of country pop melodies which never click with me and feel like they take away from the rest of the sounds in the album. There's also that some songs try to play more to Simon's musical wheelhouse while the others give more center stage to the African musicians, it's an uneven feel and generally I wound up wanting more from the African music side than I did anywhere near Paul Simon's brand of pop rock.
So yeah, interesting album but not the kind I enjoy or would play again in full beyond like three songs
Rush
3/5
Its good I hate that I like it
Beastie Boys
3/5
It's not the most consistent album in the world, its got some kinda whatever songs but its also got some absolute bangers and really display the infectious chemistry of these three doofuses in the shape of just fun old hip hop. There's potential for better here and Paul's Boutique immediately shows how they eventually went onto bigger and better things (as well the few things I heard off the 90s stuff)
The Who
2/5
I think this is the kind of thing I don't get simply because I'm not a huge fan of hard rock of this type to begin with, it's the sort of bluesy, heavy thing that doesn't excite me or interest me just by virtue of having an overdriven guitar and a mean attitude. It just comes off as kind of basic and plain to me which is never interesting or fun to me. I can get how this can excite someone else but personally it really doesn't do it for me, and it's even weirder because I generally enjoy Hard Rock but I guess the way The Who does it simply isn't my cup of tea compared to other hard rock that came later
R.E.M.
4/5
I guess if anything I figured I wasn’t going to be negative, on the contrary I felt like I was discovering some of the songs I never paid any attention to in the past like “Drive” or “Try Not to Breathe” or “Find the River”, etc, songs that I felt I had ignored over the years because I never listened to it in full again. I gravitated towards the previously mentioned “Man on the Moon” or “Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight” but that’s only a part of the album that only gives a small glimpse of what they are doing. In full though there’s just the feelings of this large, comfy alt rock album, comfy for the nostalgia but also the sound of the kind of instrumentals and moods they have in most of the album which just makes this a comforting listen when feeling lethargic or just more low energy than I would otherwise. But that’s not to say this album is just soft and sad, even the upbeat songs are probably where the album shines the most for me, I guess there’s something to the songs “Sidewinder” or “Ignoreland” whose more upbeat sound make them fun, maybe it’s the organ or how one feels so carefree while the other’s sort of “revolutionary” (I guess) sounding tone has always stood out to me. This album to me feels like one of the better things from this side of 90’s alt rock that was lighter and softer, it may be the nostalgia speaking obviously but even among things that are pop rock I rarely enjoy them unless they do more, and this one does more in the simply nice way that R.E.M. do. I guess it’s hard to encapsulate what I like about this one so much but in the end I guess it still remain one of those that I can happily return to.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
2/5
Not bad but also not really interesting as far as prog goes imo, it's kinda lacking something more to make it really exciting but idk what it could be
Nick Drake
4/5
I underrated this album in the past, maybe because I wasn't a fan of the folksier and smaller atmosphere this album brings but I think on this listen a lot more about the playing and the way Nick sings within these songs really opened up the album for me in a way I didn't really expect. I mean hell when Things Behind the Sun started playing I felt like I finally started getting this album, so yeah I think I massively underrated this one, it's a treat
Drive Like Jehu
4/5
Post-Hardcore is maybe top 3 genre and albums like this one is the reason
The Temptations
3/5
I know nothing about soul, so this is a nice little intro. It's short, it's both emotional and moody but also very animated and cool, I think I wound up enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would even if it IS pretty understated.
Lauryn Hill
4/5
I feel like most flaws/problems I might have with this album are mainly the length of any album from this era of music, which would stuff their length with filler songs. It often makes for inconsistent listens and this album is no exception of course, but I feel like it manages to be better thanks to the variety of beat choices, instrumentals, influences and even people that Lauryn picks on each song, it's a palette that is wide but still manages to feel homogeneous which makes me understand the people who think of this album as a whole being more than the sum of its parts because even if some songs felt like they would be too long or drag it still didn't take me out of the experience or made listening significantly worse. Even if I don't return to the entire album I would still be willing to return to many of the songs on this album
Tim Buckley
5/5
Albums like this one is why I started this challenge, discovering the music of somebody or finally giving me the push to giving them a try becasue maybe it will hit all the parts of my brain that enjoy this sort of thing. And I mean hell, here he is doing probably the version of 60s folk/singer-songwriter I didn't know I needed. Both instrumentally diverse, palletable but still hinting at more things to come, his vocals are excellent, I just listen to something like Pleasant Street and I'm wowed by his vocals, how they move across the song. Even the more middling tracks managed to be really interesting.
I'll be looking into Tim's discography this was an excellent listen
Louis Prima
2/5
Though it has some fun and wild performances, I feel like the album gets bogged down by the more pop/swing aspects compared to the jazzier big band stuff which genuinely is fun to hear him sing over and I wish it was more about that. Still Just a Gigolo is an excellent song
Gang Starr
4/5
Sweet beats even if the rapping is a little primitive, extremely good time though and I'm curious to see where they go from here
Everything But The Girl
2/5
Tracey Thorn's got an amazing voice but I swear the entire album is too deep into the sort of sophisti-pop sound that's just too smooth and chill in a way that I find very uninteresting and kinda corny. It's nice, but one note.
It might also be that I'm not in the mood for this :/
Drive-By Truckers
3/5
I think I'm not the kind of person for this album, I don't totally get the entire concept of the album but still found the lyrics and some of the songs pretty compelling. I guess I feel mostly positive about it but I wouldn't comeback to it really
The Stooges
4/5
It's a cool as hell album made even more interesting by its influence. What else is there to say than put it on (the iggy mix particularly)
Bebel Gilberto
3/5
Sweet and nice album but in a way it makes me crave older Bossa Nova/MBP with a little more groove than this because those were clearly the best songs, the ones leaning more towards the downtempo lounge stuff just didn't do it for me sadly
Brian Eno
4/5
The tone?? The guitar tone??? The fucking synth layered on the guitar??? It sounds crunchy in a way that I think a lot of rock should have gotten inspired by but isn't because they are silly
Anyway the album's good though I'm not huge on the glammier parts of this
Lou Reed
2/5
I think I like Lou better when he's weird on The Velvet Underground and Nico or White Light / White Heat than I do his more glammy and chill thing here. Don't get me wrong there was some great songs (Perfect Day, Make Up, Sattelite of Love, Walk on the Wild Side) and I love the gay subject matter he goes over but the ways the album can just be mid tempo pop rock or venture into more vaudville stuff towards the end really harmed the enjoyment of the album. Not bad but really not what I want from Lou yknow?
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
I'm generally not a fan of very traditional styles of rock, much less music that sounds super inspiring and upbeat but in this album Bruce and his band manages to make it work for me, all the optimism and joy of his sound don't sound like a cheap slogan but like a genuine emotion coming from the man and his band and I think it makes all the difference, it's joy that feels meaningful and not presented as something that IS because they feel that inspired in the studio which is something I can always have more of in older rock
Big Star
3/5
I think if the album had maintained the energy and sound to the A side I would be more into this album, I think it manages to make two sides of older rock (folkier rock and power pop) that I don't care for into something that is interesting personally, perhaps because they lean into hard rock elements in some of the songs but still. The 2nd side goes for more folksy heartache which I don't like but I can imagine some people more into folksier stuff would get more out of it
Nirvana
1/5
I could make an essay on why I don't like this album but it boils down to: I don't think the mythos surrounding this album matches how drab and flat it is. It's a poppy album in disguise, it's a rebel yell that feels like a logo now, it's simply not compelling in any way and I've just never been more disintrested in an album that by and large I should like. Come as You Are is okay tho
Led Zeppelin
1/5
Too long, sometimes repeating parts to the point of tedium. Robert Plant's vocals reaching the highest notes is like nails on a chalkboard. The only good points in this albums where the most subdued songs like Ten Years Gone or Down by the Sea Side because it didn't spend time in the same hard rock excersises the other songs did. Just not the thing I want from rock, even older rock
Frank Sinatra
2/5
Too many songs that blend in together, not the worst I guess if what you want is music to set the mood to a place but I think if that's all of Frank's appeal then I have no much reason to hear his version of vocal jazz/swing, especially if most of it runs in the same sound/vibe/moods. I guess songs like Pennies from Heaven is the exception by being more distinct but how distict I couldn't tell you frankly (hah)
Minutemen
4/5
This is album is very long but unlike other long albums I've had to truge thru this one feels more brisk with its short songs and just general vibe that each side is just a collection of car jams the guys made, and it is quite possibly better enjoyed as a driving companion rather than something you pick up and put down. It's probably an album that is better absorbed in places where long periods of driving or just *doing something* that takes your hands elsewhere, and I think that makes it nice. The songs themselves are mosyly good though obviously with such length its not a consistent album, I think the best songs were mostly on side C of the album, more propulsive punk stuff there than in the other sides
I think the more I write about it the more I like it in hindsight
Yes
2/5
Roundabout? Amazing
The interludes? Whatever
The other two songs? They are good but nothing I care a whole lot about even after listening to it. I used to listen to this a lot as a teen but I realize it was mostly Roundabout
John Coltrane
5/5
Literally what else is there to say about it but just wonderful
Ute Lemper
5/5
It's crazy to think this is how I find out about this album, not only did I never knew of this but it contains so many great and interesting songwriters, many of whom are my absolute faves. Initially I thought this was a covers album but... no? Like how the hell do you get two of the Divine Comedy guys, Elvis Costello, Nick Cave, Tom Waits, and fucking Scott Walker in the same albums to write you songs?? They all come together in their own songs to write and work on different songs of course but I like that Ute's voice/style (or what I asume is her own direction) is not lost, this sort of modern take on grand cabaret theatrical stuff and baroque pop with different influences depending on the featured writer. It's that kind of balance of a seasoned performer who has a vision and a strong voice and incredible writers that nets an album this interesting and exciting to me, which is surprising to me because I'm not somebody who likes, let alone is even interested in cabaret theatrics most of the time they fall flat by trying too hard whereas this feels like it avoids all the worst tropes of the more theatrical genres and remains all the aspects that are fuller with attitude and gusto which I think MANY cabaret/theatrical styled albums sorely miss for me.
I appreciate the range in sound and writing, but especially the final song Scope J. The closest this book has ever gotten to adding a late era Scott Walker song and immedeately its obvious how his style at the time took over the sounds, gone is the theatrics and in are the piercing drones and dissonances that transform Ute's vocals into a banshee.
I really cannot get enough of it, I possibly would go as far as to give it a 5/5 on here and 9/10 on rym on future listens because I had a great time and I love whenever someone makes music I don't think works for me work for me. Awesome surprise
Wild Beasts
2/5
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
3/5
It's a nice album to have on but nothing that I'm crazy about really. I think Cool Jazz is often not my favorite type of jazz, but that doesn't take away that it has a lot of great performances and sounds going on
Mj Cole
2/5
Just like yesterday, its not like there's anything wrong with this album, it's a nice vibe as far as 00s electronic but I feel like I'm not a fan of UK garage/2-Step's take on repetition for electronic music or the way drums sound or the length. It leaves me pretty cold but I think in the right context like a party it would be the right thing
Amy Winehouse
4/5
Barring some of the production quirks which can make some stuff muddy or Amy's voice crackle (idk if its the mic peaking or distortion), this album is still pretty wonderfully made. Something like this isn't my usual cup of tea and at worst I would be more critical of its throwback aesthetics, but I think it manages to pull them off in a genuine manner that doesn't leave me feeling like its boring or annoyingly evoking the past. More than anything though, Amy's voice and how she communicates her emotions and troubles really cuts through everything and it elevates it into something that makes me understand why this was such a big hit when it came out and how it made her passing such a great loss.
I expected it to like it somewhat but as far as pop albums from the past decade, this one is great
The Clash
1/5
I can't listen to this one a third time, just, no.
Seminal punk (ish) album? Yes
Do I like it? No, I do not like the ska elements or even its more punk elements, its too long and the only song I ever care to listen to again is Lost in the Supermarket because it at least sounds like a post punk song but beyond that it's just totally not my thing
Just a no.
Screaming Trees
4/5
Finally getting around this one after owning the album, it's less the sound of grunge I expected and more general 90s rock with some western esque sounds? This album manages to sound pretty big without working too hard for it and its great. I might need more time listening to some of these songs but other than that its pretty cool, of the better "grunge" things
Stevie Wonder
3/5
It's got some high highs but also some very middling songs which just take me off the experience. I guess I expected more upbeat funk stuff based on the songs I already heard from Stevie but this one turned out to be mellower than that, not the worst but still something I might not comeback to much besides Creepin and Please Don't Go
Finley Quaye
2/5
It sucks that this album is so long and drags so much on it's second half because the moments where this album mixes reggae/dub and downtempo it's probably where its at its best and it sounds so good I wish it was just those songs because they are awesome, but the moment it goes for the slower, pure reagge/dub this album slows to a crawl. Those songs are relaxing but they have nothing much else to them for me to be interested, sadly
Elton John
4/5
I was totally expecting this album to just go in one ear and out the other like some of the few I've gotten lately, but surprisingly I wound up really enjoying this one! It almost feels like an anomaly though, you mean to tell me that a 1970s pop rock piano rock double album from Elton fucking John would be one of the few older rock albums from this list that I not only enjoy but also heavily click with? It's not common for me to enjoy any of those things but something about the way these songs have more than most pop rock things of the era, it is multifaceted emotion wise yet it manages to be convincing at its saddest songs and fun at its most playful and happy songs. Even more amazing is how incredibly consistent the album is for its whole 70 minutes and even the more middling songs like Jamaican Jerk-off or Your Sister Can't Twist are thankfully short enough not to get in the way of the other songs. Great album all around
Linkin Park
5/5
This one might be my most listened album this year, ever since I started listening to it on February I just kept coming back to it one way or another, mainly because of how it's such a good and consistent listen all the way through, all the songs are just incredibly well crafted and produced, they are catchy but also still have edge to them, the lyrics are so earnest that yeah it can be a bit much but personally I completely feel the emotions within them and even relate to them. It's weird to explain why I like it, especially with how maligned this album was in the past and the endless memes, but looking beyond that there is an honest to god great album that really showed that Nu Metal might be as disposable as people say it was. I don't know, I like this album a lot
Stephen Stills
3/5
It's fine, enjoyable but not anything I'd comeback to. It has some interesting uses of these gospel backing vocals (weirdly reminds me of the latest Bad Seeds album) but personally it was at its best when it was aiming for more purely folk rock stuff
Bob Marley & The Wailers
3/5
Can't say this is my thing but it was a nice chill time but I kind of feel out of my depth trying to analyze this one. All around, good yea
Manic Street Preachers
4/5
I feel so mixed about this album, the kind of album that in theory should be one of my absolute faves but its execution is not my favorite. It has a cool, dark rock sound that takes from some of older post-punk/goth as well as the better parts of hard rock, it sounds like my thing but somewhere along the way the album either fades into the background or has songs with amazing and incredible parts and other more meh that just don't quite click with me.
It's almost like if I could cut some songs it would be one of the coolest things ever and don't get me wrong, it IS a good album but I feel like it hasn't quite clicked with me in the way I wish it did
Haircut 100
2/5
It's got more pulse than most other sophisti-pop with it's funk and new wave influences, but quite frankly I rather listen to other pop of this era, this one just came off as okay but generally just whatever
Marty Robbins
3/5
Big Iron.
It's a chill time, I guess if anything harms my enjoyment is that I'm not a country guy but somehow this album feels familiar with the tejano influences.
John Lennon
3/5
I was gonna joke that I'd rather listen to Yoko's solo (and so far listening to Fly this is more my speed) but this wasn't bad at all. Inconsistent as for me half the songs were great and sound nice and the other half are just country/blues tunes without much to add or for me to enjoy but other than that, it's a pretty nice album
Orbital
3/5
Another one I heard before, mainly during the time I was extremely into techno and idm yet it never left the strongest impression in me despite having such aclaimed songs like Halcyon and On and On. It's not bad by any means but I guess while its a good listen when its on, the rest really doesn't stick with me really. There's songs whose loops and sythpads can be a bit too repetitive like Planet of Shapes or Lush 3-1 which compared to Impact or Walk Now being proper acid techno/trance songs the former just feel so weak and make the album more uneven. Again not bad, essential for the history of techno but not my favorite or most memorable thing in the genre
Bob Dylan
2/5
Most of this album just didn't interest me really, I guess I'm not super in love with Bob's choice of instrumentals or the general genre pallet, I think the more it leaned into blues or country is when I tuned out but songs like Bob Dylan's 115th Dream or It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) manage to do a lot more for me and then I realize "hey maybe I do like Bob's songs but mostly the darker or weirder ones" and if that isn't indicative of my taste then I don't know what it is
Michael Jackson
3/5
Its not bad its good, kinda weird how songs sound on the album compared to their single versions. Anyway smooth criminal is the best song ever
The Louvin Brothers
3/5
I don't hate it, in fact it feels familiar. I didn't grow up in the US but the melodies from their singing and their guitars reminds me of these oldies I'd hear in the radio back where I grew up. The sort of male duet playing tremolo style stuff which I would never pay attention to but it became a fixture of what I associate with some old music. Maybe it was country inspired I don't know for sure. I think because of that familiarity the album didn't feel like this alien country thing to me, the total outsider to country but instead something just nice to listen to despite the fact that it is repetitive and mood wise it isn't varied either, but this kinda thing isn't too different to having a Sinatra album in the background for ambiance, so personally I think it's pretty nice
The National
2/5
I've tried National albums in the past and their style has never been my favorite, their take on indie rock with these chamber pop esque melodies and Matt's understated and low voice make for something that sounds pretty but becomes tiresome the longer it goes on. It helped in Boxer that it had some post punk elements that appealed more to me but on this one they transitioned into a brighter and kind of lush sound which again, I can see what they try to do with this but it ends up sounding flat and boring to me. Simply the formula for the songs of this album of mid tempo pretty songs with some nice accents and bored vocals really isn't exciting or something that I can appreciate in its own terms, it just sits there without much to catch my attention or worse sound like the worst indie cliches I've heard, even Bloodbuzz Ohio while good it bears reseamblance to a lot of boring indie that probably tried to replicate this song and failed, even the energy on it doesn't work because it just feels so restrained.
It's just too stiff for its own good
Pink Floyd
4/5
It's interesting to comeback to what I thought at age 16 was my favorite PF album, back when I wasn't all that into listening to albums or judged just based on what songs were cool but I was *almost* there in listening to all the songs in an album. It's almost been a decade since (ouch) and it's weird to realize how much I still remember about this album (and also enjoy) but also how much I didn't remember like the smaller details to the instrumentals, particularly the synth work on the Shine on You Crazy Diamond suite orthe foils in Welcome to the Machine. It's the kinds of things that make me realize that there is still a lot that I can dig into these older albums that I didn't realize initially now that I'm more conscious of these things.
Anyway, unlike other prog albums I heard before this one is one of the best, maybe it's how emotional and mechanical/space inspired it can be, there's no grand concept beyond being an ode to Sid Barrett and struggles with being a band but it's just really good at acompaning this instrumentals thay fit just what they wanna communicate and I love that about it
I'm glad I could return to this one with a fresh outlook on it and still come out of it enjoying it a ton
Leonard Cohen
4/5
Less is more would have this album under it, it's very simple guitar and vocals with some extra accompaniments here and there but what really sells this album for me is just how well Leonard can carry a song simply through its narrative. I think that's what makes his albums so especial
4/5
I'm still shocked that the only way pop rock, power pop and theatrical stuff clicks with me is still in the context of britpop, it feels like this is the only genre that has all these influences and makes them sound like good and fun alt rock with edge and not something too dorky or too revivalist of the past. Blur manage to melt the current rock sound in England (the touches of psych and noise pop are appreciated) with just incredibly catchy songwriting that doesn't feel cheap or like an annoying ear-worm. Hell It's even crazier how in its almost 70 mins it only has like ONE bad song and that was a hidden song, everything else is fantastic, how did they do it?
Marvin Gaye
4/5
This album sounds so sweet and nice yet it still manages to communicate all the heartbreak and bitterness of a dissolving relationship, it's rare when it can feel like a nice but discomforting time and I think I really like it for this reason. I guess I will have to check more Marvin Gaye in the future
The Go-Go's
3/5
As per usual with me I'm not the biggest in power pop/pop rock stuff that this album leans into but the points where it goes for more obvious new wave stuff as well as the strong melodies that they have it just makes it a good time. It's the kind of bright new wave thing that I can get behind for a change
Röyksopp
3/5
I always thought this would be one of those slam dunk albums where I'd love the sound of this one but in reality... it's just cool downtempo without much more for me to bite into, it sounds nice and the more house songs in this are great but I can't say I care much about this one on the whole. Something about the sound of these guys is just not as interesting to me as other downtempo type stuff I've heard really, it can feel a bit too measured for what would be a cool album otherwise. I think it may grow on me but I'm not entirely sure
The Divine Comedy
4/5
Having already had a sample of TDC's music by seeing their contributions to the Ute Lemper album I got a while back, I was excited to get a proper album of theirs, especially with how short this is (the title is not a lie thank god). The sound of Neil Hammond's voice is simply wonderful, perfectly melodic and fitting the old styles of baroque pop and some chamber pop without feeling too saccharine or overwrought which is usually why I never quite click with either genre. I think the briefness and simplicity of the music makes the whole love theme and love emotions feel more interesting and fun that they otherwise would. Honestly feeling like digging into this band more so far they've been a treat for a genre that I don't care for much
David Bowie
5/5
The fact that Bowie was: fucked up on coke, only eating peppers and drinking milk, and with fascist delusions was capable of produce this album is nothing short of impressive, if not proof that he was on some other shit (besides the coke) during the 70s. I hadn't been able to get to this album in full but I had always loved the title track and it's a pleasant surprise to see that inside there were songs that were just consistently amazing, even the cover of Wild is the Wind sounds amazing.
How did he do it?
The Doors
3/5
My only experience with the Doors before this album was the Riders of the Storm remix with Snoop Dogg (yes I know) so I had zero expectations going in. Honestly I thought I wouldn't be a fan of their music (and I'm not) but I had a better time with it than I expected, mainly because of the organ and some of the more hard rock tunes, they are just good fun music for the most part and I can't complain about that really
Adele
2/5
It's disgestible radio soul/pop/piano-stuff, I think she's at her best when the songs have the energy to make her voice actually feel huge (Rolling in the Deep is a modern pop classic for a reason) but the more slow, ballady stuff is not something that was interesting or even anything I picked up on as notable, it's just there (the most I reacted to was the Lovesong cover but that's it)
I don't hate this but I don't care for it really, even the good songs
Cornershop
2/5
I feel like this album has an identity crisis it can't really save itself from: on one hand it's made up of cute but ultimately non descript indie pop whose biggest interesting part is maybe that it sometimes uses electronics or indian influences. On the other hand there's an electronic fusion of raga rock, trip hop, sampling and even guests (did you know that the She Wants Revenge guy is on this album and can rap? Well now you do!) which make the album all the more interesting and even unique among 90s british electronica. This bipolarity of sounds, coupled with the fact that this album is too long really doesn't do the album many favors, which sucks because there's legit great ideas here
2/5
I have heard it before and honestly I just skimmed thru because I really do not care for U2 at their most arena ready sound (late 80s and their post 2000 music), it's something about how both it sounds too poppy to be interesting to me, it has some of U2's worst instincts in songwriting beginning to take hold (The Edge's guitar hello) and just the feeling that the lasting influence of this album being shitty music for ads. There's too much about this album that simply doesn't make it enjoyable to me knowing me and knowing how I feel about the pop side of 80s arena rock, their 90s output is forever the best part of their discography, not this
Johnny Cash
4/5
It's pretty true what they say about Johnny Cash clicking with non-country listeners, I wasn't expecting to enjoy this given I have zero interest in Country music, but Johnny Cash's brand of Country, at least based on this album don't have the same feel as other country things I've listened to and just felt like it was absolutely not for me, especially modern country.
I think if something helps with this feeling is simply how much fun energy there is here, Johnny is a great storyteller but doesn't shy away from showing emotions or laughing at something that happened during the performance or when interacting with the audience, it creates an atmosphere that's weirdly more approachable because it's not about country life or something, it's about the misadventures or tales that Johnny tells. I can't really comment about the instrumentals, something about them isn't repellent to me but beyond that Idk if there's anything else to point to
Generally: Really fun!
Various Artists
3/5
Bunch of classic Christmas songs by way of the many girl groups Phil Spector had a hand in producing. Most of them are simply pleasant interpretations but nothing I'd be listening to on the holidays really, especially as some like Sleigh Ride is basically a song that plays everywhere during this time of year so I mean, I don't wanna put myself though that more. I think my favorite performances were the ones by Darlene Love, she really gave it her all singing some of these, props to her
George Michael
3/5
My expectation from this albums ever since I saw the cover was basically George moving away from the Wham sound into something more sultry and serious (a more serious Careless Whisperer if you will). Instead it's more like a continuation of Wham's sound but from the R&B side of things rather than the dance pop they helped popularize. It's kinda jarring to expect something darker and sexier and getting hit with the same kinda bright, bubbly energy George had in the Wham era but now he talks about wanting sex and all those sorts of things. It might sound like an awkward record (and it can be, Monkey is not a good song really and I Want Your Sex can be hit or miss depending on your mood) but instead it manages to be a fun time if I'm frank, it's the kind of 80s pop that is so big that it simply wraps around to be enjoyable and I can't help but just be mostly all in for the ride. Especially from the three track run of Hard Day, Hand to Mouth and Look at Your Hands where I feel like the idea of this album really comes together, pop like his old stuff but looking forward to new sounds. I'm kinda glad my boyfriend has it on record because I'd gladly play it again
Marvin Gaye
4/5
I had to listen to Here My Dear some weeks ago and the experience of that album as my first taste of Marvin Gaye's music was quite the first impression because it was pretty nice sonically but the spilling of guts gave it this dark and sad undertone that I just couldn't ignore. I write this here because I didn't get to be very detailed for my thoughts on Here My Dear but also because by comparison, getting to hear Let's Get it On is almost night and day in the mood and lyrics. The obvious meme thought about this album is the one with the classic sexy riff in the title track that just screams "this album is about sex to love your girl by and like, yeah that's true but it's also not EVERYTHING this album has to offer either. It's just perfectly suited to soundtrack a cozy afternoon with your partner (or by yourself) or simply dancing to really well composed dancey soul. It's really hard not to enjoy this album because it's effortlessly great at the instrumental choices it has, Marv's voice is smooth yet full of passion for the subject of his songs, you can believe he feels so strongly about this woman which only makes the way it presents these emotions even better.
Just, great stuff once again
Ella Fitzgerald
3/5
This 3 hour beast was intimidating to even conceptualize sitting down and listening to it, I mean 3 hours of vocal jazz standards sounds like the most tiring task in the world and the fact that it was included on the book just seems crazy, yet sitting down with it and taking the time to take it in while I was working on other things made for a nice time. It's hard not to view older jazz as background music for just doing anything but at the same time it doesn't take away the fact that Ella is a tremendous voice (so full of emotion but also so soft) and the backing band manages to play varied tunes for her to sing. It made the experience go from something that would have made my afternoon feel like an eternity to a breeze. I don't love this because I mean come on it's too long but Ella's voice is undeniable.
Taylor Swift
2/5
I hate to let my negative biases get to me, especially when music nerds consider this to be her best but I just can't help but feel annoyed listening to this. I can separate Taylor's music from all her shenanigans and fanbase but it's hard not to also think of her as this overpresent pop artist who can make a catchy song but often times is too wrapped up in her own personal drama for me to ever care. I guess on the other hand the thing that makes me not so negative on "evermore" is that she IS a good singer capable of making some sweet melodies as well as the folksy instrumentals aren't that bad so I don't mind them but I just cannot get past the lyrics whenever I would catch an awkward lyric or silly metaphor or maybe when some of her guests didn't do much for a song (like Bon Iver). It's especially worse in an album that's more singer songwriter focused so hearing these things made me have even less patience with the album than I would otherwise.
Really, if the album was 30 minutes shorter and excluded some of the weirder lines, I would not think too hard about this album or something but it does. Like I said too, part of my negativity towards this album is probably my negative connotations with TS and her songwriting so, don't take my rating seriously
R.E.M.
3/5
One of the things I've felt for years is that I really need to dig into the earlier side of R.E.M.'s discography, mainly because I wanna see what they did with the jangle pop sound and their singles from that era are pretty neat. This album was good but not really consistent, it feels in this weird crossroad of trying to be more alternative rock but also trying to still retain some of the folky/jangly aspects of their old music, so it can oscillate between amazing alt rock songs like "Orange Crush" to huge misses like "The Wrong Child" whose instrumentals and Mike's voice just do NOT mix well. I enjoyed my time with this album but it just felt like I have heard R.E.M. could do better and more consistent things than this.
Slade
3/5
I was so ready to hate on this one because I find the cover really ugly to look at, but thankfully the music is pretty much really well performed and energetic glam rock. I think as time goes on with this challenge my inner boomer taste gets to have some fun with bands like this one who rock hard in the most basic of ways while also having the purest, rocking energy ever. It's just a fun listen though I enjoy it more in the front half of the album than in the back half, but either way I'm glad it was something I found enjoyable, more than the cover at least.
This is also my last album of the year so Happy New Years!
Gram Parsons
2/5
I don't know how to really justify or even explain why I did not enjoy this one beyond the fact that it sounds like the typical tropes of country which aren't too painfully interesting to me. It's not "bad" but it's nothing I care about really
Stephen Stills
3/5
A lot better than the last Stephen Stills solo album I had to listen to, it's certainly more varied given the length and amount of musicians working on this album though it can feel like each side it's just its own vibe (Sides A and C are more folk rock, side B is more bluegrass, Side D is a bit of everything?) which can make it easier to feel like one side is better than another depending on your biases? I certainly lean towards the upbeat folk rock of Side A the most, it's just familiar but fun in a way I wasn't expecting out of this band.
Just generally, a good album
ABBA
2/5
It's not that I don't enjoy ABBA, I do enjoy most of the more dancey songs on here but it feels as if this album can go from a really great pop song (Dancing Queen, Tiger) to a bad one (Why Did It Have to Be Me) which makes it all the more frustrating of a listen. I don't wanna feel like this about ABBA because they are fun! But I don't think the fun can last for 30 mins really (I would not be opposed to checking a second album of theirs)
The Offspring
2/5
I'm already not a huge fan of pop punk-adjacent stuff, it's simply not my thing and generally it can be pretty uninteresting. If I can give Smash something is the fact that it's not trying to be like most pop punk I heard by being real simple and having the worst vocals ever, it was more along the lines of regular punk rock stuff and it's pretty alright at that, if you like some kind of punk rock with some 90s production I don't see how this wouldn't tickle your fancy by being the exact kind of upbeat punk that many think of, but is it for me? Absolutely not, but I had a better time with it than I expected so I'm pleased about that
Mariah Carey
3/5
I never thought I'd be listening to something by Mariah, but like most of the 1001 albums challenge it really is making me consider music I never thought too hard about. This album plays into a lot of what I expect out of most R&B and pop stuff but I'm kinda glad it goes for more than just that, the way the album starts had me thinking it would be more typical to radio pop stuff but once The Roof hits it just shifts everything into such a cool sound, the way the album starts adding hip hop beats or soul instrumentals just really elevate the songs along with Mariah's obviously wonderful vocals. Something like the trip hop beats in The Roof or the chorus to Breakdown are absolutely killer, Fly Away is like the most ideal 90s house song the beat is absolutely fantastic
I wish I was more down with the production and sound for Honey or Butterfly because this album would otherwise be my kind of 90s pop. Certainly a great time
Joan Armatrading
3/5
Joan's voice and playing is wonderful, it's the perfect intersection of folky rock and funk/soul in a way that brings the best out of both. I wish I loved this sound more than just a few songs that grab me as much as they do, I think a couple songs go on for too long and don't really work as well. Overall still a great sound and probably would try to look for more like this
Silver Jews
4/5
I guess it was a good thing that I procrastinated on this one a bit, especially when I'm feeling pretty down. It scratches that specific depressive itch really well, especially in it's first half where most of the songs are just beautifully made and written (if sad as they come). The later half that goes more country with it I'm less interested in but it's still enjoyable. I think it will grow on me
The White Stripes
1/5
I like The White Stripes, I've never been huge on their music but I've had albums of theirs I really appreciate (De Stijl is excellent), this isn't one of them.
I think since the first time I heard Blue Orchid (the song that made me discover TWS, mind you) was that it was... cool but never stuck with me, especially as I discovered their other big songs and realized that this was a cool band that was enjoyable, bur every time I tried to return to Blue Orchid it was just nothing. Then I tried going through their albums and when I got to Get Behind Me Satan it just felt different in a way I simply didn't enjoy, not even because they changed it to be more bluesy instead of garage-y (especially because I'd argue I like Jack White's solo material to his WS stuff and that is further into the blues/Americana thing he loves to play), but instead because it feels like they wanna do something bluesier and weirder and it ends up not working at all, jack wants to deploy all his usual writing and singing quirks and they just sound worse than they should; the repetition on My Doorbell or the entire sound to I'm Lonely just feels like things that they are usually good at being made into something extremely unenjoyable. I don't know, it feels like one of those that every time I've given it a chance it never clicks and maybe it's also that I'm not feeling great today, but I doubt I will find much enjoyment in this one whenever I inevitably go back to TWS' discography, and perhaps I will have more concrete criticisms of the other songs, but as it stands, this one ain't it Jack and Meg
Jacques Brel
4/5
Jacques Brel is awesome. His style of Chason singing is energetic he almost sounds like he's hooting and hollering with his whole chest in every song, but he's also good at conveying softer emotions while still being a very distinct singer. If there's one thing I don't enjoy about this recording is simply that its so short and live, it makes the production kinda weird in some songs but beyond that, awesome little album
Crosby, Stills & Nash
3/5
I like the harmony's and David Crosby's songs, I don't think like I can truly write at length about this one but I like it more than I initially imagined, especially after two Stephen Stills albums. I will comeback to this one for more thoughts at some point
Sonic Youth
4/5
I've always maintained in my mind that Sister was among my least favorite albums by Sonic Youth, especially during their 80s period, I especially struggled simply because I'm not a fan of Schizophrenia and the rest of the album seemed like a blur, especially when before it is Evol, my favorite SY and Daydream Nation, their most beloved if you are some kind of indie nerd (like me, I really like it). Sister is stuck in this weird spot where it's almost that college rock thing they became known for but also not really, so it never really stood out when I felt like I would want to listen to whatever else they've made.
It turns out this one is also pretty good! I think my major gripes with it during this listen felt less like real gripes and just my thoughts in relation to their other albums, on it's own it's a really great indie album that isn't afraid to go weird (as SY did) whenever they wanted to, I think songs like Stereo Sanctity or Pacific Coast Highway should be talked about more with how weird but still deeply enjoyable they are.
I'm glad that I finally got to connect with this one (and that I can keep the vinyl copy I got a while back)
Supertramp
2/5
Sure it has some cool moments, but it veers strongly towards the flavor of prog I'm very much not interested in. Too poppy and bright, it just isn't doing it for me at this moment when I'm not in the mood for this kind of music. Also some parts of this album just feel like they are oddly quiet on streaming, it becomes jarring when it hits the longer songs and it suddenly goes quiet
Johnny Cash
4/5
It's giving the same feelings I had when listening to At Folsom Prison, simply enjoyable entirely off the fact that Cash was such a charismastic performer and a great songwriter, I swear there's barely a dull moment when listening to him sing about hating the prison he prison he is performing at, only to then ask for water
It's just great fun
Hookworms
4/5
I wasn't sure what to expect here, never heard of this band and never even thought it would be something this book would have included, even more seeing that one of the members eventually went on to be on Yard Act, one of the more "okay" bands of the past few years.
So, color me surprised when this album was instead a really cool psychedelic album that's clearly inspired by bands like Animal Collective and Stereolab but manages to give it its own twist. The synth work and instrumentals here are so lush and wonderfully arranged but still grounded with driving bass and drums which makes the music feel as energetic as it is nicely composed.
It's always albums like this that reminds me the thrill of listening to new obscure music, you never know what you're gonna get or hear but if it's good it's always gratifying
The Beach Boys
3/5
I've never heard The Beach Boys intentionally because they just feel like the antithesis of all the things I enjoy but mainly because their sound and look are so bright and melodic, clean cut and just... well just nice (let's forget all the backstage drama and dark history about this band that could make a saga of books for a second).
I knew eventually I'll have to listen to something they made when doing this challenge and I wasn't expecting to have a single positive emotion.... but as things often do with these kinds of expectations it just so happens that things can surprise you like, turns out maybe The Beach Boys aren't entirely antithetical to everything I enjoy and maybe their sound while being obvious melodic, sunny pop it doesn't *feel* as trite or simple than I expected, most often they are just really enjoyable radio pop or some songs like "Please Let Me Wonder" or "Kiss Me, Baby" are wonderfully complex melodically and even emotionally honest in a way that, once again, I never imagined I'd be feeling this way about it.
I imagine eventually I will adjust how I feel but honestly? I don't feel so negative to TBB like I used to, I'm looking forward to the next one I listen to
Tim Buckley
4/5
Not as magical as Goodbye and Hello, but I still love how complex and delicate a lot of the sounds are in this album, the use of marimbas and vibraphone gives it this sweet feel that fits the more subdued sound of this album. Not always a vibe I'm looking for but this is really nice and makes me want to keep exploring his discography.
The Killers
3/5
The people saying this is a very 7/10 are mostly correct. The first four songs of this album are such classics that the stuff that comes after just feels weak by comparison.... or does it? I think it's kind of unfair to say only because right after those four songs become more the sort of pop rock arena thing that The Killers eventually went towards, yet even then that feels like the minority as they have songs like "Change Your Mind", "Believe Me Natalie" and "Midnight Show" which are as worthwhile as the first four, which makes me think people stopped when they hit the radio singles and not for love of this era of post-punk revival which I love. It's no Interpol but it's pretty damn good.
Steely Dan
3/5
I wasn't thrilled about this one since I've heard Aja before and I'm not the biggest fan of it, it's good but I guess the clinical smoothness can get kinda tired. This album by comparison is far more fun, it has those classic Steely Dan smooth melodies but I feel like the music is far more lively and fun here, it's jazzy instrumentals with some classic rock leanings makes for a combination that just works really well with their style. A surprise for sure!
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
4/5
How to talk about this glorious mess of an album? It's like THE weirdo album of which I think the weirdness comes more from how long it is and how much it throws the listener into weird vignettes for every song, one song might be a manic jam or the next Captain Beefheart singing by himself or the next they are fooling around and you hear Frank Zappa's voice. It's no wonder this album is so notoriously offputting, it's intentional trying not to be a cohesive piece of music, hell, coherently PERFORMED music too, twice now I felt in a trance listening to this thing because of how easy it is to get lost in its small songs going on for 74 mins, and if you are riding along its weirdness then you just sink into them because (or at least I think) this album feels like the place where so many other musical weirdos in the future got ideas for songs. I'm convinced Jack White got ideas for his music listening to Veteran Day's Poppy which only got stronger knowing Third Man re-released this album.
I think to say this album is "weird" or "unusual" is obviously true and important for what the record is and its intentions but even more is seeing it as this jumping off point for many other weirdos to do it too.
Talking Heads
2/5
This album makes me mad, but more because of how people speak about it as being so zany and unique but like, is it?? It's got great songs for sure like Psycho Killer and No Compassion but besides that it just feels like the same or less decent funky new wave song played over and over again and none of them interest me, they barely do something for me because they all sound basically the same (or worse in the case of Don't Worry About the Goverment). I think my frustration is partly how people talk about Talking Heads as the quirkiest band around (they aren't tbh) but legit you could be hearing a better version of Talking Heads 77 in the shape of The Contortions' Buy or Liquid Liquid's Optimo or really a myriad of bands that did this sound but better and crazier.
This was such a disappointment. A competent album sure but not anything I could care for even within my favorite music.
The Who
3/5
As someone who's basically an american zoomer who's never left the continent of america, a lot of older british albums just don't always make sense because of cultural reasons, things like the Beat and Mods and whatever aren't something I'm familiar with beyond the fact that it was pop rock in england. So I went into this album expecting nothing but a boring album to ignore yet once again, I've been surprised by an album that I expected nothing from.
This album is *weird* in a way that is understated, maybe with its concept if The Who literally selling out through doing ads and selling foods while also playing all these songs that vary from simple but fun pop songs to weird pop songs that include all these psychedelic sounds which made the album all the more interesting and engaging. Songs like Odorono or I Can See for Miles are immedeate highlights in how distinctly weird and cool they are, but then songs like Tattoo or Medac have all these weird catchy melodies that don't feel like pure pop rock bore. As a whole, a pretty fun record
Red Snapper
4/5
Pretty great trip hop album, it's got the exact mix of atmosphere and inventive uses of beats and other instrumentals to make it a nice vibe for it's 50 mins. I usually love this stuff but it makes me happy to explore other albums in the genre that aren't the usual suspects
Iron Butterfly
2/5
This album is so lovesick it's kind of overbearing. This sort of super psychedelic, organ heavy music about love is very common and I'm not about to say that Iron Butterfly are reinventing the wheel, it's more just some cool ideas and textures but anything beyond that is just not really there for me. It's just fine but nothing to write home about
The xx
3/5
It's a cute album, though it felt as if the songs went by so fast I could hardly sink into them and enjoy the sound of them. But I mean, for like dreamy pop this had more going on than the vast majority of its kind so that's great imo.
The Monkees
3/5
Like many things on this book I expect 0 but the kinda genres I know these bands play and the little I know about The Monkees is just that they were a band made for a tv show playing the kinda pop rock from the 60s that any Beatles or Beach Boys fan would like, which like yeah its true in the first side of this... until it just isn't?
The 2nd side of this album just shift into more distinct instrumentals, from soft ballads that sound really nice to genuine rock songs that go really hard, something like For Pete's Sake or Randy Scouse Git (secret proto punk song) or the weird little spoken interludes like Zilch which has rapping kinda?? Things like this make me wonder about what else they did and that maybe The Monkees are better than I initially expected them to be, although I don't think I will comeback to this album in full anytime soon
4/5
I already like PJ Harvey's last 3 albums so this one is basically a no brainer of liking for me. I always forget how weird and interesting PJ's voice and writing is because so many songs are so distinctly her type of understated but great rock writing, especially in the opener, closer, A Place Called Home, Mess We're In, etc.
Just a really strong album
Little Richard
2/5
I don't think I dislike this really but it's also just not interesting to me. Little Richard's energy and vocal talent is undeniable and just really enjoyable but I guess I don't care for the musical accompaniment much if at all, I feel like I'd be more into this sort of rock n roll thing if I had grown up with it. Saying this makes me flashback to this person who told me they grew up on Little Richard's music and how much it brought them joy and fun, which made his passing even more sad to this person. I wish I could share those same emotions about this album but ultimately, I don't :/
David Gray
2/5
Pleasant music and tasteful use of electronics in a folky context when its on, but outside of that? It's just kinda there, I feel like it worked better as wallpaper than really something I'm invested in.
Blue Cheer
2/5
I'd think Vincebus Eurptum would have all the makings of something I'd enjoy, I mean, it has the fuzzy, heavy and psychedelic sound that defined a lot of proto-heavy metal and generally I think it has a neat heavy sound (if the fact that it's upload on streaming sounds kinda weird which clearly seems like this should be played Mono, especially because my left ear did not like having a feedbacky guitar screech for 30 mins without any balance to it), but all the songs just blend in so much I can barely tell what's what besides the Opener, which is really good. Just kinda forgettable but interesting if you like noise rock or metal
Elvis Costello
3/5
This was better than I initially expected! I mostly thought it would be basic power pop (And at times, it is) but it manages to keep it interesting by not just playing to the same old style but also doing more with it to create some really pleasant and enjoyable songs (2nd and 3rd were my favorites probably)
A pleasant surprise all around.
The Band
3/5
Pleasant album but as it happens, just kinda enters one ear and exits the other, which makes it kinda hard to keep track of what's happening after a while. But what I enjoyed the most it's the combination of chill instrumentals with the organs which gave it a sound that's a little more unique that other older rock I've heard so far. It's nice but nothing I will return to
Echo And The Bunnymen
4/5
I've been meaning to check out Echo and the Bunnymen for a long time, I mean, it's one of those iconic post-punk groups of the 80s and Killing Moon is an eternal song every time I hear it (love how its used in Donnie Darko's opening part).
This album was a pleasant surprise in that despite not having another song as good as Killing Moon it still has some excellent songs that don't feel like they are just filler until the big song but other moods and vibes that all come together to make a really brief and cohesive record. Obviously, it helps I love this genre but personally? I think this album brings a lot more to the table than I expected and I'm so happy for that
The Beach Boys
4/5
So like I said before in Beach Boys Today! that album is obviously rooted in the pop rock of its time but still had subtle moments of complex arrangements or just little weird things here and there that made me think "maybe these guys are onto something". It's cool to see though that the album with maybe their coolest cover art is also one that sound just as downbeat and hazy but not in an obviously dark and melancholic way, I guess more using the haze of psychedelia and distortion to make an album that sounds and feels more introspective and small but still having some of that pop magic that makes The Beach Boys well, The Beach Boys like how some of the ways in which they introduce those choir vocals with the music is so nice and manages to fit the atmosphere of the music so well, it's lovely.
I usually don't expect to like this sort of stuff but once again, I've been impressed by seeing that these guys are better than I ever expected
Pixies
3/5
I have a weird relationship with Pixies where I can enjoy some of their songs but overall their albums never really hit for me for some reason. Even thought they play well within all the genres I enjoy, I think mainly because the way they go about how the songwriting leans in a poppier, surfier, more light(? direction than I ever expected from their music (or at least based on this and Doolittle), which ofc affects my view of them and certainly made me appreciate this album last time I heard it around last year.
Now maybe it's the fact that I know someone who loves this band and has explained why she finds them so amazing or maybe it's the fact that I've found more appreciation in the way they introduce these poppier, sloppier and amateurish elements of the music and also how that plays off the more punk elements in the opener or River Euphrates or Tony's Theme, maybe too that I'm more in the mood for some of the sillier ideas like Oh My Golly! So, who knows maybe this one will keep growing on me, I sure hope it does because I love this era of noisier and punkier indie rock before it truly hit it big so who knows, maybe in the future I will get why Where's My Mind is so great to people.
Britney Spears
2/5
I don't know where to start this review, but I guess I never expected to be sitting here thinking to myself that I have many thoughts about Baby One More Time by Britney Spears of all albums I listened to because of the generator.
The main thing is well: this era of teeny bopper, turn of the century music is for the most part... not great for an album but has always a great single or a great song hidden in between all the fluff of the album (or the songs that I don't enjoy at least). I'm not gonna say this album is great since I find a lot of the songs to be either melodramatic power ballads or dance pop tunes which the former gets grating because it reminds me of those live action TV movies from Disney Channel and the latter IS very fun and I wish there was more of it instead of the former. Yet, I still can find something in those cheesy ballads in how they remind me of being like 10 or 12 watching those old Disney Channel TV movies and find some nostalgia in that era of TV that I remember pretty vividly and then just think "well it isn't great and isn't my kinda pop but it's really cute and even making me feel good??" Which is wild because again, I thought I'd be sitting here saying it's teen pop with the one good song and move on (and I mean yeah, Baby One More Time overshadows the entire album except for The Beat Goes On which kinda sounds like a very simple attempt at doing the sound of Debut or Post era Bjork and I'm still so surprised by it).
I don't think I will sit and relisten to this again (unless I get dared to dive into her discography) but I feel it gave me a good enough time that I can't ignore that or avoid that it reminds me of a bunch of things I enjoyed once. So yeah, thanks Britney.
Janet Jackson
4/5
I had never before heard- Ok that's a lie i have heard Janet before in the song Scream with Michael Jackson ofc, but even with her solo stuff getting more attention among music nerd circles, I haven't really gotten to check it out until now. I was the most interested in this one out of all her albums because it had industrial influences according to RYM so like, why not! And for the most part I kinda see it? The rugged and mechanical beats in this album wouldn't be too out of place if in EBM if you isolated them and put people chanting endless meaningless slogans. But anyway, this album was really enjoyable, I mean Janet sounds amazing, the instrumentals are punchy and dance-able but also not saddled by 80s production like I'd expect especially on Rhythm Nation and Miss You Much which are just so cool and really made me want to get up and dance to them.
I will say though: the length is not the best, especially as the last few songs just veer into R&B ballads without much more to them just dragged the enjoyment of the album which started which such cool energy. There's also how many interludes there are in this album, almost ridiculously so but they're short enough to not be a total bother I think.
All in all, pretty good!
Red Hot Chili Peppers
2/5
This album isn't horrible but I keep feeling as if every single song is something I've heard another, better 90s band do a lot better and more interestingly. It doesn't help that this thing is 15 songs long and most of them oscillate between fucking around and maybe a nice melody being compressed to shit.
Still has Otherside for whatever it's worth
Bob Dylan
3/5
I think this simpler, minimal folk era of Dylan's clicks with me wayyyyy more than Bringing It All Back Home which while it had some okay moments, it just did not sound good to me (or maybe I was in a bad mood which also happens). Maybe I'll have to relisten to the previous one to really get to why I wasn't interested in it, but here it somehow doesn't feel like that much of a shift and yet it works. the simplicity and direct delivery, the chill tone and how well Bob tells a story is all here and it makes total sense to me.
Just a good album really
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
I had listened to Nebraska before, mainly because I heard about how State Trooper was Bruce's attempt at doing a Suicide song in his home, and while that song is great because it's interesting to hear him just do a pastiche of one of the weirdest punk bands ever, I never really came back to this one since I wasn't into this super cold, echo-y and minimal folk album. But that was years ago when I would find anything too minimal and folky to be dung compared to now where I can find this sorta thing more relaxing and enjoyable... which only makes Nebraska even better for me because suddenly it makes sense to me, the instrumentals, the atmosphere, the way everything feels so like someone cooked up in their house during winter trying to hammer out some songs after checking out some weird album to fit the mood, and it's cool.
I debate which I like more since I think I need to be in the right mood for either this or Born to Run, but I think as of right now when it's cold and have to stay home all the time, it's the perfect album to just sit and relax to a similar atmosphere.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
I think that these guys can be fun and make a catchy song, but I also don't feel like I'm too invested in these songs. They feel so brief and fast I could barely register what was happening in some of them.
Probably one to relisten but as it stands it's ok
Violent Femmes
3/5
Violent Femmes is one of those bands I actively avoided because I don't enjoy folk punk and I feel like every time I hear this genre it can feel 50% stinkier. Still I had listened to this before and was one of those that if not a favorite at least showed the genre could be... well better than I expected.
I still feel the same about this one, the use of the folksy instrumentals in a punk context but at least in a way that enhances how weird and desperate the lyrics can be rather than as a gimmick, Blister in the Sun's herky-jerky instrumental matches its lyrics and feel so well and those are the songs I had the most fun with in this album. The slower songs weren't all that interesting to me by comparison (as usual lol).
I'm glad that this one didn't become less enjoyable or more annoying on a second listen, I think I even dig some of what it's doing more than before
The Blue Nile
3/5
The first time I listened to this album (and The Blue Nile as a whole) was this listening party in an old Discord server, the person making the listening party happen was someone who loved this band dearly because it was personal to him (I think something to do with his parents, I think). It's been years since and I haven't talked to this person in forever, so the only thing left is this album which I haven't really revisited because both times I heard it was either not really focusing or being really exasperated at how slow and minimal it was and just wrote this album (and Hats) as purely something I would never care for.
I think after this listen though I feel like I misjudged the album as some totally boring, mid 80s artsy thing and not a genuinely nice album that utilizes its sense of space for its benefit. I'm not gonna say every decision made by the album sonically clicks with me, the opener feels a little awkwardly mixed and some songs like Easter Parade just hardly left an impression on me to really care for it, but I think every other song had a melody or something that really caught my attention, especially when the singer had more of the spotlight (like Stay or Tinseltown in the Rain where he sounds great), also the closer's semi industrial thing works so well for me, it's probably my favorite for using negative space in a song to feel so... clean but not in a negative way? I'm happy I can find a reason to reassess this album in a way that gives me more to appreciate from it.
Traffic
2/5
Idk, it can be kinda nice at the psych thing but it barely makes an impression on me, especially when it goes more folky or soulful which I don't find as interesting or engaging. So like, meh?
Buzzcocks
3/5
I always think to myself that the earlier punk rock is simply not for me because a lot of the time it bores me since there isn't more to the aggression or the sound even if I do like the ethos. The buzzcocks got the poppier sound going for them and I do like some of the sings more than I'd think I would but it's not something I'd be coming back to any time soon, still it has some relatable songs and catchy tunes that I think someone more into this kinda thing would love.
Massive Attack
3/5
Massive Attack is one of those artists I've wanted to get deeper into their discography, I already love Mezzanine and every other song I've heard from their albums has always been really enjoyable, yet I never got myself to check their music out more. I had known beforehand that Blue Lines was quite different from Mezzanine in being, I guess the day to Mezzanine's night, it doesn't feel nearly as mechanical or like a city in the dead of night but instead like walking in a downtown area at 4 pm. It's interesting too to see how this really is their hip hop album in a way that makes me understand why one of the members of this eventually left the band once they shifted sound, it's just got a warmer, more approachable sound if you enjoy more hip hop or dub and I think that gives it a very unique feel to it.
I don't love it but I do think I'll keep coming back to Safe From Harm, Daydreaming, Lately and obviously Unfinished Sympathy.
The Stone Roses
4/5
If there's a patient zero for SO MUCH of what British rock became in the 1990s it would this album, it sounds like all the things that were going on sound wise, a little bit of madchester and baggy, a little bit of jangle pop, a little bit of shoegaze, yet it synthesizes all these things in such a unique way. And all these things sort of coming together sound like basically what britpop would be like later on, so obviously I really enjoy this, it's so carefree in a way that feels straight out of a mid 90s movie.
Really recommended if you like that era of rock.
The Allman Brothers Band
3/5
Sometimes when it comes to these bands with obvious blues rock sound or something I always start expecting this will be something I will dislike or that it's gonna be too long for its own good which usually I feel right in feeling that way but here I think it was an unwarranted fear because this album was a lot cooler than I gave it credit for, especially from Stormy Monday onwards. There's something to the addition of these jazzy and jammy elements like the use of organ or long improv solos that gives it the kind of psychedelic feel I would look for in something from this era compared to if it was purely blues rock stuff without much else, this is especially obvious on "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" and "Whipping Past" which when I read people say they are perfect, I can actually see it.
I like surprises like these
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
I had only heard one song from this album before, the very funny Dylan Pastiche "A Simple Desultory Philippic" which really did get a good laugh out of me and I still think about as one of the highlights here, but that's more because I get the joke now and it's so different from everything else in the album which is obviously what I imagined it would be, very lush and pretty "folk rock", the melodies alone just make it such a great listen while not wasting any time in its songs. I think what struck me the most was that sonic but I feel like I'll have to return to this one for the lyrics. Either way I really enjoyed it
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
Save me, Bob Marley, save me
I don't have anything too insightful to say about the music since I know jack about reggae beyond it being relaxing but if going by the blurb on apple music about this, the message of this album really is hitting currently as things seem to get grimmer and grimmer huh
Genesis
3/5
I feel like a clown whenever it turns out I enjoy a prog thing a lot more than I expect, with this one being another example of that, it's pretty good! I think I enjoy Peter Gabriel's voice more in this context than I do his solo work (although I couldn't shake the feeling I was listening to that stuff a bit because it's, well, Peter Gabriel), especially because it has all the fun noodling of prog that feels exciting instead of just lame or like too much (like Yes). I take that over feeling like this album tortured me.
Tom Waits
4/5
The only other Tom Waits album I heard was his debut all the way back in 1973 when he had a normal singing voice and played pretty and tender songs, yet, knowing his reputation of his later albums getting weirder and grittier I kind of expected something that was so removed from his start as a blues pianist and more into weirdo rock or something. Instead... It's kind of an inbetween point in those two ideas, he's gone mad and now has really weirdly composed songs, sounds like Cookie Monster and plays a fucked version of his previous music, but he still knows how to pull at your heartstrings or make really compelling songs despite something feeling off, and I really enjoy that! I love hearing that even 20 years after Closing Time he can take the things from that sound and bring it into a new context where the dark and gloomy atmosphere really works. I think I need some time to really sink in and appreciate some of these songs but I think this one will grow on me for sure
Gorillaz
4/5
Oh this one was one that I had relistened to recently and massively enjoyed this second time around. I think it's interesting both how famous Gorillaz' first album is while also being kind of underrated compared to Demon Days or Plastic Beach, and I mean I get that the rest of the songs can be more on the kind of slow trip hop and dub not a lot of people are into but personally? Especially after such a rainy day as today in my city? A huge industrial city? It feels perfect in such an moody and urban environment, which in a way I do kinda miss about early Gorillaz, the feeling of gloom and more urban sort of flavor compared to their later music (which is still good though), even the artwork during phase 1 is what I prefer because it felt so cartooney in the most perfect way, but still weird enough to be its own thing.
I don't know, I just really like this one even if it's not the most consistent album in their catalog
Fred Neil
3/5
I think the first half of this is where the strongest parts are, the instrumentals and Fred's voice are really nice and so is his voice, the way he takes from folk, country, blues, etc and melds in so well in the album plus the dark sort of feel is great, but I think it just loses steam towards the middle when the music gets slower and just more lowkey in a way that doesn't stand out to me anymore. It picks back up in the last two tracks with the final track's raga influence leaving more of an impression on me, but on the whole I don't totally love this album which sucks because I really enjoyed the start.
Iron Maiden
3/5
I haven't heard this one in a long time but it was fun! I think I always enjoyed Maiden with Paul than I did with Bruce, but I think it comes down to more of the heavy metal sound being punkier than it was proggy with their stuff later. That being said, this one has many songs like that still, some leaning more towards psychedelia and prog in a way that it's cool but I guess I didn't care for every song in the album.
I might try out Killlers later and see if I can recall why I liked it more than this one.
Yes
3/5
Much better than The Fragile, and I think that's partly because this album feels "epic" or like it's this grand statement, it's more grounded in the playing and singing in a way I think I enjoy more than what they did in the other one. It's hard to explain but generally the less overwrought emotions and presentation made it more enjoyable to me I think.
Michael Jackson
3/5
I think this one is wayyy more consistent than Bad by simply being disco and fun disco at that, the singles and really the entire A side is really enjoyable and had fun with it, the B side feels slower and just drags the album down by being more balladey, it's not bad but it's not my favorite thing out of this album. Still, real fun stuff.
The Monks
3/5
The entire concept surrounding The Monks is still one of the funniest things ever, like, what do you mean a bunch of American G.Is stationed in Germany got bored and made a band where they wore monk costumes and played proto punk? It's silly but it works by the simple identity they built up for themselves especially when their music is as unusual as their entire presentation. Not so much your average garage rock thing as they add organ or really squelchy and noisy guitar riffs, sometimes adding silly humor or commentary on 6s things. All these simple things add up to, while not an amazing album it is one that I enjoyed quite a bit.
The Smashing Pumpkins
4/5
This is my kinda 90s album, the loud guitars with so many effects you can barely tell if its rock or metal anymore, or how psychedelic it gets, the tight songwriting and pretty sound. I'm not someone who listens to TSP often (in fact I only really listened to their stuff like two years ago) but I know I can't stop myself from letting one of these songs play, or the best songs on Mellon Collie or Adore. So this was a treat for me, and as close as I can get to stuff that's really and truly my taste.
AC/DC
1/5
Ughhhh how to even talk about this one, it feels weird when an album feels divisive depending on what age you are or if there's an expectation that you should react some type of way over it or not because you belong to some age group. I've seen the increased backlash against anything AC/DC since forever even tho I enjoyed some of their songs when I was younger, but obvious when you are like 12 and have 0 idea about music you can simply latch onto stuff that's very well known because, well, it's popular so it must be good, right?
I'm not gonna sit here and pretend that the reason I disliked this album was some contrarian, fuck old music thing when I know I liked this stuff before or even now I still enjoy hard rock. But what I think it is for me with this one is just it's hard not to feel like it wears out its welcome quick because there's so little variety, not to echo the oldest joke about AC/DC but genuinely some songs felt so similar to each other in their tempo, their general instrumental, the singing, just everything blends in but even more just how little the songs stand out besides the first two, the rest just don't leave and impression and if it does it winds up being negative like with " Let Me Put My Love Into You" having really questionable lyrics which made me uncomfortable to listen to or "Shake a Leg" being when I just had gotten really tired with the album and wished it had ended on "Back in Black" which also felt worse to listen to on the album as a whole than on its own. I think the songs individually could be fine in the wild but on a whole 40 min album I just get so tired so quick of this sound.
Maybe another AC/DC album will click better because it's more varied or psychedelic but as it stands, this one's a dud for me.
The United States Of America
4/5
I feel like I will have to give this album more time to really sink in. I like what it does because this album both feels of its time and timeless at the same time, the addition of synths, sound collage and just the sudden shifts in sound really make the record interesting and unique. I just think I need more time to pick up on the little intricacies and better absorbing what the music sounds like and how the band weaves these elements into the music, and also because the songs with the female singer rock tremendously, they are great songs!
Janis Joplin
3/5
There's a little comment chain on the RYM comments for this album saying "it's weird that the further you get into music the less you hear about her" which is weirdly true despite how much of an "icon" she is otherwise for mainstream audiences as another 27 Club victim, she's viewed almost as a logo instead of an artist or a person really which is sad because, while I'm not the biggest fan of this album (I care more for the A side than the B side), she is still an incredibly strong voice that managed to merge all these psychedelic and blues and somewhat gospel sounds into one pretty nice 33 mins, there's even funk in two of these songs which really took me by surprise! But even those songs having a little new sound thrown in just makes you wonder if she would have done more of that or what would have been another album, and another, and another and maybe she wouldn't be so forgotten in the annals of music history among nerds discussing who is the 70s GOAT or the mainstream not just remembering her as this cute 70s icon.
I think if nothing else it's just a sweet short listen that can do if I feel like having something more blues rock-y (and I'll take it over others I've heard)
Curtis Mayfield
3/5
I liked this one, really just consistently just a great soundtrack and really enjoyable songs, especially Curtis' voice, but happened while listening to this (completely unrelated to this album) that bummed me out and just took me out of them mood for this. I will probably return to this when I'm in a better mood because it is good but it's just not what I'd wanna have on right now
The Streets
3/5
I think this is the most actually, really British sounding hip hop album I've heard, I mean Michael is not hiding his accent and nor the kind of humor and sounds it brings. His flow is weird and awkward for it but genuinely it makes it a charming album because of it, as well as the tight beat production. I'm not wholly in love with it but I think if I check more UK hip hop stuff I think I would be into it more
Paul McCartney
2/5
Eh, for being the Beatle that people say was the best writer, the music here isn't giving me anything to latch onto or care for, either the songs are too short folk blues songs or they are blues songs that are more grating than any in its genre should. I guess overall it's okay but it feels so directionless the only songs that were good were the little weird instrumentals (Momma Miss America and Kreen - Akrore), the rest I can do without.
System Of A Down
3/5
The only real contact with SOAD before this album has been: Chop Suey, my friend who loves their stuff, and a youtube video that memed their songs. So not really a whole lot of contact.
I did like this one but I can't help but feel like the album really... gets repetitive on some songs? Or at least that the chug at the same tempo with the same sort of idea for an alt metal instrumental, mind you it IS a great idea for an instrumental but the best songs really are the ones that change it up, that go slower and have more impact when the song comes back angrier than ever and Serj does his weird vocal shit. It's enjoyable still but I hope that their next few have more going on
Tears For Fears
5/5
So good, I had thought for a while I wouldn't be all into the sort of pop rock/synthpop mix but I couldn't be more wrong, TFF knew how to craft an excellent pop song but even more an immaculately produced pop song that just didn't leave your attention for a minute, even the songs I wasn't crazy about I still had my full attention on the album because they are THAT entertaining and THAT catchy. I know everyone always talks about "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" and it's great but Head Over Heels will forever be my favorite, especially with how Broken plays off some of the song in a faster way just to set up the intro so perfectly. Just a great album of the era and it will be something I'll be coming back to
Baaba Maal
3/5
It's obvious that this list would have artists that don't belong to the typical places and genres one thinks of when it comes to genres, you know, the US, Canada, UK, Western Europe, Japan, etc. and only makes them more interesting for that simple novelty even if the music is nothing to write home about. That's not to say Lam Toro is a boring album or not worth being in the list, far from it I do think it's a pleasant album that in all its rhythms and melodies it feels more familiar to me because a lot of them are basically what I would have heard as a child when listening to Colombian folk or something of the sort which was heavily influenced by African music (sometimes by way of Caribbean music, sometimes not). It suddenly makes an album that maybe for some would be this completely different experience something that feels more comforting to listen to because it reminds me of that stuff I would hear in the background at home or taught about in class.
I think if something does trip up on my enjoyment of this album is simply the way some songs include some 80s production, nothing terrible or that i haven't heard of before but it does feel out of place when the type of cheesy synths and fretless bass play while Baaba's singing so nicely, it feels like a distraction for what's otherwise a really nice album and something that I hope I can get to listen to more.
The Cure
4/5
I'd not self describe myself as a goth the way I did like 4 years ago when I first started to get into the genre and learn about the community, but it did make me discover some of my favorite music ever (and if I get Floodland in the future I might just write a thesis on how perfect that album is) and it still remains the music I seek whenever I feel up to it. Obviously, the Cure were huge for me during that era although I never felt like I was as into them like other people are, especially when my favorite albums are Seventeen Seconds and Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me as opposed to this one or Pornography.
I do like Disintegration, I think it's a great album that I've probably listened so many times for years now but I feel as I grow older I just don't feel as hooked by it like many people are or how they swear by it like this absolute revelation of Goth music, I mean it does have some of the best songs ever (Lovesong, the title track) but when it comes to the whole album experience I just get tired from it, maybe it's how lush and slow it is and literally that might be it's biggest draw since it sounds so pretty but I don't get much out of Plainsong or Closedown or Prayers for Rain because they simply drag on in their ideas, they are nice ideas but again nothing I care about much to comeback to. I would have prefered more songs in the vein of the title track or Fascination Street or Lovesong but I also get they can't make them all like that and people do love the slow and lush sound so... what do I know?
Ultimately, the album is great and enjoyable but not the one from The Cure's discography I look forward to revisiting all the time
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Not my thing but not so "not-my-thing" I just dislike it, I think maybe the fact that I was sleepy didn't help its case in some songs where I thought they weren't doing much for me but generally? The songs were good, their use of blues rock and country doesn't feel nearly as clunky or weird as that one Paul McCartney record I heard some days ago. Let It Bleed is also less... animated than I expected, a lot more midtempo and sometimes that works to its benefit with songs that know how to use their length and sound well.
Overall, its good
CHIC
4/5
It's cliche calling disco smooth but like how else can you describe music this nice and easy-going? It's genuinely just a great time to hear all these well crafted but mid tempo grooves do their thing especially the bass, I didn't realize Good Times was a bassline I learned when I tried learning some basslines a while ago, which really just hits how this stuff could inspire anybody (especially when thinking about how part of this bassline could have inspired Queen with the Another One Bites the Dust).
Fun album and more reasons for me to check out more disco
The Isley Brothers
4/5
I swear I can't have a bad time with funk or soul records from this generator, especially when hearing the ways in which they both out of my music bubble yet still can see how they are so similar to things I enjoy, like the guitar on That Lady sounds like something more people should study for great guitar tones and production. Just all around great and keeps me excited for any other Isley Bros or Funk as a whole that comes my way (if not exploring it on my own which very well could happen!)
The Stooges
3/5
I don't think I feel too painfully different about Fun House and it's madness from the first time I listened to it, It's a wild ride and it feels dizzying how chaotic it sounds even next to Raw Power's horrid but fitting mixing (Iggy Mix), but my issues also begin with that chaos. It becomes difficult to really trace what a song is doing or where its going because it's so loud and chaotic, they really improvise a lot of this too which only makes it wilder and perhaps more interesting than Raw Power's more streamlined songwriting. I'd think all these things would actually be what puts it as my favorite Stooges because I love chaos, I love loud, I love weird and improvised, but here it feels like too much or something that maybe I need to listen to more to really get a better sense of the songs and what they do, which I probably should because I hate to feel that I'm just locked out of something that theoretically should click with me more.
Radiohead
2/5
Oh, Radiohead, whatever will I do with you
I can't deny their importance in just really getting me into indie rock and getting familiar with electronic music and other weirder sounds whenever they toyed with them during their post-Kid A stuff which probably did have an effect on how today I like all that stuff and listen to weirdo music all the time, on the other hand I just... don't listen to Radiohead anymore, partly because of being a contrarian at age 19 but also partly because I started to grow out of some of the bands that hit me the hardest in High School, that's not to say I dislike them of course but once you get into more music some stuff doesn't have the same novelty it once did, which is only natural.
Radiohead's music was important in all these ways but when I listen to it I can't help but feel sometimes like... I can't help myself from comparing it to other music I've heard since and I think that is kind of unique to them in my experience (closest is Nine Inch Nails but they have a slightly different situation), I don't feel the need to compare X artist to Y artist generally because it feels silly but Radiohead feels like one of those where their position as the best known indie/alt rock band always feels like something to challenge in my head because I know their influences and enjoy them better or know artists who are similar and enjoy them way better. It's the same story back when I listened to In Rainbows a week ago and now Amnesiac where I don't really feel much for the songs because that feeling of "well why Radiohead when x exists" persists, even taking for what they are isn't doing much when I just won't return to them.
I'm sitting here listening to Amnesiac and slowly realizing why people don't find this one that exciting, it feels like its little experiments with distorting synths, reworking songs with a new sound, and generally more subtle and quiet songs sound like they are barely doing anything beyond one gimmick and then the song ends, I felt wanting more or that the songs could become more interesting than simply "let's write a piano song with a pretty choral climax" or "let's make a jazzy song", it's particularly frustrating to listen to "Pull/Pulk Revolving Doors" and think to myself how I used to find this song so hard and weird with how distorted and rhythmic the synth thing they got going on plus the pitchshifted vocals but listening to it now I felt... so underwhelmed because it wastes an otherwise very cool sounding idea on something very repetitive and aimless, and I'm not gonna sit here and say they had to mix this sound into one of their usual rock things or go crazy and write Autechre songs but the feeling that they could do way more and make it sound good but didn't is disappointing. Same goes for "You and Whose Army?", the idea of a quiet song exploding at the end with some big climax is nothing new but it works because many songs know how to pull it off, this song could theoretically work with how it starts with a small piano thing playing along Thom's vocals and then exploding once the rest of the instruments come in, but the song does so little in half of it's runtime, the simplicity just doesn't click when I'm not interested in how Thom sings in this song and the piano that goes along with it which just makes the ending feel kind of cheap and saves an otherwise uninteresting song.
I could go on because every other song feels like it has this same problem, decent ideas that feel unfinished or lacking something, I imagine the Radiohead guys feel differently since these songs WERE outtakes of Kid A before they got reworked into Amnesiac, I'm not gonna say that it shows that they're outtakes but I guess I wonder why not refine them more or go further with their experiments?
Conversely, I think the songs that work the best are the three that just do their usual alt rock thing with added instrumentals for texture and general interest, I mean "Packt like Sardines" is a prime example of how the added electronic things made the song more interesting and enjoyable, "Knives Out" is maybe the best song on here, the most organic song that actually makes the most out of a moody atmosphere and doesn't meander with it, and "Dollars and Cents" which maybe has the most interesting use of Thom's wailing high notes in the choruses. I don't want to seem like Amnesiac has NOTHING going for it but for an album that people describe as their more "abstract" it honestly just feels more confused on what it wants to be and where it wants to go with what it's doing, it's not all in on experimenting or being weird like Kid A and it's not just doing what they do best like Hail to the Thief or In Rainbows, all these have their own problems I have with them but at least they got more going for them than Amnesiac in my mind.
This was just there, I wish it was more.
Fats Domino
3/5
I'm not someone who grew up on Rock and Roll beyond the small tune used for some toy commercial, so it's hard for me to really get into that stuff because it generally doesn't have the same appeal to me as rock after the 60s. Despite that this album was pretty good! I think what helps it so much is how it has a jazzier sound besides the obvious blues sound, along with Fats' voice being just so nice to listen to, hearing something like "Blueberry Hill" or "So Long" just feels so different to the Rock n Roll of that era but still is that and you can tell how something like those songs would be so liked by rock artists later down the line (Elvis, Beatles, you know, all of those). I'm not so into the songs that are more typically Rock n Roll but I wouldn't mind checking out another one of his albums!
The Pharcyde
4/5
I love me a fun rap album, the attitude and sound of these guys sort of reminds me of the chemistry the Beastie Boys have where they trade off bars, shout certain lines and just overall have more funny lines going on, basically: these guys are having fun and it shows and I just love that sort of easy going beats and fun chemistry these guys have which only makes it a better listen for me! (Also, skits that don't bring down an album? Crazy.)
The Strokes
4/5
It's interesting that for how, no matter how my taste keeps trending towards more weird and experimental music, I still just really enjoy this album (and most of The Strokes discography really). It's rare for a poppy rock album to hit right with me the way this one does but genuinely the way these songs sound just feel so timeless and of its time, it's weirdly nostalgic for me because of it. Maybe it's also the fact that it alludes to so much iconic 60s rock like The Velvet Undergound while also not being pure TVU worship and more it's own brand of garage rock that knew how to write good and interesting songs.
This one is great, no notes, just great, even if the rest of their discography didn't hit for me the same until The New Abnormal which is a crazy amount of time to make something that can match your insane debut.
Pet Shop Boys
3/5
I haven't heard much PSB beyond their big 80s singles so having the chance to hear a full thing by them is awesome! If one thing stands out with this one is maybe how it's more restraint and chill compared to some of the more big and dancey songs like West End Girls and Suburbia, this one is more lowkey while still being a nice synthpop thing. I'm not always a fan of when it slows down into more of a sophisti-pop thing but I think it's enjoyable nonetheless.
Deep Purple
4/5
This album makes me feel like I'm driving the coolest car imaginable as fast as possible while drinking the most thirst quenching lager beer (laws be damned), I feel *cool* listening to this album because this album sounds like it knows it's playing some of the catchiest and meatiest riffs in a way that many hard rock acts try and totally fail at. Basically: yeah this one's awesome what else can I say?
T. Rex
3/5
Can't say I disliked it but I feel like I wasn't getting much out of this album beyond a few songs, it's not *bad* but it isn't wowing me in any of the ways it does its thing. Maybe I kinda wish that the music was more interesting because songs like "The Slider", "Buick Mackane", "Baby Strange" and "Ballrooms of Mars" really are interesting in combining all the cool glam rock of the era with more heavy hard rock without sounding like its doing too much. Still, not a bad time either way.
Joy Division
5/5
This album isn't my favorite Joy Division album but it's so obviously great. As time goes on I see more and more people just kinda say it isn't as good as everyone has said it is or that the production is bad or that the songs are bad, etc. It weird to read this backlash from people my age because, I can't picture an album more timeless like this one, I can't imagine another album sounding like this one, way it sounds so cavernous and sort of making the most of how simple it is and how simple their playing is (something they use negative space). When people say "Post-punk" this is it, this is the album that very plainly puts to practice the idea of random idiotic punks like these guys taking the fundamentals of punk and stretching so far away from what The Sex Pistols and The Clash were doing into something that knew how add so much atmosphere and interest to such simple playing and inspired god knows how many people.
Like I said, not my favorite of theirs or of this genre, but I still love what it does so much, I can come back to it so comfortably so many times and still have a great time with it, absolute monster of an album.
The Sugarcubes
4/5
I remember once someone describing this album as electrifying and sort of the kind of thing to lift you right up and I think in this third time I listen to it it's ringing true because I'm feeling pretty bleh right now over personal stuff and just... this album's joyful zaniness is simply infectious, it's hard not to hear Bjork do her Bjork thing over some cool post-punk thing and simply staying in a downer mood, even if it's not the most consistent album in the world is one hell of a fun time so what a better time to listen to it.
The Jesus And Mary Chain
4/5
Far less noisy than their debut and obviously pushing harder on the side of the softer and sweeter songs they had on Psychocandy. I was never a fan of those songs really (I'm not crazy about Just Like Honey either) but I guess moreso because their debut is split between such cool noisy songs and more mild and sweet songs, with this one being mostly mild songs with 0 distortion you'd think it would be a dud but... no! I think the focus on sweeter, janglier rock with the Reid's disintrested demeanor really works a lot better for me. I think too that these are dreamy songs that don't feel skeletal or boring in their writing so that helps too, it's good!
U2
3/5
I only heard War once when I listened to all of U2's discog with my boyfriend and it was an obvious highlight by the simple fact that it was all the best parts of their early era while also going more "big" like they would later on, it's crazy that only one album later they'd put out The Joshua Tree (to my dismay) but you can see the seeds of what would become that, but all wrapped up in a "post-punkier" packaged, not yet the U2 we know and tolerate today. I think what makes this album stand out from Boy or October is simply that there's more things going on in the music, more instruments, more soaring choruses, more influences from general rock things, more EVERYTHING which makes the album more of an interesting time, I mean you hear something like Sunday Bloody Sunday and it's hard to forget the main riff and the extra instruments they add, or then have something like New Year's Day, a total pop tune with some of the neatest rock riffs. Even other songs like "Like a Song...", "Two Hearts Beat as One", and "Surrender" really do the most of the post-punk sound but poppier and larger in a way I forgot really was as enjoyable as it sounds! The other songs are fine but fine, not as exciting but in this album there's more fun things to get out of it than there are boring or corny ones, which may be some people's hang ups with this (I can tolerate Bono for so long, mind you) but if you like something post-punky that sounds more uplifting and just big, then why not War?
The The
3/5
For sure an album that's unique in how poppy but bizarre it is, there's so many vocal and instrumental parts that are very weird and cooky in a way that many albums would but not in this sort of sound, which is cool! But I don't think I'm totally in love with how these guys go about it, and it's nothing against them! It's simply that I don't find their brand of theatrics all that interesting
Still, interesting album and I will check Soul Mining sometime
Jean-Michel Jarre
4/5
Easy-going, chill, really all I want in some electronic album of this era. I've heard people talk about Jean-Michel Jarre before as one of those early prog electronic greats besides Kraftwerk or Klaus Schulze but never got around to a thing of his proper until now. It's nothing that I haven't heard or haven't experienced in other music but despite that it's still a very nice album, I really recommend it if you just want something easy while still interesting and intricate as far as electronics go.
Slayer
2/5
I'm not totally indifferent to Metal but things like Thrash Metal is among one of those subgenres of metal I don't find entirely interesting, I mean much of it chugs guitars and plays drums in a way I'm not too interested in (And the best time I've had with it is when it got more varied. Obviously, I hate this feeling of mild okay-ness with something because the album Isn't bad obviously, this album packs many cool riffs, goes crazy, it's dark and gritty, it's everything you'd want out of some true blue 80s metal! But for me only a few songs REALLY stand out and just do it for me because they have more going on to the riffs or the ideas in songs, I guess I feel like this is just a faster and heavier version of some other things I've head which can be cool but on the whole I'm not too crazy about their sound here, but who knows I could change my tune later down the line
Meat Loaf
2/5
Rock operas are such an interesting concept, what if a concept album was just BIG. You can really about anything, a kid with cancer (Black Parade) or a reinterpretation of the classic Megaman series (Act II: The Father of Death). Whatever way, shape or form it might be the fact that people decide to push rock like this is always interesting to me, even if it's not a concept that I'm always into, I guess because the spectacle made out of a Rock Opera always feels like too much and it's also combined with music I'm not crazy about, hard rock/pop rock.
So, even though Bat Out of Hell is like *THE* Rock Opera and so cheesy it's basically wearing the word as a badge of honor, I still don't feel much for it sadly. I think partly because I always imagined that it was gonna sound bigger and then obviously that it operates in a sound that I'm not too fond of, but Meat Loaf's presence and the way the album sounds so passionate really does make it at the very least a fun listen.
I don't think I'll grow fond of this one but I do think anyone who likes their 80s cheese and their big operatic things should check this out
Holger Czukay
4/5
Now this is my kind of music
Take the inventiveness of the krautrock era of music Germany and add a healthy dose of lightheartedness and playfulness to it, it makes what would other wise be experimental psychedelia be about wanting to chill out in the sun or appreciate some Persian music. All these soundscapes just get me in the right places so I just can't but enjoy this one.
And ofc, this was made by one of the guys in Can so, awesome
Carpenters
1/5
I don't wanna sound harsh because the Carpenter's reputation of being... well, middling pop music is pretty much what everyone thinks about them and obviously there's nothing wrong with music that's simply pretty pop from the 70s but... Man I do not feel ANYTHING listening to this, I just have a hard time finding much in this album to really get into beyond the nice melody here and there and some vocal things (tho even those get kinda tiring), all around its just kind of unexciting to me. I get how someone would like this but man this doesn't get anywhere beyond easy listening in terms of interest.
Boston
2/5
As per usual with me and hard rock/AOR type things, I'm not exactly keen on this but it's not the worst I've heard in the genre, if anything it's carried by genuinely good performances and a fun sound, but I think I prefer it as a random song I hear when I go to the store than I do as a full album.
Boards of Canada
5/5
Board of Canada are one of my favorite groups point blank period, but it's been a while since I listened to their music in full and I keep wondering if I'd find it nearly as compelling as I did only a few years back, especially this album which I enjoyed but never could put my finger on why I never loved it as much as their future albums.
I think today though I can more or less think why, It's the fact that while it IS consistent and has such a unique vibe that very few albums I've heard really match the ways in which it sounds so... mysterious but playful at the same time, it still just feels like the songs blend in sometimes, they don't tend to stand out too much, its in service of it's atmosphere for sure but I can't always think about the intricacies of every song on this album. Even more it's when a song stands out and boy does it have some highlights: Roygbiv is amazing, Aquarius and Turquoise Hexagon Sun are classic, and Pete Standing Alone has some of my favorite beats and samples, all of them stand out so much from the rest that I feel I end up gravitating towards those songs wayyyy more than the full experience of the album. I think following albums like Geogaddi and Tomorrow's Harvest had a better overall experience which made them more interesting in my mind and generally prefer them (plus the darker tone), but still! I don't think I could endorse an album more for people who want to get into psychedelic and electronic music, one that makes use of beats and samples in such an inventive way to create one of the most unique vibes ever, even if I get people don't love their work it's still a great place to start for anyone and one of my faves.
Michael Jackson
3/5
As it's been the trend 3 albums now, Michael Jackson albums are: very good and very enjoyable but there is that ever present filler in the deep cuts of the album between all the other great stuff that I'm already really familiar and really in love with (Thriller, Beat It, Billie Jean, c'mon). It's like, the singles are unbeatable, some songs are great, but then you have things like The Girl Is Mine or The Lady in My Life which I'm not crazy about on first listen and just kinda make the flow of the album just slow down to a crawl. Still, it's a Michael Jackson album, how can I not like it?
Isaac Hayes
3/5
I struggle with albums that are soundtracks because much like Superfly, these are enjoy both within and without the movie or series they're attached to, but also unlike Superfly I never really see this soundtrack necessarily overshadowing the movie its originally from (I mean I really haven't seen anyone talk about this so...). So, hearing this soundtrack without the original images it accompanied the movie is fine but probably makes me less familiar with some of the themes and how they were accentuating the movie or how the mellower tracks were a part of the vibe of the movie. It's a lot of things that if I had watched it I probably would appreciate the soundtrack more, but when I'm sitting in my room just listening to it doing menial tasks it doesn't feel like it carries the same impact. The vibes are immaculate though, the softer songs are very pretty and the more funk/psych soul jams are probably my favorite parts from this so I do want to check more things Isaac Hayes made in his own albums.
MGMT
2/5
I've listened to Oracular Spectacular and pretty much every MGMT album (except for the newest), they were one of those bands that I wanted to get into more but I wound up feeling like they weren't sticking with me like I think they would, even on my fave album by them (Congratulations).
Coming back to this album for like the 4th time now just keeps the weird trend where the more I hear it the less I like it, maybe it's the fact that I have certain tastes and biases that have developed but genuinely hearing this album just feels like the 2 excellent singles (Time to Pretend and Kids) and 2 great deep cuts (Of Moons, Birds & Monsters and Future Reflections), everything else runs in the kind of indietronica/psych pop thing that just doesn't do it for me at all, mainly the vocals where they could get really annoying in some songs, or just the vibe they were going for just didn't really sound that interesting.
It was a weird feeling to listen to this and feel like I was just waiting on the songs I liked while everything else was simply pure filler. I think they got better with Congratulations and Little Dark Age but generally? This album is just not my favorite take on synthy psychedelia (which is otherwise something I enjoy...)
Minor Threat
4/5
Despite having heard Fugazi's music before, I never really circled back to Minor Threat, not even despite the fact that their discography is basically like 45 mins on a discography compilation and realistically just 3 really short EPs, so while I got this I also took the time to listen to those eps (and by took the time I mean just 9 and 7 mins while I was prepping dinner). Honestly, the sound for the first 7" are fine, nothing too mindblowing but it has the exact type of energy and drive that good Hardcore needs and it's no wonder that so many people took to Minor Threat, I think the S/T suffers from the fact that these feel like VERY rough songs with little in the way of something too distinct, In My Eyes by comparison has more interesting ideas and all around sounds louder which I like but still is held back by being so short in length. Out of Step though I think delivers on the promise of what In My Eyes was doing with a longer length and better concepts/sound, it's not just these guys banging at the guitar real hard, there's some great drive behind the music and how they play, so many of the songs venture into some weird riffs like in Betray or Little Friend and it stands out so much in a good way. All of this leads to an ep that's not only more consistent but has more to give from Hardcore than Just anger and self-righteousness; one that I don't mind at all, the last song even reminds me a bit of the Dead Kennedys in its mockery which is always a plus.
I think it was a good idea to circle back to these 3 EPs because it gave me a better sense of their growth from scrappy punk band to less scrappy punk band that has even better ideas, to the point that I see how from here they'd make something like Fugazi's first two eps only a few years later. It's the kinda progression I'm a sucker for in discographies and obviously: This EP is great, 20 mins of solid hardcore is nothing to sleep on
The Beta Band
4/5
In line with the nth British (Scottish, but, yeah) artist in this book, these are another group of literally who's for me. This album is weird because on one hand it's nothing crazy or groundbreaking, in fact it reminds me a lot of Air's Walkie Talkie and some of the latter albums some Britpop bands made (think We Love Life by Pulp album or Be Here Now by Oasis) with more psychedelia and growing closer to the post punk revival that would become popular in the Isles during this time. Basically: all the crud that I enjoy in a pretty good package. Songs like Assessment, Liquid Bird or Simple give me the exact kind of psychey alt rock I wished more bands had done, but then other songs like Easy or Space Battle ease more into the chill and downer electronica of that time that I'm not super crazy for but I don't mind necessarily. If this album had gone more in the direction of the first songs I mention this would be an easy 5 for me but it's not. Still, a great time none the less.
Aretha Franklin
4/5
Not in the mood to write but she's great, I can't think of anything negative. Plus now I know that Respect is that one song that plays in TV things.
The Sabres Of Paradise
2/5
Early IDM is usually really weird because it's still kind of playing to techno and electro ideas while also trying to do something different. It's cool to hear in a sort of "oh this is where it started" way but when you get to it sometimes it just didn't make sense to make an hour and 10 minute album made up of really basic techno beats that were flirting with ambient textures or library music-esque compositions. Is it bad that albums like these existed? Oh, no obviously not, it is made for a club mix so you have a lot to pull from and work with but when you are like me, sitting down to listen to this it does make for a tedious experience where the music isn't in the right setting and beyond that the sort of simplicity of it doesn't really work for me beyond a few songs (Tow Truck and Ballad of Nicky McGuire). It sucks because sometimes I do want to get back into listening to electronic music of this era because there's so much underrated things, but lengths like these makes me wonder that perhaps it was best to stick to EPs or singles rather than albums.
The Undertones
2/5
I don't do so good with pop punk albums generally, but I guess less so with pop punk from the early 70s rather than the late 90s- early 00s stuff. This one is... fine, it's cute really but there's nothing within it that interests me or held my attention much. At least it was short!
The Pogues
2/5
I think my lack of understanding of this genre doesn't help me at all because sitting here listening to this I just think something obviously stupid about the music and its the realization that Celtic rock or Celtic music as a whole is what I associate with pirate music (besides Sea Shanties) and that's, well, dumb because I know there's a lot of history behind this music and a TON of people love this band (I realized as much when the singer died last year). So obviously I hate making a memey comment and just leaving it there as my only take away of the album... but like, it is aligned in the exact kinda music I just don't vibe with much if at all which makes it harder to enjoy, generally music that goes more along the lines of folksy music gone rock or gone punk whose vibe just doesn't always work for me, especially with how theatrical it can get. Basically, it conjures up the same feelings as when I listen to folk punk bands like AJJ and I just do not enjoy that so I have a hard time with this one when it goes for a faster sound, I think I enjoyed more the slower and more melancholic songs but honestly? Not by much.
Oh also this album has the Elvis Costello connection so there's also that
Fiona Apple
4/5
I listened to this album I think twice before, the first time it floored me how good it was but the second time I felt kind of underwhelmed by it, both when I was still in my teens so that makes it kind of fuzzy to remember what even went on this album, so having a chance to listen again is great as always, even more when the album is still just as good as I figured it would be. I guess mainly the fact that it's not simple piano rock with very strong vocals (but it is mostly that), but the additional instrumentals, beats and ideas that are brought which elevates the album into something even more interesting and enjoyable than I imagined. it's also that Fiona is such a charismatic vocalist that it's hard not to feel something at simply the *way* she sings and enunciates things.
All around, wonderful album and I hope I can get more from her sooner rather than later
Death In Vegas
2/5
I hate it when an album looks exactly like something I'd enjoy and turns out to be not that. This album is exactly that in the sense of having all the makings of an album I'd deeply enjoy and just executes none of it's ideas in the way I would hope it would. You have the marrying of rock ideas with trip hop beats and you'd think "oh that's cool, trip hop and rock really go well together if done right" (See: Mezzanine by Massive Attack). But here we are left with an album that when it want's to go weird and more focused on the usually darker atmosphere of the genre it does it well, like Dirge and Aisha are great songs, but then when it veers off into songs that are brighter and more similar to other British rock of the era (britpop or indie pop) It just does it in the most unexciting way possible for me and it sucks because otherwise I could see the kinda variety they are aiming for working, but it just doesn't, which is a shame.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
2/5
Yk, three albums in I think it's not that Elvis Costello makes bad music, but I'm certainly not the audience for his brand of pop rock stuff. I feel I could be listening to anything else but his music if I had the choice
The Prodigy
3/5
A lot less crazy sounding than I thought it would be, but still pretty good! I feel like I'm already burned out the singles since Firestarter and Smack my Bitch Up don't sound nearly as cool as they did when I first heard them but the album has wayyy more to offer in the way of interesting beats and cool instrumentals than I figured it would, but then again big beat and other mid 90s british electronic music click with me in a way most others don't
Metallica
4/5
I was thinking for a second that since I don't love thrash and I haven't heard Metallica in forever, I would not be into this album anymore, even if 15 y/o me had this as my favorite (warts and all). I'm happy that it turned out to be as enjoyable as I remember if not more, which is always a pleasant feeling, not just the validation that your kid self was onto something but also appreciating the parts of this album that work so well that they genuinely make up for the extremely uneven mix with extremely loud drums and guitar and almost non existent bass (which is a meme by now), these problems are apparent and it does hinder some tracks (Blackened ESPECIALLY sounds hollow without a louder bass), the thin sound can be a disappointing when you wanna hear some good and muscular metal; yet, I think they managed to pull so many creative riffs and construct long songs that don't feel like a chore to listen to, like seriously the title track is so catchy with that descending guitar riff in the bridge and the way James sings the chorus just gets stuck in my head.
An absolutely messy album but feels like it manages to still be worth all the while (if a little long)
Radiohead
3/5
Like I said before when I reviewed Amnesiac, I used to like Radiohead a lot, but I wasn't ever so in love with The Bends as an album album so I don't think I listened to it in full beyond one time. I did listen to some of the songs a lot, mainly the singles but not to the level of their other albums, so it was interesting to check this one in full with basically fresh ears and.... well yeah it's pretty good, I think partly because I have a bias towards this era of 90s British rock but it's also this weird crossroad with Radiohead's sound before they did their thing on OK Computer but after being basically another scrappy alt rock band that couldn't decide if they were grunge or britpop.
This album is both doing some fun distorted riffs or other effects that are very 90s and then onto the more slow stuff they would get known for, hell the fact that the two most remembered songs from this are Fake Plastic Tree (meh), High and Dry (Good) and Street Spirit (Great), so it's obvious which ones stood the test of time, but despite that the other songs here are pretty good albeit nothing I haven't heard from other bands of the era, which is another sort of issue I had, the feeling that despite the songs being mostly neat I couldn't shake off that having all 12 of them felt like too much, it could have been shaved down to 10 or 8 and you would have had a stronger tracklist than songs that feel like they iterate on typical rock of the era (specially with songs like Just or Black Star, they are cool but nothing too stand out).
So, is The Bends good? Well yeah, and I enjoy it more because it's the kinda rock I enjoy already, to turn my nose at it cuz its Radiohead can be too much for an album that at least brings good tunes.
Sufjan Stevens
4/5
Initially I was apprehensive about this one because I had only heard Carrie and Lowell before and I found that album to be.... well I guess I didn't really get it back when I first listened to it but the impression that Sufjan's music being just not for me stayed basically since and prevented me from ever trying some of his stuff out until now and I'm glad I finally got to this one because despite the length and how it's a sprawling concept album I love that it doesn't feel like a heavy listen or like there's too much and nothing at the same time, it's an enjoyable listen basically off the strength of Sufjan's writing (or composing rather) and how these melodies are both so catchy and so pleasant, some songs really caught my attention and had me nodding along with my head or my hand, it's the kinda thing that really appeals to the side of me that likes some good melody work.
Not every song is a winner, I mean 22 songs is a LOT and some of the slower, folksier songs were the ones that faltered the most, but when you have songs like Chicago, Jacksonville or Night Zombies, I can't complain at all.
The Pogues
3/5
I got Rum Sodomy & the Lash some days ago so funny this rolled for today, and I think I liked it more maybe off the strength of being more energetic and varied compared to RSL, even still I can't seem to get used to how Celtic Rock sounds but hey I had fun
Robbie Williams
3/5
I think if I had rolled this before March 16th I wouldn't have even thought much about it beyond "oh yeah, the DJ Rock dude" and just moving on because like, what else is there to think about him as someone who actually did hear the one big hit but didn't care otherwise?
That much changed after watching the biopic about him, Better Man, which not only is it a great movie that does the most out of being a biopic while not falling in the typical trappings of biopic but also it made me interested in his music because the movie heavily featured it of course (albeit in it's own versions rather than originals)
But this isn't a Better Man review but instead a commentary on Life Thru a Lens and I was wondering if it would be some pretty ok album with great singles but forgettable deep cuts, not like an actually pretty good album that has songs as entertaining as it's singles
Obviously I have my bias towards britpop music or simply nice rock music, but I think Robbie slots in the kind of Oasis sound more naturally than I would have imagined, I mean Lazy Days' melodies and all just have the kind of ear worm quality that I would want out of this genre, same as the following songs up until Old Before I Die which from there the songs aren't as neat but still remain a good time. I think the best way I can describe these songs is that, a good time, they know how to be just the exact breezy and fun sound of the genre and making it songs that initially could seem annoying but manage each time to save themselves from just falling into "meh" territory for me.
Idk, maybe the Better Man brainworms makes me feel positive about this but genuinely I think this album is pretty good.
4/5
This album's seemingly infamous on this site, it's one of the ones with the lowest scores, many of whom I enjoy lol. It's not gonna be the last time I will have to say it sucks that more people don't enjoy an album like this, but I do get it from the perspective of the average person and not someone like me who's a dedicated music listener whose favorite genres line up with this and many of the albums in the bottom rated. I think if anything the fact that albums like this get so rated so low is more indicative of how flawed the book is, while it is a fine resource for "expanding" your musical palette and getting you out of your comfort zone hypothetically, I think it can only go so far especially since the albums would be presented with only a small blurb describing their contents but not really much more about them or HOW to approach these albums, there's no real organization to how to approach some albums or genres besides the chronological style it's presented.
I guess one can also argue that this site's challenge being random only makes the problem worse because you are just served an album daily with mostly zero context unless you look them up, maybe if you were going thru the book at your leisure you'd check off the music that interests you (made easier by online resources) it makes it an easier time, hell maybe the hypothetical copy of the book will be one without this album because it only lasted for one print of the book. Despite all that though, it still doesn't help the fact that you, hypothetical person who just gave 1 star to this album, have little contact with music like this prior and probably gave a bad impression of music that decides to go for something so rhythmic and sparce in a punk context instead of the typical melodies of your average rock album. So we are left with most people hating this than really coming away with something that's up their lane sadly. That's not to say the book or this site aren't a fun way to discover music, far from it, I think it's one very easy way to expand your horizons, but there's an obvious level to which this approach just winds up messing up how people find out about music that may or may not be too much for them.
I could critique this all day but ultimately this is just an unique problem to the approach here, and plus there IS an album still which I've barely talked about: I had heard this album before when trying to check out Liars' discography which I never completed (laziness hit). This album is interesting as a 2nd album when you compare it to their debut which feels more in line with a lot of early 00s post-punk and dance punk, this one just hits an entirely different vibe, it's almost like they decided to have the barest essentials to making rhythmic and angular punk and made noise with the little they had; it makes for music that is so awkward and ominous on purpose and there's so much negative space yet I can't but enjoy the way this album feels so perfectly minimalistic and weird, especially when listening to Broken Witch and how it simply builds and builds all its elements into the weirdest punk thing to make me dance. The use of dinky synths to make noises which just can't help but make me curious as to what or where they are going with that like in "There's Always a Room on the Broom". It's experiments that you don't know where it will lead but you just have to meet it where its at, they become rewarding the more you dig into the little rhythms and noises do come together into songs that while not your usual idea of enjoyability it still manages to hit something in me, like an itch for music this absurd and weird that create this awkward atmosphere like I'm seeing these guys mess around in a basement that smells of cigarettes work out these songs for hours. If there's a flaw with this album is that I don't really care for the interludes going on much, they are fine, but they have little that interest me when the other songs have more going on and aren't just ambient interludes, I do think closing the album with something like that is effective as a sort of comedown.
But yeah, is this album the best noise-weirdo-punk thing I've ever heard? Not really, but I do think it is very good and enjoyable for my tastes, in a way that I think deserves far more credit or at least chances from people, if not now maybe some other time, maybe after really experiencing more stuff like this. I don't think this sort of review sort of rant will convince anyone to reconsider all those weird albums they disliked but I do hope that at least the people who found this album interesting but are not quite at the point of full enjoyment can be encouraged to pursue more stuff like this, and who knows maybe coming back to it eventually to find it to be a favorite.
Edit: I forgot to add this somewhere, but as a little addendum: if you didn't hate this but found it too minimal and would want more noise and dance, check their first album, it's very good and probably a lot more approachable sonically.
Songhoy Blues
3/5
Serene rock from mali, these guys really blend the rock instrumentals with their local music in a way that not only is it nice, it's also something I could see myself returning to. Really underrated but well made album
Destiny's Child
2/5
I don't there's anything directly "wrong" with this album or anything, but I don't think I care much for the way it approaches being "feminist" when its so shallow about it, or that the chill instrumentals do fall for some of the typical tropes of pop r&b in this era, or that it's an hour long when you could cut it down to 30 mins and be done. Beyonce stands out the most ofc but that might also come from the fact that I know her voice so much already so... yeah this one is a dud for me, not the worst thing ever but it edges too close to some of the stuff I've liked the least so far.
D'Angelo
4/5
I can't really encapsulate it but the way this man manages to make such smooth and soft music so engaging is genuinely something that is very interesting
like, I don't usually expect it out of super smooth music like this so it's a pleasant surprise
Q-Tip
4/5
I had heard some ATCQ before but never knew Q-Tip had some solo album, which made it more interesting to see what he had going on, especially when looking at some of the features here (I mean, D'Angelo and Norah Jones is interesting). On the whole? This was pretty great, I guess mainly because the beats were so smooth but still interesting enough to keep me engaged, plus his rapping is so distinct. Really, the most negative things I can say is that I wish it was a little more consistent and even that feels like nitpicking.
Elvis Presley
3/5
All the negative buzz about Elvis aside, which could become its own LONG tangent and that it did affect my thought on his music up until recently. Its interesting to finally listen to one of his albums and realize that there really is a genuinely solid album with great singing, backing vocals and playing instead of purely singles mashed together. It's not reinventing the wheel but I can see why he was so beloved by so many.
Alexander 'Skip' Spence
2/5
Not a personal favorite as I'm not really looking for something this sparse, dreary and weird all the time, but it is interesting, especially with how it sounds predictive of a lot of indie music like slowcore. So it's almost making me curious as to who it influenced. Besides that idk if I take it for every song it has but maybe its just my mood
Fatboy Slim
3/5
A weird one but undoubtedly fun, It feels more all over the place than I imagine later stuff by FS is going to be but I mean, there's not a dull moment here in all it's mixing of samples and textures to make songs that are the kinda mid 90s big beat thing I wanna have more of, my only issue is that I don't think I feel like listening to something like this currently but I don't mind either way.
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
3/5
It's not my thing but you get the sense of how historically important Buddy Holly's music is right away, it's simply the feeling that you've heard these melodies and these ways of singing before but in it's most primitive form. I can see where Buddy Holly's singing and brand of melodies were the inspiration for countless pop rock musicians after he died and it's just transparently obvious.
It's not my kind of music but its enjoyable still
Sugar
4/5
There is an endless amount of 90s albums that for some reason have their band's name in a pretty big font and usually operate within alt rock. Sugar seemingly is no exception to this weird trend and from previous albums like this that I've listened to before
Most of what I have to say about it is that I like whenever musicians from this era were blending heavier/distorted guitar with more poppy sounding chords, it gave poppier rock an edge but also just works really well together, which is what this album does perfectly imo. I think I will be coming back to this one quite a bit.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
You know an album is good when it makes working a little better when its on. I had already heard some Neil Young before and his stuff is nice but not always my thing (its a good brand of folk rock still)
Here though the closer it gets to pure rock its actually fantastic in his own way
The way some of these songs and their tones are just click in a way that songs from the 90s who are very obviously inspired by this (Pearl Jam) makes it a great time
I guess I prefer the last few songs to the first few, especially the reprise of hey hey my my at the end with that NASTY guitar tone (noise rockers don't make tones that hard). It's a great album like what else do you want from me?
Led Zeppelin
2/5
I don't find this one nearly as annoying as Physical Graphiti (what with its nearly hour and a half length), it's more just focused on being pure rock songs but it doesn't do much for me if I'm honest, it's like, well these are rock songs with some good riffs but I can't get into the rest of what Led Zep does
Prince
4/5
I haven't heard a full Prince thing, I only really knew Controversy (great song) so I was excited about this one and seeing what I would get out of one of his albums, which surprise surprise it's GOOD
I think the biggest thing I enjoyed from listening to it was just how... the songs seemed to start one way and segued into something different entirely which I enjoyed because it made most of the songs more interesting and varied than I initially imagined, plus Prince's a force as a vocalist. Just, obviously great
Wu-Tang Clan
4/5
I heart this one before but its been some time since I listened to it or some songs from it. It's one of those well regarded albums in their genre so it's always interesting to see what is it that makes it so good, and I think for me it's the fact that it feels not as loaded beat wise, they are very simple and to the point but what they have in spades is a really dark and mysterious atmosphere that really works well for the vibe they go for, and I think its vibe just works to the benefit of the album, that sort of grimey feel of living in NYC area, it's honestly the best encapsulation of that vibe plus the kung fu movie aesthetic in the background of it all.
It's hard to dislike this one really, just solid
Aimee Mann
3/5
Enjoyable album but nothing to write home about, I guess I was hoping it would grab me or jump out at me more but I just kinda felt like it faded into the background more than anything sadly
Pulp
5/5
I love this album, so much
I can't really begin to express how or why, it's simply one of those albums I listened and grew obessed over afterwards (which was both great and to my detriment). I don't even know where to start about it, is it the sound which I think are the best parts of britpop all rolled into one? The best of pop rock with the inspo from other genres, giving it the oomph that it needs?
Is it the lyrics and writing? This album isn't shy about its sexuality and the many common situations that some 20 to 30 something might go thru, it feels grounded in that way, not just about someone's sexual escapades but the character going thru them (Well its Jarvis) is as fun to hear go on about how he's done all these things (sex with wives, teaching a rich person how to be a regular person, bad sexual encounters, etc.) that both sound made up but also not, and it's weirdly enjoyable, in a voyeuristic way.
Is it just that most if not every song sound perfectly crafted and flows well into the next? Idk
There's so much that goes on this album that still confuses me as to why I love it, but I think it also taught me to love music like this and see that I'm able to love it, and for it I can't help but love this album
Giant Sand
4/5
I feel... conflicted about this one because it has half of the album being so up my lane (moody alt rock with a country influence is winning for me sometimes) I almost thought I had a new favorite, but the other half being straight up country wasn't my favorite thing. Still, even if its all over the place, the songs are great and so is the singing, maybe a forgotten gem I'll have to listen to it more though
The Doors
2/5
Second Doors I get and I.... Don't care for it either sadly. I guess I just don't find their blues rock thing too interesting or Jim's voice all that, it's also missing the organ from the first record which made it stand out in my mind. So, eh
The Smiths
2/5
The Smiths are a good band! But this isn't one of their brightest moments. Even with two really good songs (Death of a Disco Dancer and Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before) but the rest just feel like the most boring side of The Smith's sound combined with some not so great attempts at adding things to their sound like some more playful or theatrical sounds or Morrissey's singing being a little more forceful here, none of these new elements really add up to make their songs better, especially when their basic musical formula usually made some great songs (This Charming Man, hello). I don't know, compared to how many cool songs there are in The Queen Is Dead, this one doesn't compare for me at all.
The Who
2/5
I'm still in the same position as before, where The Who just don't leave a huge impression on me despite them being a generally good band, like this album is good and it's iconic songs are really catchy but I don't feel anything for most of the songs (except Bargain, I like that one). Maybe I'm tired or something but The Who's style of hard rock keeps leaving me cold, the organ is a good touch tho.
Sister Sledge
3/5
melodic, repetitive, really enjoyable. I think what carries this album the most is that the singing is always on point, just a relaxed time even if you aren't at a disco or something
The Rolling Stones
3/5
The most surprising part to me when listening to this is that it made me see why people love The Stones, something about the way this album sounds and how the songs are carried just dispelled a lot of what I thought these guys were (and are, really), like I usually imagined and thought of them as being similar to Aerosmith in terms of obnoxiousness but this album is anything but. Brown Sugar, Can't Hear Me Knocking, Sister Morphine, all of them click with me in a way that I didn't expect, like hey maybe they are a more introspective and interesting band than I thought before and that's... interesting to me really. We'll see how I feel on consequent listens but this one is pretty good!
Supergrass
3/5
A bit of a mixed bag, I feel like it packs both some of the best britpop songs I've heard so far (not made by Pulp) like Caught by the Fuzz, Lose It or Sitting up Straight, these songs pack so much energy and fun groves but also emotion which I enjoy a ton and wished more power pop-y stuff had this type of sound. But also has some whatever songs which I can just take or leave, mainly because they dip into the typical pop rock sound like Alright or Strange Ones. Still, not a bad record at all and one I fully expect to keep growing on me in the future
Grateful Dead
2/5
I know these guys are best enjoyed live than on record, even still people say this is their best studio album, yet..... I can't help but feel bored so much by this. the songs are melodious and slow in the exact way I don't enjoy, they have all these harmonies and ideas that feel very of the hippie era and I just don't particularly enjoy or care for. Hopefully one of the live albums change my mind but I don't have my hopes up.
Beatles
2/5
I'm still as disinterested in this album as I was the first time I heard it. It's listenable sure, and has some nice songs, but on the whole I don't really care for it or looked forward to listening to it. Just, fine but the type of album that I don't really care for.
The Associates
3/5
The most flamboyant, dark and weird album this side of new wave, it's colorful cover almost feels like a trap when you get to how weird the sounds this album packs are, like having the typical 80s synths accompanied by some extra dissonant, loud or weird instrumentals while the singer sounds like he got plucked from an Opera, it's a wild ride and one that I had already gone before but I think now I get its eccentricities more than I did before. It's a cool album but I can understand some being turned off by... well all of it
Coldplay
3/5
I was honestly expecting this to also be a dud considering how Coldplay's singles are just ok, especially because they are very boring, but this album has more going on, at least the ones that focus on the more rockier/pop rock aspects than the piano stuff. It's not my favorite (I prefer listening to Snow Patrol or something) but it's not bad!
Alice Cooper
3/5
Fairly enjoyable if a little Inconsistent, I think AC and company can make the more fun type of classic hard rock with a blues rock thing by simply having more personality and more going on in song than trying to stick to one mood all the way thru. I don't love everything about this but I do enjoy it!
Common
4/5
At this point I can just trust any Soulquarian's album on this list because so far none have let me down. The only more or less thing I could say against this record is just the fact that some lyrics can be... well as weird and bigoted as a 00s rap album can be but at this point I'd be more surprised if an album from that era didn't say something weird. Either way, great album
Arcade Fire
2/5
I already am not a huge fan of the side of Indie Rock that takes more from more lush and orchestral arrangements, the stuff that sounds "big" as it were, so I knew already I wasn't gonna enjoy what Arcade Fire does and sure enough this album isn't for me, it isn't like the album's music is bad or they put no effort into it but the album just... doesn't really click with me or does much for me with it's sound, which is a shame because it's faster and tighter tracks were good, but the rest I just did not connect with.
Aerosmith
1/5
It's rare for me to feel strongly against an album, sometimes even the most typical of hard rock middle of the road stuff is okay in my mind, but not this album, much less when it's like the worst amalgamation of Aerosmith's typical sound with the usual huge production and tropes of 80s arena rock/hair metal aesthetics which only makes this album more annoying and gross than I can bear for FIFTY MINUTES.
It's also this feeling in my gut where I know the music not only doesn't gel with me it genuinely just makes me feel weird to listen to because, what's in this album than another hard rock album before, during or after this period can't provide me that is more creative and fun? Many do, even some I've gotten thru this generator that I didn't like as much in the past.
Just, ugh...
King Crimson
3/5
I haven't heard a full King Crimson album in forever, especially this one which I don't think I ever heard in full at once, maybe because I wasn't patient back then with the weirder and more angular but also exploratory into adding some more ambiental sounds which makes you wait for them to play something weird to then segue into something more prog, but since it's KC it's going to be the best prog has to offer, especially on "Easy Money" and "Larks' Tongues in Aspic Part II" which are easy demonstrations of why KC are so cool and have more bite than many others (Book of Saturday... not so much).
This may not be my favorite King Crimson album, but it's enjoyable all the same
Kate Bush
5/5
Every time I listen to this album I just rediscover it, I find so many new reasons to appreciate what Kate does and what her music is in this album. I don't think many people managed to sew together two albums into one in such a way that it doesn't feel like one side betrays the other, it's almost like a Trojan horse with how it introduces itself with Running Up That Hill, which is already a very strong impression, only to keep hitting with back to back bangers: the title track? The Big Sky? Mother Stands for Comfort? CLOUDBUSTING????????? And then just hurls you into a whole concept album of a B side that while is not nearly as immediate it compensates for showing Kate flex her creative and artsy muscles in a way that I can't help but love, going from the tense Under Ice to the manic Walking the Witch and Walking Without Me to the wonderful Jig of Life, Hello Earth and The Morning Fog
This album isn't a favorite album of all time because I don't have the kind of close emotional bond with it I do with other albums but I don't have a doubt in my mind it's basically perfect. One of the best albums ever
Dr. Dre
3/5
On one hand, a really accomplished album production and rapping wise, like this album sounds SO good with so many iconic lines and songs, but on the other hand it is held back by the fact that as a 90s album it isn't really the best when it comes to filler skits, the rampant sexism (I take the violence over hearing "The Doctor's Office" ever again), or simply that it feels 10 or 15 mins too long, if you crop anything past "Lyrical Gangbang" and made "Stranded on Death Row" the closer, I think I'd be into this album way more, but as it stands, it's best songs are great but not enough to make me forget the worst ones.
Joni Mitchell
4/5
I wasn't super familiar with Joni Mitchell's music outside of some songs I heard from Blue so this is my first time listening to her music and good lord is this album pretty. It's basically a travelogue and her recounting all these small things along the road, but at the same time the emotions and ways in which this album plays out are pretty and calm yet very complex (helps she has help from a lot of jazz legends)
It's fantastic stuff
Rod Stewart
2/5
Probably among the most boring albums I've gotten, with such weird mix to boot, like why did it sound like he was all the way in the back of the mix while the guitars were on the right blarring away? Just a complete meh album but made worse by those things I think, I'd rate it lower but it's more dull than it is irritating
Charles Mingus
5/5
One of the craziest and tightest Jazz albums ever, if you don't like this album I just don't know what you are doing
Blood, Sweat & Tears
3/5
Weird but really interesting record, I think it's more something I find interesting for how the jazz parts play off the rock parts and how well recorded a lot of it is than the whole of the album. I'm not like wow'd by it but I found it more enjoyable than I would otherwise.
Green Day
3/5
Green Day isn't really a band I care for but I think moreso from the fact that their music isn't my style rather than any of their reputation or something. In general I would have avoided any of their music but today (or rather yesterday) it was Dookie. I think despite all of what I said before this album is pretty alright, really riding that tightrope between the more mild and power poppy Ramone's esque pop punk vs the 00s poppier and somewhat heavier pop punk that would become more popular since this album's release and it works I think, it gets heavier and exciting like it needs to along with some really sweet and catchy melodies, the biggest knock I could give is that I don't love the "style" of singing Billy Joe (and really most 00s pop punk), it's just kind of repetitive and as well how some songs towards the latter half start to blend in for me, which makes it kind of a chore, but I mean... other than that I think I enjoyed this one wayyy more than I initially thought I would.
Dagmar Krause
2/5
I don't even know where to start with this thing, partly because halfway thru this (shitty youtube upload of the) album I realized that I really don't have much of an idea where or why the songs are the way they are or something that can contextualize the album more. I mean, it's a sonic Cabaret based on WWII era songs from a composer that was opposing the nazis and generally having socialist (marxist? Idk for sure) ideas in his music at the same time, it's interesting as a piece of history and the ways these songs came out by Eisler, I recommend reading the backcover of the album where it gives more about Eisler's history, it makes things click more with this album. I mean... as a whole this album in concept seems great and the music doesn't sound bad, but I can't help but feel like I'm missing a lot of what this album could be with more visuals to accompany the music, or an ease of access to the music, not in a "why is it not on streaming" way but like actually having this album in my hands and being able to follow along with the lyrics and how it criticizes the things it does.
It becomes hard to feel much for this album when all the conceptual things only half works, even more why is this album in this book? Lack of ease of access aside, I feel like it needs more context than what the book or most things can provide to probably enjoy these songs way more (and even then, the fact that they are so short makes it difficult).
I don't know, I appreciate this album for what it is and what it's trying to do but I just feel sort of disconnected from properly enjoying and understanding what it aims for.
Blondie
4/5
Debbie Harry is so cool and she made punky pop rock that is wayyy more fun than many others in the genre, just so good.
Booker T. & The MG's
3/5
It's a chill instrumental, and the big single is cool, but I just kinda start tuning out of the album. Still something that would be good for some background ambiance
The Stranglers
3/5
It kinda reminds me of The Door's debut because of the use of the synth/organ along with a deep and rugged singer, but unlike the doors this is far more fun (if kinda simple) songs. Not the best thing I've heard as far as punk/new wave goes but it's pretty enjoyable
LCD Soundsystem
4/5
This album was fundamental to me at one point to pretty much getting into dancier rock and enjoying this era of music (mid to late 00s punky dance rock), and while this album is great and has some of the best songs ever (Someone Great and New York I Love You) I do think that over time I stopped being as in love with this album (and LCD's music generally), mainly because of how the length of some of the songs would sometimes prevent me from ever wanting to go back, right now I kept thinking these songs would get so much out of getting trimmed by a minute or two. Yeah dance music operates in long songs and all but I think North American Scum didn't need to do the chorus 2 more times for it to get more grating, I don't have as many gripes with the other songs but I still feel like Time to Get Away, All My Friends and the title track didn't need to go on for that long, they are great songs still though and really so is the entire album.
I don't love it like I used to but I think over time with more listens I will be able to get a better sense of the things that click so much with me and what doesn't
Big Star
3/5
The Velvet Underground on more downers (there's a TVU cover even!), it's nice but not for me, or maybe I'm not in the mood for it
Neneh Cherry
3/5
Did you know this album came out in June 5th, 1989? It's also my birthday so hell yeah to that coincidence.
Anyway, this album... is a lot of things, it's funny to remember that Neneh Cherry is not only Don Cherry's (step) daughter but also that she was involved in a lot of weird punk bands of the late 70s. Then you have the fact that she helped to plant the seeds for what would become the trip hop wave in the 90s by helping many of the artists in the whole Bristol sound scene. It's interesting to think about the many punks who were very into the sounds of hip hop and electronic music (Bjork, The Beastie Boys, Blondie, to name a few) and just were there for it when it started.
All of that makes listening to Raw Like Sushi interesting, because it's both very ahead of the curve but also SO painfully of it's era, someone on RYM commented: "the most 1989 album to ever be recorded" and it's basically true. I can't exactly say that Neneh is a bad rapper/MC when this era of rap wasn't what it is now, it's very simple rhymes and flows which weren't uncommon during this time; despite this though, I think she is still a really fun presence and hypeman (hypegirl?) even if it isn't the most technical bars ever, and plus she sings great in some of these songs (Buffalo Stance's chorus is killer).
I think the part that shines best in this album is the production, not every beat is amazing but the smooth and chill beats and some of the more cut up and intricate stuff sounds a lot of how the later trip hop and electronic stuff in the UK would, it's so easy to hear this and go "oh yeah, make it sadder and it's a Portishead beat" for me and I think that's part of why I enjoy this album way more than I would if I wasn't already a fan of trip hop and other 90s british downtempo shit.
All around, a messy but fascinating album
The Only Ones
3/5
I had already listened to this, except I kinda didn't because I entirely forgot about doing so. It was someone recommending a lot of power pop so I could get familiar with the genre and maybe have a positive outlook on it (I didn't), but apparently I liked this album more than the others I got. Coming back to it tho, I can see *why* I would like this more than more straightforward power pop albums given this is partly a punk album, but it's also just too uneven, some songs can be the type of rocking new wave thing I love and the next is a slower jam which I don't care for much, it's hard because at its best this album really, REALLY pulls some cool songs out but as a whole... it's alright
Rush
2/5
I haven't listened to this one in forever but even coming back to it especially knowing more about my taste in prog and everything... I just don't feel much for this? Like yeah the music is cool but I think compared to Moving Pictures there was more there that was catchy and interesting than here. Idk I didn't vibe with this one much (And that's without me paying attention to the lyrics which are about an Ayn Rand book....)
The Velvet Underground
4/5
Another one I had listened to before, even though it's not as weird as the previous two TVU albums and instead has more of their kind of slow songs, it's still very enjoyable and I kinda forgot about that. I don't have much more to say than yeah, it's a great album if a little behind its two predecessors
Calexico
4/5
The cover of this album could have never clued me into how this was going to sound, I had seen it before and always thought it would be something tackier than what it turned out being: americana with a darker edge, like a detective's movie in some US-Mexico border town. It's just a perfect vibe and much like the Giant Sand record I had a while back I will probably revisit this one in the near future
Thelonious Monk
4/5
Brilliant stuff really, I still feel like I have to learn more abour jazz compsitions and what they do to really get into this one more, but in the two times I have listened to it its been a great time I think. Monk never disappoints imo
Dexys Midnight Runners
3/5
Between the singer of this band sounding a lot like the guy from The Associates to their weirdly unique style of new wave with Soul and Celtic rock.... I mean it's cool to hear in the later half of the album but the first half I could do without, but I enjoyed this album more on a second listen so who knows, maybe the eccentric and theatrical sound will grow on me.
Syd Barrett
3/5
I was always curious to check out what it was like since I heard a lot of Pink Floyd as a teen, and it pretty much is what it looks like: psychedelic folk rock songs that have something a little wrong with them. It's a loose description obviously but that's also why I enjoyed it, it feels kind of like the most sloppily put together album that I've heard in the genre so far but it's endearing because of it. I think it might grow on me in the future (and also a great excuse to check out Piper at the Gates of Dawn already)
The Beach Boys
4/5
RIP Brian, only this album would have a song named " I Just Wasn't Made for These Times" with such an atmosphere that is both bright and melancholic all the same.
Detailed and pretty album all around
Bob Dylan
4/5
I thought I was not into it until it hit Idiot Wind and I just started sinking into the vibe of it, one of those that I might have to dig deeper in subsequent listens but on my first full listen, I think it's really good!
Lou Reed
4/5
Compared to how "just ok but also not that great" Transformer was for me, Berlin is so much more interesting. Maybe it's the grand presentation of everything as a rock opera, the sadness thru all the songs, the large ensemble but not too showy instrumental or even the irony of something this conceptual against Lou Reed's deadpan (but emotional) vocals saying some of the most heartwrenching lyrics ever. It's truly a lot of things and more that make it the kind of rock opera that I don't wanna tune out of 2 seconds into the song or feels too long or is too theatrical and ambitious for its own good. It's like the saddest play you've seen in a small theater, I like it.
Björk
5/5
Even though it's been some time since I listened to this album (after the breakup of a long term relationship no less), it still hits thematically and sonically. Just ugh, what a crushingly heartbreaking album
The White Stripes
4/5
I mean, it's elephant, a lot more ink has been spilled about this album than many others of that era for good reason, no one was this effortlessly cheeky and cool and exciting while playing pretty traditional blues
What i'm trying to say is: It's great
Deep Purple
4/5
Deep Purple really are (to me) what people say classic rock is in their mind, the sort of super fast and heavy rock that makes defined the era. Except only very few bands really were like that, and some don't really deliver in every respect of being cool, creative and putting out pure bangers, Deep Purple does tho and I love them for that
Echo And The Bunnymen
3/5
Their debut runs about as standard post punk as it goes I think, mainly because it's not quite as full of the psychedelic ideas that make EatB unique later on in Ocean Rain; however, average post punk runs at about a "pretty good" for me, so it's enjoyable no matter what, maybe in a few more listens I'll warm up to it
Tom Waits
4/5
Compared to Bone Machine it's... well I didn't know what to make of it initially but after my second listen I think what struck me is how much these songs can get stuck in your head and become just catchy, or at least to me.
It wouldn't surprise me if down the line after working thru his discography I'd be into this album more
Muddy Waters
3/5
I guess I enjoy it in the sense of how it inspired the artists I enjoy a lot, but I don't think I got much more out of it besides that
Adele
2/5
Like I said previously for 21: melancholic but safe pop music with a veneer of soulfulness which... I mean there's nothing wrong with it but I can't begin to care for it, much less when most of the hits from this album I either find dull ("Hello"), annoying ("Send My Love (To Your New Lover)") or sound like it will sell me a laptop ("Water Under the Bridge"). Adele's be a good singer and artist but that doesn't equate her making music I care for
Def Leppard
2/5
It's... Glam metal from the 1980s, there are some parts when the chords and sounds reminded me of the 80s era of post-punk and new wave but I guess I choke that up to be the era where this sort of things were popular than Def Leppard themselves being particularly inspired by that stuff. Outside of that... I really didn't find much in this album that was interesting to me, it was perfectly serviceable but not something I care for
Common
3/5
It's nice but I think I liked "Like Water for Chocolate" better, if nothing else because more of the beats and such stood out to me compared to here where there were some big highlights but not all around consistency like that other album. It's also funny-sad to get reminders that even as far back as 2005 Kanye was rapping about going to mental institutions, which speaking of, his production is nice but eh I prefer the work in the last album. I might comeback to both back to back to compare them in the future
Creedence Clearwater Revival
2/5
I mean it rocks when it goes for a more jam band/psych/prog thing but most of it is just the roots rock thing and I really, really don't care for it at all, which is a shame because they know how to make some extended jamming sound awesome.
Jorge Ben Jor
5/5
It's the right kind of rhythmically interesting, energetic, fun type of music I love and can't get enough of, brazilian music was on another level huh.
Dinosaur Jr.
3/5
This is one of those classic albums that despite being good I never really liked like other people do, people swear by this being the best noise rock or lo fi indie thing but personally it never hit for me. Some nice songs but ultimately feel forgettable after a while, not helped by the lo-fi-ness not really complementing the music, it moreso neuters it sometimws (sludgefest). I also don't care for J Mascis as a singer even if his skills moreso lie in his guitar playing.
All in all a fine record but not one I like still
Sam Cooke
4/5
This man could move mountains with that voice, not just is the music good but how he engages the audience is such a treat to listen to, the little quips the ways he goes off in some way during the song, the audience reactions, the energy. Everything about this is awesome
The Fall
3/5
I have heard a few The Fall albums before, mainly the stuff from their 80s era but nothing past that, so I was curious to see how they did in the 90s with this one, which was basically most trends Mancunian bands were jumping on in the 90s (techno, alt dance, you name it). For doing something like that this album is actually more creative than some other bands at the time, more adventurous if anything, but it still retains the core Fall sound which is repetition and Mark E Smith doing his thing. Do I love it? No but it's little quirks carry it in a way a lot of others just didn't, but they made better albums for sure
Brian Eno
4/5
I think I like this one a little less than "Here Come the Warm Jets" but there it was a thing where I warmed up to so many of its ideas as well how Eno integrated so many cool and interesting little things to a genre that otherwise is kinda there for me like Glam Rock. Here is more just straight up the crossroads of rock and electronic ambient which both sound good and he still is adding new ideas to it that I'm really enjoying, but I think I'll need time to really sink my teeth into this one.
Fugees
3/5
Not as tight as "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" which I think managed to weave it's songs more consistently compared to this one here where they have many different sounds and moods, which are good and I like them but it just doesn't end up making music that stands out a whole lot to me. I mean it's best songs are basically the classics and the parts where Lauryn Hill just brings in a catchy hook or great bars, she's just more interesting than Wyclef or Pras which no wonder she made the groundbreaking album after this one.
It's good but it could have been paired down into something much more consistent frankly
AC/DC
2/5
Around song 3 I thought "well at least there IS a good song, maybe this album won't be so bad" and then every other song was using similar riffs and progressions, like I don't usually say shit like that because I barely know about music but there is a point where the meme about them writing the same song over and over is just true and it shows.
Lupe Fiasco
4/5
It's been a while since I heard some Lupe and everything I listened by him I liked a lot so I had no reason to think this would be any different, and it wasn't! This is just solid pop rap all the way through, many catchy and inventive beats, Lupe's always an engaging voice and even if it runs on a bit too long (Outro being basically a movie's end credits for 12 minutes is hilarious) I think this is still worth anyone's time, as is Lupe's music generally
Youssou N'Dour
4/5
As usual with anything west african, it's just a fun time. I guess partly because the music is so warm and happy but partly because it feels so familiar despite being made thousands of miles away from where I grew up. I'm just still fascinated by how West African music sounds so much like the stuff I heard as a kid.
Cocteau Twins
5/5
If dream pop as a genre had followed in the footsteps of this album for how varied, layered, and enegetic but wonderful it is instead or the most boring tropes of atmospheric pop, I think the genre would be actually good.
Anyway, wonderful album, I feel like I love its sounds more and more as time goes on
Abdullah Ibrahim
2/5
Its not that its bad, its a pleasant little record, but time and time again I feel like cool jazz just does nothing for me as far as the things I want out of my jazz
Like, again, its pleasant but it never goes over something that makes me go "oh wow" in the playing which is a shame
Slipknot
1/5
I'm not the most familiar person with Slipknot's music compared to other nu metal bands (specially Korn or Linkin Park), and this album is already pretty far removed from their first two which are pretty well regarded. So I hoped that who knoes maybe I'll like it since I like some nu metal but noooooooooo this album was just the lamest a band of this style has sounded I think
Just really boring and predictable mixes of groove metal and alt metal, with anthemic, group vocal things trying to be anti war, I appreciate the anti war/anti american angle but the lyrics read like a teenager wrote them, the music is fucking lame, and I'm just sitting here thinking that if they tried the whole clean vocals thing and less biting of death metal riffs to make them boring this would be good
But its not
Pixies
2/5
I have listened to this album many times and again, it just doesn't really hit me at all like it does some people. I can see why people like it but their mix of noisy indie stuff is just not as appealing as others in the genre. I much prefer listening to other groups that did this sort of thing without a pop lean like idk, Sonic Youth than I do returning to this, even Surfer Rosa had more for me in it
Funkadelic
4/5
Weirdly the riffing and atmosphere is darker than I imagined out of this album, maybe because it reminds me of a sort of prototype of what most doom metal riffs would be like except with more distortion and wayyy slower. Obviously the riffs aren't everything when you have such cool grooves such as the ones in this album but the marrying of both here just make it a great time for me, definitely iconic
The Bees
3/5
Lovely album, I thought it would be another album that I'd just care little for since its more obscure UK Indie pop/psychedelia, but here I think The Bees marry the styles nicely and effectively, the addition of tropicalia or more chillout type songs helps the album stay interesting to me
So, yeah nice stuff, probably will grow on me as time goes on
4/5
Really fun! And still as good as I recall from last time I heard it, Devo took me a while to enjoy but their weirdness and absurdness are the best part of their music. Specially in this album more than stuff later I think
Carole King
3/5
More groovy than I expected and generally really pleasant, but not something I'd really feel like coming back to for every song unfortunately, still worth anyone's time to listen to it
Van Morrison
3/5
It starts pretty nicely with some actually great songs, specially because of the arrangements but it just peters out after a while, a shame because it starts with the kind of sound I want out of folk rock but winds up being more standard stuff at the end than the beginning...
The Smiths
3/5
Its been some time since I last listened to TQiD and I still held it as my favorite smiths album because it had some greay songs plain and simple
But... I think during this listen I realized I wasn't nearly as into it as I remember being, I mean it has There's a Light that Never Goes Out, Bigmouth Strikes Again, the title track and Some Girls are Bigger than Others, but the rest of the songs just kinda come and go or come, sound annoying and move on (Frankly, Mr Shankly and Vicar in Tutu should have never been on this album).
Is it good? Obviously, but I guess I still struggle to care about Smiths' ALBUMS compared to their songs
Jethro Tull
3/5
It's been forever since I heard a Jethro Tull song, probably since someone once sent me one of theirs songs (can't recall which).
On a full listen, yeah I think it's pretty good! A lot more varied and rockier than really *proggy* but it's theatrical eccentricies is partly why it makes it stand out against other prog that is lengthy and cheesy without much of an identity (*Cof* Emerson, Lake and Palmer *cof*)
Saint Etienne
4/5
Wonderfully summery, trippy and dancey like any good british downtempo album from the 90s should be, I think it has both the right variety of sounds of the era to sound interesting while also just being pretty consistent. It's just my kinda thing and I can see myself coming back to it for this kind of relaxed summery vibe. Definetely a new favorite
The Notorious B.I.G.
4/5
I never got around Biggie's music back when I was on a hip hop kick a few years back for some reason, I guess I was put off by the length of the album then. Now though I'm kicking myself a bit for not checking it sooner because this album is obviously awesome (Diddy notwithstanding, even if he had a big role on this album...). I mean, it's nuts to me still that he was only 22, its his debut and he sounds and raps like he was 32 with the kind of confidence and how forthcoming he is, he just goes for it and sounds effortless on all these songs which some have similar vibes and others which go wayyyyy into another sound entirely (Juicy, One More Chance, Me & My Bitch).
That's another thing, the variety in the album and how he could adapt to a different sound or theme, one song he raps about his crimes playing two different characters and a little later he is talking about how much things have changed for him and his wife with his success and neither feel out place. Although if we talk about out of place.. I can do without the Fuck Me skit or the end of Respect, but I mean it's really two small things when placed against how the rest of the album is.
Just a great listen all around
Madonna
4/5
We all know Madonna for her 80s hits and maybe some of the 90s ones, but I never tried listening to one of her albums or too many songs on purpose so I was interested to see what 2000s Madonna after Ray of Light and before American Life would have done and... I'd be surprised if this album doesn't have a reappraisal in the future because this album is so good, barring a few slow songs that just don't quite work for me (Nobody's Perfect and Paradise) the rest are just greatly produced and well written pop songs that just hit all the right places for me aesthetically, the sort of glitchy, chilled-out and electronic type of stuff that was so common then and elevated by a good singer.
This is great, I should go back and check Ray of Light too while I'm at it
Kanye West
3/5
If there's an artist I wanna think about less, it's probably Kanye with his endless horrible shenanigans but despite that this is the album I got and well... I didn't hate it, I didn't love it either, it was a good album in all the ways you'd expect a rap album from the mid 00s to be, except that the skits are actually kinda funny and not just useless to the album. I guess if anything part of why I didn't like it more is that most songs just kinda went in one ear out the other, the production is cool but it didn't stand out to me like hip hop most often does, and I don't think it's negative feelings about Kanye making it difficult to like, but I guess I don't find Kanye's style of production here all that appealing (but ig we'll see about other albums)
As a whole, good album but not one I care for much
Dirty Projectors
3/5
This album is so interesting in a way I wish I was into more, these songs have so many weird, janky and angular melodies to it but they all just work to make some bright and pretty pop stuff, so you'd think the fact that it's so complex would click with me right? Yet it kinda doesn't, I guess because while cool that it sounds so weird it feels kind of aimless for most of the time to me, it has many ideas but I don't think they end anywhere interesting in most songs except for Useful Chamber which feels like the most realized version of what they are doing. So not bad but not my favorite for sure.
Super Furry Animals
4/5
Psychedelic in exactly the way I enjoy, just wonderfully composed and trippy even if some songs kinda blend into one another, I think I will have to give it another listen soon enough.
Sarah Vaughan
3/5
I'll give this one another listen tomorrow when it's quieter, but I will leave a tentative score + some brief thoughts:
- Sarah's voice is fantastic
- I like the atmosphere of the recording despite it being just pretty by the numbers jazz
- I really wonder what were people laughing at in some of the songs.
The Cure
5/5
Too busy playing RE4 but I this one is good, one of their best but not my fave, will re-write later
Black Sabbath
5/5
Damn, with the news about Ozzy's death (RIP legend) I expected that I'd get a sabbath album (like probably most people) and Vol 4 is probably my favorite out of Sabbath's discography (that I've heard thus far). It's been a bit since I heard it last but this is probably my favorite as an album experience, both because all the songs come together wonderfully but also because Supernaut is my favorite Sabbath song and I could just hear it on a loop, but the other songs aren't too far behind it either which avoids one of those things with albums with songs I love but I just sort of ignore the rest. Just, so many catchy and genuinely still heavy/cool riffs, memorable for every song, and even them trying something new and different works to the album's benefit (like Changes or Laguna Sunrise), it's an album that I can see myself always be able to return to and have a good time and for that, it's my fave by them.
I hope Ozzy rest easy, because man what a legacy
Björk
3/5
It's funny to get Debut right when I'm getting more into 90s downtempo/dance stuff currently, this era of Bjork's fits that sort of vibe to a tee and I was hoping that I'd enjoy Debut more than I had before, it's among those albums of hers I kinda neglect, not because it's a bad album but it doesn't stand out nearly as much as what she did only a few years later. This album feels like an authentic debut to the world from its most whimsical pop-star, but it's not entirely fully what I and most people think of Bjork when they see her name. It's her and some electronic or dance beats (mostly 90s house) but they are also kinda weird and cooky all the same, you aren't really gonna get a Human Behavior or Venus as a Boy out of too many people, which is what makes her so unique, but at the same time it's not quite AS distinct as some of the ideas from Post or Homogenic which just are just so unique production wise and cohesive sonically, while here you may have a house song, or a little electronic thing, or a vocal jazz thing, it's all those things but it can feel at odds with itself.
I love some songs off of this album, but I don't think I'll be coming back to it again anytime soon, but it is an interesting look at how Bjork started and many seeds of where she would go from here.
Joni Mitchell
4/5
I think this album compared to Hejira feels more tender and warm, not that Hejira wasn't but where that one was exciting for how the sonic experiments sounded, this one is simply a nice, mellow folk album that hits the spot for a nice afternoon trying to relax. It's just the perfect vibe and how nice Joni's voice is throughout all of this album, it's just lovely.
MC Solaar
3/5
Unfortunate that I can't understand french because I really would like to know what MC Solaar is rapping about, but fortunately for this album the production is so fun and varied, aside that MC Solaar's flow is so bouncy and rhythmic that it got stuck in my head.
I wasn't expecting much from this album but I had a great time with it.
Keith Jarrett
4/5
for my first EMC Jazz album, it's pretty nice. The piano soloing is pleasant and doesn't feel like it's too much in the cool jazz territory that usually puts me off with some jazz I've heard. I think the history behind this album also complements what you hear, since it explains some of how Keith plays.
Generally, really good!
Metallica
2/5
As legendary and important as this album is to Metallica and perhaps a lot of metal from here on, I really don't think it has much going for it besides the singles and a few scattered songs here and there, it's got these specific musical ideas going for it and they are cool in some songs (Enter Sandman is a great opener) but when they get reused and replayed they just stop feeling interesting. Just a fine album but not a great one at all tbh
GZA
3/5
Beats are awesome as with anything Wu-Tang really, but I guess just as the last time I listened to this album, I don't love how GZA sounds on this album, his bars are interesting and complex but his presence is very still and not as in your face as the other guys in the group, but it is his brand to be so cold and calculated so I can't be too mad about it (well, except when there's some weird bars about women or anti-choice...). Not the most consistent album, but it has Gold, Swordsman, and Duel of the Iron Mic, plus an awesome album cover, so not a dull time with this one
Elastica
3/5
Pleasant album, nothing I'm like crazy about but it has the kind of fun energy I look for in britpop
Venom
3/5
I've heard some black metal albums in the past and usually I enjoy them, their aggression and atmosphere are always something that makes me want to seek more in the genre, ironically though I never got to check the "proto-bm" stuff like Venom or Sodom or whoever despite how instrumental to the development of black metal during this time, and I mean... I guess I wasn't too interested in the more heavy metal side of this genre which originated the style but I mean it's still gonna be some level of interesting so why not try it?
While this album is fun and the type of raw and intense heavy metal of the era, I also don't entirely love it since so many of the riffs and songs kind of run together which makes telling apart some songs from others, aside from the fact that I don't find the songs as memorable as either contemporaries or bands that came later, but it doesn't stop it from having the kind of dark and evil atmosphere that I enjoy so it's got that going for it!
Not something for everyone but for me, I think it's good if flawed
Run-D.M.C.
2/5
I didn't like this one much, but only because the simplicity (to a fault) of this kinda hip hop really ages this album a lot, and make it a lot more awkward to listen to compared to stuff not even a few years later. It's fine but feels more historically important to me than something really enjoyable
Kid Rock
1/5
The fact that this fucking album is not the bottom one but Einstürzende Neubauten and Throbbing Gristle are makes this website a joke.
This album would be good if anyone else was working on it and just made different decisions because there are good people working on it but it just so happens to be in service of the most tacky mix of southern rock, rap rock and nu metal that I've ever come across, it's just not even fun anymore when the most fake guy imaginable tries to front as a deep south man and just looks extremely phoney in the process, he can't sing, he can't rap, he can't even make a decent hook with his voice so you just have this stupid album as torture that would make the CIA blush
Just, no.
Only God Knows Why is funny as hell tho
Les Rythmes Digitales
3/5
Actually a pretty nice album, I enjoy it more because I'm already a fan of electro house and that is always a plus. I think my biggest issue with this one is that some songs can just be in one ear out the other type electronic music, but it's fun while its on
Led Zeppelin
2/5
You know, I think if they were an instrumental band I wouldn't mind them at all, but Robert Plant's voice is just nails on a chalkboard to me so another dud from Lep Zep for me
Throbbing Gristle
3/5
It's funny how this album pops up only a few days after I had raged about Devil WIthout a Cause by Kid Rock because I said then that this album did not deserve to be at the very bottom of this site's rankings, I do get why this is the case though, I mean what's gonna be more (relatively) palatable for a (presumably) normal American/European person using this site to find out about music for the first time? An album that is mainly rap and rock combined in a trashy way with some country and nu metal elements mixed in or a mechanical, cold, and electronic sounding album with sampled recordings and things that might as well come from a cult? It's only obvious which is more tolerable to most people (and like, it's not like DWaC is that much higher, it's like no.7)
It is interesting though that even today this album is still offputting to most regular people as much as it did back in the late 70s, even though by and large the weirdest part about it is how sparce and alien it can be, many songs are very much simple tape and synth soundscapes without much more going on, and when there is something going on it's still pretty minimal stuff. AB/7A was probably the most eventful song imo given the pretty synths that kinda feel like a prototype of what Coil, group that one of the members of this group formed later on, would make. I think the biggest feeling I have about this album is how I think that while its foundational to a genre it's not the best representation of it or hell, I think some did it better later on (sometimes less than a decade later lol), it's an album that I think it's more contextually interesting rather than interesting for what music lies inside, like these guys were partly doing performance art that was actively transgressive against the rigidity of British society at the time, but also in a way that was weirder than the Punks of the era and sometimes even more effective at making people squirm (mostly with sex afaik), it's also one of those bands that made the most out of their live performances which is probably another thing that unfortunately just doesn't come thru in the music.
It's not that this context would make the people who already turn it off like it but I think it is interesting the place in history this and a lot of maligned albums on this site have and how this context can probably help people understand a little bit more where this music that sounds like this even comes from or why people would make it in this way.
I think that even though when its on it's not the best thing I've heard in the genre I do think it has wayyyyy more purpose and transgression that does make it a interesting album to finally have the chance to check out.
Coldplay
3/5
Coldplay's albums continue to be... mostly alright I think
Not the most groundbreaking thing ever but it is the exact kind of pleasant rock you need sometimes. It's comfy, it's emotional, but not to the point of contrivances or anything which, makea me see why they got so big to begin with
The 13th Floor Elevators
3/5
Starts really cool and I loveeee the sound of the 2nd track but it starts losing me halfway thru
Wilco
3/5
It's funny how I avoided this album for the longest time because I thought it was going to be soft folk rocky shit which I wasn't too keen on years ago, now... well i like that stuff but I don't think I love this album like many do, mainly because I found it kinda aimless or I just couldn't really follow what some songs were going for, but at the same time I still enjoyed it so I think it will grow on me the more I listen to it
The Gun Club
3/5
Been a while since I listened to this one and its still as weird as I remember but I think I dug or understood some of the songs on this album better than I did the last time I listened to it. But even if I didn't find anything new, this album has Sex Beat and that's one of the best songs ever so...
Paul McCartney and Wings
3/5
Some fun songs but nothing that really stuck with me, I'm beginning to think I'm more of a Lenon guy than a McCartney guy
Snoop Dogg
4/5
A lot better than I imagine, maybe because Dr. Dre's production is really sweet and well made or the fact that Snoop has all the charm and personality that you'd want out of a rapper. It's not all the way consistent (I mean the interludes could go and so could some songs) but the big songs are as good as they say they are so I can't really complain about it.
The Who
2/5
You know, I think as time goes on and more albums are generated from this era, the more I cannot stand albums that go over the 45 min mark. I get that Tommy's whole deal is the fact that its a Rock Opera and that it is telling a story, which is all well and good, plus The Who are one of the better bands of this era and it isn't an unlistenable album... But I really cannot begin to care about what this album is doing or where it's going. It's just a miss for me
Tracy Chapman
3/5
The extremely warm and comfy album from how folksy and small everything feels, obviously the lyrics are a huge highlight (Fast Car, hello) but I think the best thing about this album is that I feel comforted listening to it
New York Dolls
3/5
I think returning to this album for the third time now I really realize that glam rock is maybe not for me, at least in most instances it doesn't seem to quite click with me. I will say though, the NY Dolls knew how to rock and could really pull some really crazy fun performances for music that may not look that punk or heavy, it's a fun album but not quite for me
Depeche Mode
3/5
I heard this album a long time ago and just kinda had a tepid enjoyment of it then, but I never really figured out why, it became even more puzzling when Never Let Me Down Again is one of DM's best songs so... is the album really that meh to me still?
Turns out that... yeah it is, mainly because I'm not huge on the slower and moodier songs here which kinda hint at some dramatic, classical inspired things but generally just sound like a chore to listen to, in general I feel this way towards slower DM songs (with some exceptions) but here I feel there are more of those songs which just isn't the best time, still like this album but not like other stuff in their discography.
Sonic Youth
3/5
I remember a few years ago I went thru Sonic Youth's discography and just really enjoyed their music, but most particularly I had an obsession with Goo that probably lasted a few months, I had the album and some songs on a loop basically. But after a while the album, and really all of SY's music kinda fell to the wayside for me, I would occasionally listen to them but I never really truly felt like listening to their music the same way I would return to some of my favorite music and feel like I was back to some kind of normalcy with it. Even more I kept forgetting more and more how their songs went, which granted makes sense for music you listen to once and basically never again but even the albums I listened to a lot (except for Evol but I'll talk abt it when I get it) I just forgot the way the songs went and just remember very few parts about them. That feeling over time made me realize that maybe I am not as huge on Sonic Youth as I thought I was and I think this current listen of Goo cemented that feeling even more.
Although I don't doubt that I might feel differently for other albums of theirs, I think the fact that Goo felt like such dud after thinking I still loved the album left me disappointed, because suddenly all the sounds in it... well were the same but I didn't find them nearly as interesting or exciting like I once did, some choices wound up annoying me more than it helped their songs. I think part of the problem is that the sort of 90s "2cool4you" or general gen x we don't give a shit attitude feels very played out and just expected in a lot of instances? I mean things like Tunic's whole section with Kim Gordon singing as Karen Carpenter ironically saying goodbye to Hollywood and hello to all the big musicians in heaven or the Chuck D feature in Kool Thing, they feel like they are there for a half ironic half sincere reason but in the end the don't feel like they add much to the songs beyond being The Things that you remember as opposed to idk the instrumentals or something. The Tunic vocals specially felt very weirdly tacked on the song because Kim's vocals just feel too loud compared to the instrumentals instead of this ghostly apparition that she is supposed to be thematically.
I think another problem is that yeah they have a lot of cool guitar riffs and things going on in the music which sound like the best shit ever, but then these get lost in the shuffle of everything else that's going on in their music and wind up becoming aimless, like... Dirty Boots for example has one of the better riffs but I can't seem to recall how it went and the only thing I remember is the stupid "I GOT SOME DIRTY BOOTS" line which after it made the song worse or Dissappearer which was one of my absolute favorite songs, it ebbs and flows in a cool way but it also feels like it's all over the place that I can barely place what the song is going for by the middle even if it's enjoyable.
That aimlessness is fine obviously, I won't come here and say that Sonic Youth's signature style is also their biggest issue because c'mon, but I do feel like it is a double edge sword where they can write some truly iconic riffs and songs and other times they are cool but not at all memorable, with the only memorable bits being the very part of the song that I really wish weren't there...
It's tough because I don't wanna sit here and pretend like this isn't worth people's time but like... I feel like there's 90s bands that were able to embody cool and write songs that felt more memorable, or hell even the Sonic Youth alikes sometimes did SY better because they had more restraint whereas I don't think SY ever felt like they had to have some more executive direction to their music.
Is it good? I guess so yeah, do I love it anymore? Certainly not, it's on the level of Amnesiac by Radiohead being a disappointment to me
Janelle Monáe
4/5
The kind of high concept theatrical thing I just love, not only is it ambitious, it manages to land hard on its two feet by the end because of how much care is put on its concept. I think Janelle manages to make the the aesthetics and the grandiosity of basically a musical adaptation of Metropolis feel just as grand which I don't think many people can get right, but even more have so many styles of music come together so tightly and again, come out like a fully formed package instead of an overlylong mess, I guess it helps I love the way everything sounds. So yeah this is an absolute win, I need some more listens to truly get into the details of the lyrics but I'm loving it
Willie Nelson
3/5
Lovely standards record, runs more like a vocal jazz or pop thing than country, a subdued and sweet listen if a bit samey when Willie's singing and the arrangements feel like they run together, despite that tho I understand the love for it
The Crusaders
3/5
It's nice but a bit too smooth for my taste in that I don't particularly love this slower kind of jazz funk, I prefer something faster generally but I mean, if you like city pop you'll like this
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Once again I listen to the stones and come away... not loving it but also enjoying it wayyyyy more than I would expect, mainly because I'd think their style of blues rock would be more of a drag than it winds up being, which I appreciate.
I think part of why it clicks here is that the sound is so understated and just chill here which I enjoy more moodwise
The Icarus Line
3/5
On the surface this looked like the exact kind of thing I love, noisy punk with a bit of garage and hard rock influence AND a cool cover? Sign me up!
What I got was something a lot... milder? It's more mid tempo type of garage punk ala Stooges than something with more legit fire and drive to it like many of the bands I love, but it is a fun time none the less so I still think i won listening to this one and also it being so different than the typical 1001 album pick
Judas Priest
3/5
Kicks ass like a good metal album should, if inconsistently. The best songs are obviously Breaking the Law and Grinder, or really the first four, after United tho, which is a terrible song... it starts losing steam pretty quickly, but I still enjoyed my time with this one, Hopefully if other Judas albums are on the book they will be even better
The Mamas & The Papas
3/5
Lovely little album, not really my thing for most of it but it's a nice time all the way, I didn't think much of California Dreamin though
Supergrass
3/5
It's fun just like the other album on the list "I Should Go Coco", my only small issue (I guess) is the fact that it does run together a little, which is tough because songs like Richard III or You Can See Me are so good and the kind of energy britpop should have
Nine Inch Nails
5/5
When I got this album I was fully expecting it to be a dud, not because I dislike this music, in fact this was one of my favorite albums in High School, or because it's no longer my kinda thing, it still very much is, but mainly the fact that over time as I've listened to more music and dissected it, it also made me have more "stringent" or just being tougher on the music I listen to, not because I think being more mean is fun but it's a better way to distinguish the music that's still relevant to me vs the one that isn't. For some time now I've been dreading coming back to NIN like I have with every album I had listened to in the past and enjoyed when I was younger because more often than not I wind up having more problems with the albums than I do things I still enjoy, and it sucks so much but it's the nature of being more in tune with what and how I enjoy the music I'm listening to.
So with all of that it makes me happy that by the time I was halfway thru this album I was confident I wasn't changing my opinion about it, i.e that it's fantastic, one of the best albums of its era and perhaps its genre.
Now I do like some aspects about it less than I did before, mainly the lyrics in that they aren't *bad* but if one thing is true about Trent is that he isn't a great lyricist, especially at this time, he is very clumsy in how he tries to wrap his message and intended emotions around certain words which leads to moments like hearing Heresy's very obvious anti religious lyrics delivered mostly well with the implication and metaphor but it's not the most detailed picture, and it only gets worse when the chorus kicks in like "GOD IS DEADDD AND NO ONE CARESSSS" it's hammy as fuck and hilariously edgy, yet it weirdly works if only because the song is that good. Every song has that aspect of the lyrics being clumsy but it works in its honesty, this whole album is a long narrative about an addict's Downward Spiral (if you will) and it's obviously partly autobiographical about what Trent was going through at the time, which I think helps making a song like Hurt be as effective as it is, the images and the narrative aren't the most complex but you can feel every emotion behind a lyric like "what have I become?/my sweetest friend/everyone I know/goes away in the end".
And while the lyrics or I guess the way Trent likes to deliver things might be hamfisted, the one thing that absolutely shines in this album is the production and general writing, how is it that after 30 years this album still sounds cutting edge, so many of the weird techniques in this album for producing guitars, use of multiple channels and panning, the sampling, the noise the everything has so much intention and ingenuity that it's hard not to enjoy, a song like Ruiner still confuses me because how is a song that has a bouncy, distorted hip hop beat works so well with these incomprehensibly layered sounds while every chorus is so slow?? I don't know but it sounds so good somehow and the only explanation I have is because Trent knows how to make music sound and feel exactly the way he wants, and that much has remained timeless about this album.
Sure, it's edginess hasn't aged that well and I don't care for it much anymore, but everything else remains as good as I remember.
Eurythmics
2/5
Everyone knows the title track, most people love it, including me, so I had no reason not to be excited or at the very least feeling like this would be a great time but... no, instead is the kind of 80s synthpop I find less exciting, the stuff that's milder and more restrained in the synthy parts, less punky and more pop which SUCKS because the big song's darker sound really makes you think it would be different... and it isn't sadly.
Bon Jovi
1/5
Whenever I have albums like this I can't help but be glad Nirvana killed this stuff, and not because I like Nirvana anyway but because we really didn't need 10,000 more albums of this shit.
I get this stuff is fun or cheesy goodness but to me its the exact kind of cheese that made so much rock (ESPECIALLY 80s ROCK) sound the fucking same and it was always boring despite how much it tries to hype you up
Just, so glad its dead because we don't need this
3/5
Muse are a weird band, they are these... space obsessed, conspiracy obsessed, alt rock ala Radiohead by way of Queen which would sound lame as hell but personally? I kinda love that about their early music, their weird blend of theatrical music and 00s alt rock really works well for the kind of music they make and this album especially is great for how it just brings in both really sweet poppy songs (Starlight), very mechanical and heavy pop songs to play baseball to (Super Massive Black Hole), and then just a bunch of Ennio Morricone Spaghetti Western sounding songs at the end, it's not consistent at ALL but I loved this shit when I was 14, and even at 24 I still kinda love it, if here and there than as a whole.
Stevie Wonder
4/5
I listened to Fulfillingness' First Finale previously through this site and while pleasant, it wasn't something I was particularly into and it made me wonder (ha) if I wasn't into Stevie's music, thankfully that's not the case cuz most of this album is like a warm blanket, such a cozy sound that feels genuinely joyful while having some fantastic grooves, but I mean that's pretty obvious knowing his music
Basically: a really nice time, I'm so glad I dig it so much and perhaps will make me go back to Fulfillingness' First Finale again for a second chance.
Stevie Wonder
5/5
It's so funny I got Talking Book yesterday and now I get Songs in the Key of Life, it's just a fun generation quirk.
But anyway, the album... I guess to put my opinion into perspective: despite the very lengthy run time I had a fantastic time with this album, its joyfulness is contagious but it's not a shallow kind of joyfulness, it's about love, it's about freedom, it's about peace. It sounds like Stevie just wanted to gather all the things that are important to him into one album that also happens to be sonically eclectic which feels far more consistent than albums shorter than it. I could gladly listen to this one all the way again, with the exception if Ebony Eyes but even then it's not messing up the album by any means.
After it I'm just thinking about how my psych teacher in high school would play this album every time before class started and it was always a nice mood setter and I still associate the album with him, I just kick myself for not checking it out sooner because it is wonderful (heh).
Madness
2/5
I expected something more ska knowing these guys were one of THE Ska bands of the 80s, instead it's more just theatrical rock without much more going on, besides making me think of halloween. But yeah not for me
Jimi Hendrix
3/5
First Hendrix! Never really heard a full album of his before and ig what struck me the most about the music is how bluesy it is and also how much more up tempo it is compared to other music I've heard from this era. It's a fun listen though I might have to go thru it again with the US tracklist than the UK one.
Hanoi Rocks
2/5
Not *bad* but it was a waste of my time, nothing I haven't heard other bands of the style make so meh.
Ice T
3/5
This album sits at an interesting point in time, it's one of those albums from that limbo of 1989 to mid 1991 that don't feel quite 90s yet but also doesn't feel quite 80s anymore, it's a mix that occurs in many albums from different genres. I think what makes O.G. so distinct is exactly that juggling of more rudimentary 80s delivery and some sound choices with 90s hardcore rap production and theming. You'd think the album has an identity crisis with that kind of sound plus the 70 min length making it an uneven slog but instead it manages to be mostly pretty good, even the skits don't feel like a total slog partly because they tie into the other tracks pretty nicely and because Ice T is charismatic so it's hard not to be invested into what he's saying or how he's saying it, a skit like "What About Sex?" Is hilarious as a parody of the typical sex skit but also the way the joke's delivered made it even better.
Another strength in the album is how the sequencing works to balance the shorter skits with the songs which have a nice kind of variety, not too attached to any one style or way to make a song, hell we get a few horrorcore songs (Midnight and The Tower), a rock song (Body Count... ofc) or a dance song (Fly By), Ice-T makes up for his weaknesses like the rudimentary delivery by being eclectic and knowing how to fit himself on these songs, which really works out for this album's benefit.
Honestly, it's as fun as it is underrated, I never expected this to be as fun and consistent as I thought it would be, definetely will be returning to some of these songs.
George Jones
3/5
I don't tend to see myself enjoying country albums but this one was sweet, very Elvis in how George sings (and looks) and the music is very much pop country but the result is a pleasant and short album that feels comforting to listen to in a similar way to 60s baroque pop. It's a nice listen
King Crimson
3/5
Its crazy to me that I've known and listened to this thing since I was 14 or so, and I still had a fairly vivid memory of the songs so I almost wanted to just rate it and leave it at that. But last time I listened to it was probably 6 years ago and since them I knew I needed to relisten to this album.
Now, obviously, it's still really good and I still love some of the songs, but that's the thing I feel like while I understand why I Talk to the Wind and Moonchild do to windown between the larger songs... I just kept hoping they'd end sooner so I could get to Epitaph or the title track. Moonchild especially felt too long for an improv track, the first half its fine but the rest just feels so out of place with the rest of the album's atmosphere. I Talk to the Wind is fine, it sounds pretty and its slow but that's about it for me with it, even in the past it wasn't my favorite.
But those two out of the way the three remaining songs are just great: 21st Century Schizoid Man? Classic, one of the heaviest songs of the era. Epitaph? Emotional, huge, just such a great song. Title track? Epic in the actual sense, feels so evocative of the idea of whatever the crimson king is.
I think what I love about these songs is that they feel so emotionally grounded and with lyrics that so perfectly illustrate all the themes in the album, be it fantastical like the title track or I Talk to the Wind, or more grounded like 21st Century Scizoid Man and Epitaph with war or loss. Other prog bands are great too but KC really did things in a way that sometimes go above and beyond what many did.
Now don't get me wrong, this album is only a 3/5 stars because of the two songs i talked about but it's still fantastic for its other songs and I strongly recommend it.
Moby Grape
2/5
They mathematically calculated the middle of the road. This album isn't bad but it isn't really interesting, especially next to albums of the same genre and era so meh
Depeche Mode
4/5
Much better than Music for the Masses, mainly because more songs are fun and interesting than not, also fantastically detailed production but there's some songs I don't care for much (Sweetest Perfection and Waiting for the Night) which don't mess up the experience but I just wind up skipping the songs to the ones I like.
But still, overall still a classic and no wonder so many love it
ZZ Top
3/5
Unlike many of the other dad rock picks in this book (except Deep Purple and Sabbath), this album's pretty good! Maybe partly because even at their most overplayed ZZ Top is not the most obnoxious band I've heard, but also the rest of the album besides Sharp Dressed Man is pretty solid and the exact kind of bar blues rock I wanna hear when I'm having a full glass of beer, it's fun, the riffs are muscular but its not everything in the music, just all around a good time
Talking Heads
2/5
Much like their debut I still feel like Talking Heads are wayyy milder and less weird compared to their contemporaries. If I wanted an actually weird band of the same ilk I could listen to Devo, or The Contortions, hell No Wave was a better source of that
Fairport Convention
5/5
I'm currently kicking myself for procrastinating on listening to this one. The cover looks like wayyyy sleepier album than this turned out to be, their brand of Folk Rock that is more based on british folk rather than country is so wonderful and the right kind of thing for me, at times it even feels predictive of early post-rock and even the downtempo vibe which I was not expecting at all
Wonderful discovery, the kind of surprises I l cherish out of this project where I find something I know I will become more and more of a fan of as time goes on
The Fall
4/5
The Fall are very singular as far as post punk of its era with how they seemed to be very... well very freeform might be the right way to call their music. You have Mark E Smith doing his speech sing rambles and the rest of the band exploring sounds, it's the kind of ethos that can take you anywhere and it took these guys MANY places (it only stopped bc Mark died). I got The Infotainment Scan before this, but I had already heard this album before. I never listened to it much since The Fall's style isn't something I found myself relistening to much in the past but I was happy listening to this again after 4 years since I last heard it. Giving it some time to play like 2 or 3 times I started digging more of the playing and weird ideas going on, which is always a plus.
It's a classic for a reason, especially songs like Bombast, LA, Barmy, Paint Work and I am Damo Suzuki
Radiohead
3/5
The fact that this is THE album that every music nerd knows or has heard once in their life is always funny to me. Not because it doesn't make sense, it marries pretty poppy songwriting with weird additions which make the music all the more neat, also that it was such a huge success when it dropped in 1997, making Radiohead even bigger I imagine.
I think what's funny about this one being THE album is just that there are so many like it in its era and since, many albums I prefer listening to more and yet this one still remains for many.
I'm not gonna sit here and argue how "It's bad, actually" because its good, its got so many classic songs and one of my all time faves by them (Subterranean Homesick Alien), but I feel like I've outgrown this album and most of their music, it's hard for me to stay excited about it when I could listen to other favorites that scratch the same itch if not more, but as a full listen its still pretty enjoyable.
Portishead
4/5
Though I'm not as crazy about this album as I used to be, it's still so GREAT. Portishead going from trip hop pioneers to making a truly odd last album that it's just hard to describe the vibe of, I guess still a noir like their past two but there is something more ghostly and weird about it that I can't quite describe but I wish more music was like it.
Not an album I comeback to frequently but it really is fantastic imo
Bauhaus
2/5
Even as someone who listens to a lot of goth rock and post-punk, every time I listen to Bauhaus' albums I just find their style tedious. The way they love to repeat an idea and stretch it for 3 mins, just never winds up clicking with me.
I don't know, I think every other big goth band managed to do music that was far, FAR more interesting without making it tedious to listen to.
Jack White
3/5
I usually hold the idea that I like or just prefer Jack White's solo music to his work in The White Stripes if nothing else because I return to his solo stuff more than TWS. I'm also exaggerating, because it's more songs from his solo albums than really all of those albums, but I think what makes them click for me a little more is perhaps the fact that he is really just doing whatever he wants in his albums, both weird ideas or just being the same ol blues/garage revivalist or even going a bit folk or country. I think Blunderbuss is a good reintroduction to Jack because here he is not just doing the same thing that he was doing in the TWS but he is also adding all these little folk songs in between, or playing a blues track, or going harder on his guitar chops.
It's not the most consistent album ever, but every time I finish one of his albums I can't help but go "damn why don't I listen to him more frequently, this rules"
Sonic Youth
3/5
Much, MUCH better than Goo which is surprising for the straight follow up. I think it helps that they drop the 2cool4u attitude and just go back to their usual demeanor that is more disinterested but works in making the music not feel, well, of its era
Even more its how they add back in some of the sounds they played with before even Daydream Nation, but with a little more focus.
The biggest cons in my opinion is that it is too long and some songs can be a bit grating but otherwise, pretty good.
Dwight Yoakam
2/5
It's so funny that someone recommended this album to me and listened to it after I got a George Jones' album. Now I get it with the generator, incredible timing.
Now do I like it? Eh, unlike George Jones' brand of pop country which was more alike baroque pop than much other country, this album is pure country and... it's well made, I don't deny Dwight's abilities as a good musician but do I like it as music? Not really, it's simply not for me and that's fine. I think my gauge on country is still very much aligned towards fusions with more familiar genres.
Willie Colón & Rubén Blades
4/5
One of the songs, Plastico, is an absolute classic for me because my parents played it so much at home
The whole sound of this album, just very raw salsa is nostalgic because I heard it so much as a kid, I didn't think much of it but now I'm really seeing why it was such a hit among, well, every adult I knew. It's danceable, it's joyous, it's dramatic, it's fun, it's got storytelling, what else could you want? This is awesome
Eagles
1/5
There is a little paragraph at the end of this album's entry in the copy I have of the book and it says: "Hotel California represents everything that punk came to destroy: glassily perfect production, harmonized guitar solos and "themes"." And I can't be happier that punk washed so much away, not because what it's doing is wrong but there is something to hearing a song like "Hotel California" with it's tale of the horrors of this lovely place that traps you forever with a song that is probably the most representative of that era of soft rock, and just feeling absolutely nothing. It works thematically, but I can't care about this tale when the music sounds so iron out smooth it loses any edge, even the hard rocking songs just do nothing.
Just a nothing of an album
Gary Numan
4/5
I listened to this one fairly recently and had a mild reaction to it, but on revisit I'm just kicking myself because this is so fun. Gary was truly the missing link between Kraftwerk and Synthpop and it shows with how mechanical his synths sound like it does in The Man Machine or Trans Europe Express but here the rock and pop influences are so much more pronounced, it's synthpop made by robots instead of colorful, 80s-MTV people and I think that's what made it click for me more on second listen.
That and also so many classics, I underrated Cars in the past but on this listen the vibes are undeniable. If Kraftwerk were the shape of pop to come then this album is the first hurrah of that era of pop.
Goldie
3/5
I was dreading that the hour and a half ish length would be a complete turn off but listening to it while working on something it turned out to be a great companion for just working on my stuff. Its atmosphere is more laid back than I imagined, more new agey and also more RnB inspired. Again, it makes for a pleasant experience when you just want to have something in the background that isn't just ambient music.
So yeah, pretty good I think
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
Once again with The Wailers: they are just a chill time. I enjoy what they do and makes me curious for more reggae so that's a win again for their music.
X-Ray Spex
3/5
I usually say this about punk rock and its that the closer it is to hardcore or post-punk the better it is, mainly because it adds actual variety to a very meat and potatoes genre. Germfree Adolescents IS very innovative and varied in the way I enjoy, the addition of sax, the weird effects, the more repetitive songs, and even somw songs that border on Thrash. If you added some more angular chords this would be early post-punk to-a-tee like PIL or Magazine.
Now, do I enjoy it? Eh, I remember a ton of people loving it and saying it was the best punk album ever, I do appreciate how weird it gets but its also just a thing where I have listened to other stuff in post-punk so much I just prefer listening to that. But I do strongly recommend it for a better, more varied experienced with punk for starters along with Wire's Pink Flag and the Damned's debut
The The
4/5
Much better than the follow up Infected. This is just the exact kind of weird synthpop that I just can have any day and be pretty happy with. Idk how I hadn't gotten to this one quite yet, I love this genre.
Stevie Wonder
4/5
4th Stevie album I've gotten and if I can encapsulate it in some way... look at it like this:
If Songs in the Key of life was this epic hour and a half and Talking Book was a trim 40 mins of mostly good songs, the Innervisions is the best middle point. You get Stevie is in his A game with some of the best songs he's written (Inject Too High and Don't Worry 'bout a Thing straight into my VEINS) but in a comfortable 40 mins. It's everything you'd want in a Stevie thing and then some.
I think I generally like SITKOL more but I wouldn't be surprised if I end up returning to this one way more.
Nick Drake
4/5
Nice chamber folk album, I had already checked Pink Moon before and that album is lovely but so is this one. The use of string arrangements really elevate the music from just nice folk to absolutely lovely. Just my kinda thing.
Fugazi
4/5
Fugazi lands in the same camp as Sonic Youth for me where they have a ridiculous influence in their genre (Post-Hardcore) and literally everyone who likes the genre has listened to them. But by that same token it makes their music, or at least on this album, not feel as interesting as many others that came later and were directly inspired by it.
Now don't get me wrong this album is great, production and perfomances are absolutely great but again, I think I prefer PHC that came later because it either had more of a darker and caustic attitude or was just more varied.
Tom Waits
3/5
A bit too long and the live thing might be a bit of a gimmick but personally Tom really makes it work with his personality and humor, just truly a fun record with a noir film type of vibe. Not as weird as his later albums or as sweet as his debut but it works well anyway
Simon & Garfunkel
3/5
I thought it was mostly good when it came to the more prettily arranged songs but the more folksy to country stuff... didn't really land for me. Still a nice album
Laibach
4/5
Another industrial/experimental album, another album to defend on here because people hate it...
Again, I'm very much a fan of Industrial music and everything that's come out of it, love the mechanical textures, repetitive sound and confrontational tone because it's sometimes the best vehicle for many messages, be it political or societal or philosophical or all at once. It's simply something that's been a part of my listening diet for close to a decade plus now.
One thing to know about Laibach as a group is that they belong to a Slovenian multi media collective and generally are art performers, so a lot of the music is basically a reflection of those sensibilities as a band that's both trying to talk about their realities during the time of Yugoslavia but also make light of western culture and its expansion.
There is an obvious satirical tone to all of this album, the super theatrical and grandiosity of everything, the macho gruff singing wrapping back to campy, the fucking "One Vision" by Queen cover. It's all made to poke fun at all these things while also sounding like a military procession.
I hate that so much context get lost, especially if you don't have the book or don't know about the artists, because there are genuine messages and genuine ideals going on in the music despite their "weirdness" and "inaccessibility", there is so much more under the surface and stuff like this is why I'm happy whenever the book adds an odd artist that doesn't fit the typical artists everyone knows and praises from the english-speaking world... sometimes you need a group of Slovenians to poke fun at you.
The Pretty Things
2/5
Cool experimentation... but it just meanders and meanders and meanders and keeps meandering in a way I truly do not care for. I like experimental psychedelic things but this is the bad execution of that.
Christina Aguilera
1/5
I think the problem with me and this album is that I already don't enjoy much of the pop-R&B fusions from the late 90s-early 00s because most of that stuff sounds really corny to me. This album is like the picture perfect example of the kind of pop-R&B I find tedious because this album is WAY too long, then that it has WAY too many songs, and then it can't decide between being sexy party bangers or empowerment anthems that may as well be aimed at christian, suburban moms. Yes she sings good, yes I imagine a lot of the lyrics reflect the way people might have put her down in her style but... I just can't really begin to care about anything that is going on or any of its positivity without thinking I could be listening or watching something I find more personally interesting.
Michael Kiwanuka
4/5
I can see why this became a sort of sleeper hit for many back in 2019, where it seemed to get a lot of attention by people most plugged into British music and especially into Soul. It's just a wonderful album, combining the intricacies of prog and psych soul with some rock elements that work to add energy to the music but never overtake the sound, it's a perfect mix really. I guess my thing with this album is that I'm not in love with its slower songs towards the middle but other than that, it's a very nice listen
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
I always thought of Murder Ballads as one of the better Nick Cave albums but not the best from their 90s run. Even thought the concept is cool and most of the songs are great, I just don't find it among the bad seed's most compelling set of songs compared to say... The Good Song or Your Funeral My Trial or Let Love In, which is the issue with a band that was and is as good as they are and have put out such solid music for almost 50 years. But all in all, still great.
Kings of Leon
2/5
I think besides the fact that the vocals are... not great these guys' sound just could benefit from having more ENERGY or lighting a fuse under their ass, letting loose just something to make their music so much more exciting than it is on this record where it feels wayyy too restrained for its own good.
Beatles
3/5
Being this one of their first few I was expecting to hate it or at least be meh on it but its actually quite nice! Simple but sweet pop melodies that really do leave an impression on me. I'm not so into how lovesick the lyrics are but again, nice album
The Black Crowes
1/5
Trying to revive 70s hard rock and blues rock with 90s production can either work really well or really badly. The Black Crowes make it really badly because they barely sound unique at it, so what's the point of listening to them when I can listen to... idk anything else.
Just, no thank you.