This feels so weird being released 10 years after the golden age of alternative hip-hop, but before MF Doom became a big deal. It's like prog-rock that came out between 1974 and 1978, 90s hair metal or 1980-1982 disco, a logical evolution of what came before, but weird because this kind of music in this context has been completely overshadowed by revolution.
Another way I can put it is it's like a pure extract of the hip-hop side of the Gorillaz self-titled album removed from all other influences. The Avalanches and J Dilla may have set my standards for sampling too high. The first half is a great homage to the late 80s/early 90s, and this extends to the rap flows being really samey. Complaint removed, Thin Line is delightfully 2002 and
One of Them gives me whiplash. This album is getting decently eclectic in the second half. I kind of consider it a hallmark of this genre, so I don't know why the first half is so samey. Weirdly enough, becoming more eclectic makes it sound much more of its time. It's weird I Am Somebody and Hey have so few listens when they're so good. CD runtimes are a curse. I don't listen to rap lyrics close enough though, so it's possible they're less well written, but musically it's great stuff. Seriously, more of this album needed to have Acetate Prophet's energy,
this track is so good. A strangely two-sided album, the first half solid no-nonsense MC Solaar-esque alt rap, the second an engaging 2000s updating of the genre's eclecticism. Both have their merits, both are fairly good. I wouldn't say this really deserves a spot in the 1001 though.
I like my rap like I like my coffee, with so many extraneous elements l get laughed at for saying I enjoy it. At the very least with some fluffy sweetness in the form of lush beats. This is pure espresso (not the Sabrina Carpenter kind). A very good espresso mind you, but I personally take two sips and I've had enough. A CD 60 minute runtime does not warm me up to it. Score is for my own enjoyment, I completely admit its actual value is much higher.
Christ another turn of the millenium rap album? Ofc the singles are unbeatable greats, but the edge of "I hate being famous I hate my fans, also I hate women and gay people but not really isn't it funny teehee" that makes these singles interesting gets really blunted when there's 60 more minutes of the exact thing, but way more angsty. There's something to be said about Eminem tapping into this then poorly-understood facet of North American white men that is now their defining identity, but I don't want to blame him for it, he too seems to resent it. Moments of self-reflection are great but too few and far in between, Dre's beats made this easier to go through, even if Em's flow gets rather played-out by the halfway mark.
Edit: Kim is one of the worst songs I've ever heard why is it 6 min long?
Gorgeous. One Christmas day at my grandma's I dug through her CD tower, sifting through the Englebert, the Bocelli and the Bécaud, before finding this diamond in the rough. Those sax solos elevate me just as much now as they did back then.
I may not like Bowie's glam phase as much as most (my love for the Berlin years is without limit though), but this is a classic in every sense of the word, maybe not as many anthems as Ziggy, but makes up for it in breadth and inventiveness.
Sweet little psychedelic folk album. Maybe if I paid close attention to the lyrics I'd get some big political insight or something, but as it stands, I liked this more than what I've heard of Donovan so there's that.
Straightforward Beatlesy affair, most of the tracks are fine and cute, and I like the Creedance pastiche in Jump Into the Fire. The album's main two hits, Without You and Coconut are rather annoying however and I'm puzzled as to how the latter has endured so much. Not a bad album at all, but at the end of the day I'm not a huge fan of the straightfoward pop of the 70s.
Immaculate, beautiful production, I love the way the songs are built, and while there isn't a ton of variety, that defining sound is perfected to a tee. It's smooth jazz with sex and soul, and that is a very good thing. Why Can't We Live Together is the perfect song to cover in this style.
I'll parrot Mic the Snare by saying that this album has lost a bit of its lustre with overplay, and personally it gets a bit sonically repetitive, but its lyrical ambitions are evident and still hit hard nowadays. I really need to listen to it more than once to fully get into it, but for now, it's a very well put-together pop punk album.
Lovely album, I have a thing for this sort of 90s electronica and this is a fine example, but I will use this as a soapbox to question if a notorious popstar should get as much praise as they do for treading on the same ground as less mainstream artists in a not particularly transformative way? This is a good album, but Bjork, Everything but the Girl and Tori Amos had already done this before, Ray of Light only has the reputation it has because historically tacky Madonna was responsible for it (and her bs Hollywood spirituality is still woefully tacky I'll say). Good album by any measure, but I would've given its spot to Post, Homogenic or Walking Wounded in a heartbeat over it.
It's the most elaborate, imaginative, genre-fluid and tightly-performed rock album one could ever create. It's not a personal favourite of mine, but I respect it immensely, both by its own merits and for its ability to create the biggest critic circlejerks possible in spite of itself.
I listened to this after the thing happened 1 month ago, and I still marvel at the sheer existential dread present in a record made in 2000. Surveillance, political chaos, a crushing desire to leave, war, dehumanisation, natural apocalypse encroaching technology, it's terrifying how topical this and Ok Computer are, the former almost feeling like a warning for the incoming millenia. None of these themes are new, these were genuine concerns back then, but it's what scares me now, and combined with some breathtaking inventiveness and dazzling soundscapes, its one of my favourite albums ever, period.
Yeah Michael Jackson is Michael Jackson, but he's only one part of the greatest production job of the 80s. There hadn't been an album yet where the synths sounded this full, and the other instruments sounded this crisp. My old producer friend and I didn't agree on much, but I didn't fight him when he told me Baby Be Mine was his favourite song of all time.
What else is there to say about it, it's such a lovely timeless album that nonetheless still sounds fresh and intriguing to this day. I'm thankful Brian Wilson has translated this album into non-Christmas contexts, but this will always hit the spot for the season. Could do without the convicted murderer responsible for it telling me to have happy holidays in the end though.
I don't really know what to say about this, I just don't like folk that much, I'm an instrumental person way more than I'm a lyrics person. It's funny I got this right after I watched the (fairly good) biopic, but by simple music preference I like Dylan's electric work more.
Hey hey hey, finally a break from 60s rock/folk and 2000s indie. This album has a special place in my heart for being my first record ever 5 years ago, though my love for ELP has diminished quite a bit since then. The title track is of course an unstoppable prog classic, possibly one of the best Hammond Organ workouts out there. The b-side meanwhile takes a massive dip, with two pleasant jazzy pieces stuck within songs as terrible sonically (I hate ELP's cowboy music with a passion) as they are lyrically (we somehow have both atrocious anti-religion lyrics and atrocious transphobic lyrics). It's not a bad prog record at all, but I like the subtler stuff way more nowadays, the lesser-known Harmonium and Celeste being my recommendations in this niche.
I don't want to be that girl but ELP's continued spotlighting as one of the greats only enables the stereotypes against prog in my opinion. They are still important though, and if you want a more cohesive record to start off with them I'll say Brain Salad. If you're a freak like me and want to hear them at their most unhinged, Welcome Back My Friends is the best 2-hour second-hand cocaine trip you can embark on.
I'm really tired of early 2000s alt rock albums, but this was a treat! Surprisingly still fresh today, with fun lo-fi experiments and distinct songwriting. Maybe one of the slow songs could've been trimmed, but overall it's coherent and enjoyable, will definitely check out more of the band's albums!
Hehehe, Daft Punk is one of my favourite musical artists ever, and while I never really got into Justice, they're cool too. The intense dark glitchy vibe isn't totally my thing, but most of these are still bangers and a tour-de-force in production. Also the usage of Genesis in the John Wick 4 staircase scene elevated it to one of my favourite action scenes in all of cinema. Great stuff, I need to listen to their other stuff.
