1001 Albums Summary

Summer breeze makes me feel fiiine!

I'm a massive fan of prog rock, however Genesis has never done it for me at all. Let's give this one another go... I like the opening track although it has some cheesy flourishes, the Firth of Filth is probably the strongest track on the album for me.

More like Dire Straights am I right!!!!!!!!!

Let's go! An album of my teenage years I haven't revisited for a while, what a pleasure (known in this case) I've always been more of a New Order fan because their output is closer to the kind of music I grew up with but I have a lot of affection for JD and recall sitting in my teenage bedroom transfixed by Ian Curtis's live performance of She's Lost Control. Ok so the depth of She's Lost Control on record had really passed me by, that was great.

Some family lore: my aunt allegedly slept with their drummer

I switched this off after a few tracks because life is just too short for mediocre music.

When I was 15 I started identifying with socialism, I was radicalised through the increase in tuition fees and I wanted all my music to be righteous and reflective of my politics. My parents had a compilation of the Kinks on their CD rack which I absolutely rinsed and fell in love with. I wouldn't listen to the Beatles because they represented market capitalism whilst the Kinks... Well they represented my values much more in music. Over the years my politics and music tastes changed and I stopped listening to the Kinks, seeing it as cheesy, watered down, weak in its critique (if you bemoan consumerism in the 1960s then try living in the 2010s and 2020s!), maybe a bit tone deaf for where we are politically on the left these days. Later on I got deeper into postpunk and always enjoyed the cynical delivery of Mark E Smith in the Fall's cover of Victoria. I'd always sing along to Lola and Shangri-La in the club and at parties. But I never returned to the Kinks, almost as if it was a forgotten part of my life. A lot of music from the 60s (like rock and pop) I prefer to consume through compilations rather than studio albums. However I think missing the context of Arthur I really wasn't doing the singles justice. And now that I'm older and a bit more forgiving (although still more politically radical than the Kinks - and able to appreciate the Beatles despite their shortcomings as people!) it has been a complete joy to return to them. There's some really clever stuff in here that I had missed, Australia particularly was a highlight for me and I would never have appreciated the stripped back sadness of Some Mother's Son when I was a teenager. Brilliant album. Deservedly my first 5/5 on this listening project.

I probably wouldn't stick this on voluntarily, the legend has kind of overshadowed the music for me. But I see the appeal and I love what he influenced. I do prefer the Cramps' cover of Fever though!

This is good but not really my thing. I'm not sure I'll ever return to it unless my tastes change and I get even more sentimental as I age. I guess that's the fun of this project.

I couldn't make it through this lol

So so boring.

Somehow I hadn't listened to Technique despite being a long time fan of New Order's early work. This is a great evolution of their sound for me, still leaving in plenty of elements I enjoy about New Order (the bass, Bernard Sumner's vocals).

This is gorgeous. I knew a fair amount about Sinead and her life and her amazing activism but I never thought to stick on a record of hers as it's not traditionally the kind of thing I'd gravitate towards. But as I'm getting older my sensibilities are mellowing (if you ignore my recent grindcore obsession) and I can see myself revisiting this in the future. A lovely record that really demonstrates the value of me doing this project.

Small doses for me and Janis I think