All I see are folk-playing vampires

Multiple varieties of liveliness

Funereal, which I am into

Was fully in the groove with the final three tracks. Bonus points for the relentless bass that drowned out the jerk blasting music next to me on the train.

Bit conflicted about the premise. Some songs were nice.

Willie!! I didn't realize!! Incidentally, harmonica solos are my weakness 😍

That song is called Clint Eastwood!

FIVE. What is it about the Irish?? I just can’t quit ‘em. ✅✅ Emerald ✅✅ Southbound ✅✅ Dancing in the Moonlight—hello, sax! ✅✅ Still in Love With You—guitar, from solo to heartrending harmony I had ordered the CD for my mother by Suicide. May just quit my day job and proselytize the gospel of Phil Lynott full time…

I’m always up for Tracy.

My kinds of indie. Specifically the sound bath and acoustic-plinky-plonky-talking varieties. Perfectly of its time (2010), made me think of Parachutes and Eyes Open and In Rainbows and Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, hinting at Coast Modern. e.g., Sailing, Desire Lines (Coldplay), Basement Scenes (Radiohead), Helicopter, He Would Have Laughed This week. Was fire.

The most infamous assignment of junior year at my high school was the spring term research paper for history class. I wrote mine about Bruce Springsteen, the man who raised me, musically. Ideally, I would locate the paper and quote from it directly, as I recall Darkness being a focal point in my incisive portrait of the dark side of the American dream. Should my mother unearth a copy, I will present excerpts at the 250th album milestone party. Anyway: in Darkness, the themes of Born to Run persist, as deflated promises. We’re still running—not from the banality of life in our hometown, but prolonged introspection. I’m unhappy, my girl is unhappy—thankfully, there are still cars, and racing, and the ghosts of our ambitions to keep us company in our heads. Heady stuff. Oh, and the album rocks: sax on Badlands and Prove It All Night, harmonica on Promised Land. Bruce going toe to toe with the electric guitar in Streets of Fire. His voice is low, low as in m e l l o w. We’re several years still from Tunnel of Love and the advent of his current (still wonderful, but different) gravelly sound.

Black Sabbath walked so Wolfmother could run

Automatic 3 for Baba. Won't Get Fooled Again is always welcome; it's giving Tommy (I saw the musical this past summer—w i l d stuff). Besides that, I liked The Song is Over.

My fan girl phase hit late, at 22, and the target of my obsession was the Killers. I played Hot Fuss back tonight because I remember thinking it was perfect then. The starting lineup is extraordinary. I really like each of the first five songs individually—all in a row, they’re breathtaking. Then there’s Change Your Mind, and Glamorous Indie Rock & Roll, and the rest of the songs, every one completely aligned, musically and thematically, with the album as a whole. Insofar as an album is greater than the sum of its parts, this is indeed a perfect album. The overall message: at a certain age, all of life is a rush, including: unrequited love, unhappiness, regret, suspicion, aimlessness, forbidden love, all Friday and Saturday nights ... and getting detained for the murder of a lady friend. Flowers for Flowers, and justice for Jenny!

Here's to hoping every slip's not a slide! The sound is excellent—but the vocals didn't keep up. Best was Merchandise, which was giving a kind of California twist on The Clash. Blueprint was fun musically. The riffs in Reprovisional and Shut the Door were also very good.

Really, really love the folksy songs at the top. Will definitely devote some time to the rest of Calexico's oeuvre in the future.

Music inspired by the sounds of construction, what a choice. Sweat Loaf had a pretty sweet riff, though.

✅ Everything Is Free ✅✅ I Dream a Highway Hadn’t heard of Gillian before, and it’s been a pleasure! I love her voice. Just wish the tempo were a bit faster—my stomach lurched slightly when I saw the 14-minute run time on I Dream a Highway. But it was extremely beautiful.

Second try with Beck—went a tiny bit better than Odelay! Maybe we'll figure it out with Sea Change.

Like Grace, I had some difficulty getting my bearings. 2 1/2 times through, though, and Tapestry has landed.

Huh. I imagine this is a close to classical as we'll get, besides the jazz albums. Compelling, in its way!

To date, Wilco is the best artist I had heard of but never got around to listening to. The album cover is dope, too—Marina City FTW!

"Fall mountains—just don't fall on me." A dazzling stance threaded throughout, equal parts tolerant, vigilant, and free.

Okay, okay! Took a minute, but three albums of Beck under the belt and we're finding common ground. ✅✅ The Golden Age ✅✅ Guess I'm Doing Fine

Oh, ya weirdos—I really, really love Animals! This, less so.

Beach Boys, but sometimes medieval battle hymnal. Nevertheless, Time of the Season is a go ✅

We're jammin'

A grower. Too much fun to fade into the background.

Our friends at Rolling Stone are not shy about their feelings towards Britpoprock. As we celebrate 250 albums on 4/11/25, there's been a whole lot Britpoprock played already and exactly 300% more to come. Some days I wish there was less. The Jam were new to me (as were the Undertones), but a little all over the place—to surprising Effect.

I loved this album at 14 without quite “getting it”, having had only a clean version, and being 14. Still luminous, now powerfully nostalgic—remember when Kanye was only known for rapping?? Simpler times.

Several of my TV heroines worship Ms. Alanis (Liz Lemon and Abbi Abrams come immediately to mind). Still, until today, I hadn't heard anything but the obligatory karaoke rendition of You Oughta Know. It's a yes, y'all—her voice and the messaging lock down the fullness of that signature 90s girl punk sound. Harmonica, too?? Fuggedaboutit.

This could be a greatest hits album. Love me some Neil any day.

Led Zeppelin is one of those bands—events?—that support simulation theory. How can something be both completely original and thoroughly likeable?

The Smiths are so smithy

Had me going “huh?” then “huh!” then “hmmm…” But at the end of the day, Spring and Nothing Can Stop Us are bona fide bops!

Respect to Otis for writing Respect, and respect to Aretha for turning it upside down, into an anthem Ole Man Trouble ✅✅✅ I’d listen to Otis cover just about anything. Appreciate the open love for Sam Cooke and his rendition of A Change Is Gonna Come.

Automatic 3 for Where Is My Mind

Ngl, a little screechy. But I liked Plump!

These dudes rock.

Not even the line "you can cream on me" could diffuse the sheer greatness of Gimme Shelter and You Can't Always Get What You Want. What a difference from the self-titled album!

C'est vraiment chic!

Best artist I had heard of but never got around to listening to (so far!)

Some slick guitar that runs perfectly counter to the cutesy Cowsill-esque vocals—though the frontman sounded like Jimi Hendrix for just that one song(??) Definitely maybe prejudged the album for the band name—Love is a bold choice

Hell of a debut album. That’s some good southern rock. Knew the song Hard To Handle, but not its name or artist [that wrote it (Otis Redding) or popularized it]. This album also cemented for me that I fucks with an organ. ✅✅✅ Sister Luck ✅✅✅Seeing Things—particularly the slow bits ✅✅✅ She Talks to Angels

- Under My Thumb is my favorite Rolling Stones song, which is maybe a hot take, given the Taming-of-the-Shrew messaging. As it turns out, it’s one of several strong statements about women on Aftermath. Mother’s Little Helper is a classic. Stupid Girl made me laugh despite myself. The second half is decidedly Beatle-y—“baby, baby, baby, you’re out of tiiiIIIiiime"—but it's alright

This is the Cure for me!

Hadn't heard of Suzanne, but we had fun. Some Stevie Nicks magic here.

Technically listening to this in the province of the Western Cape, not Kwa-Zulu Natal—really hits nonetheless.

Much preferred to Paul's Boutique. No sleep 'til Brooklyn!

If this is industrial rock, call me Rosie the Riveter

Too smooth

Soft rock

Catchy, but I want nutterburger

✅✅ Suffragette City

The song Brothers in Arms is an all-time favorite rock song of mine, and in great company here: ✅✅✅✅ So Far Away ✅✅✅✅ Walk of Life ✅✅✅✅✅ Brothers in Arms As a West Wing fan, I will attest that the use of Brothers in Arms in the Season 2 finale brought me to tears. Would almost recommend that people watch TWW on the strength of that episode alone.. Incidentally, my mother bought the Brothers in Arms CD around the start of her prolific pancake-making era. It always timed out that Walk of Life was playing when the batter hit the griddle, and 20 years later, the song still makes me snacky

Really, really great sound. Some sweet shredding on The Concept and Is This Music? Especially loved the proto-Wilco vibes on Alcoholiday. ✅✅✅✅ Alcoholiday ✅✅ Is This Music?

✅✅ I Am A God ✅✅ Hold My Liquor Per Last Call, the man's bread and butter is mixing beats. Much different than College Dropout, but still puts me in a groove.

Knew the hits but had never listened to the album from end to end. Loved the back half of Dying of Thirst and Money Trees is a perennial favorite. Sets up To Pimp a Butterfly in big ways

Besides Climbing Up the Walls, a pass

It's giving "I don't care if you like it." Like being immersed in carbonated water. Fun listening experience.

Pulled this to the top of the inbox, for a side-by-side weekend comp with Wish You Were Here. Lots here. No 13-minute tracks, but their defining proclivity for multi-part tracks makes me feel like I’m listening to the album version of a director’s cut, which is maybe (definitely) more of a deep dive into a single riff than I strictly require. To that end, ✅✅✅ to “In The Flesh”—which is NOT to be confused with “In The Flesh?” How dare you!

Incident at Neshabur ✅ Samba Pa Ti ✅

In Rainbows meets White Ladder meets Mellon Collie ... and yet, didn't quite resonate. Angeles is pretty.

Though there were some stirring moments in Family Band and Midnight Carousel, I felt like I was listening to a musical theater recording. Too much emphasis/reliance on the lyrical sentimentality/profundity. Felt thematically antiquated and musically affected, even for 1972.

Darlene Love's voice! Minus 1 star for the convicted murderer's production role, and the Silent Night signoff.

✅ Persian Love

The Joshua Tree!!!! Here we go!!!! 🚨Core memory alert🚨: This album was my exclusive soundtrack for playing Neopets on weekend mornings as a 12yo. 20 years ago, music videos were available on Yahoo Music (anyone else?) and I remember thinking Bono was quite sultry in I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For. So much eye contact! This album kicks off with three intensely longing and, yes, completely generic love songs—perfect for tweens with no real-world relationship experience coming off complete Disney saturation. Special mention for Red Hill Mining Town, too. Scratches the same itch as All The Young Dudes and Salisbury Hill (which is more a specifically high school era itch, to be continued...) Sentimental? Yes. Basic. Yes! But sometimes music needs to meet you where you are.

The Beatles should not cover Motown hits. If I want to hear Please Me. Postman or You Really Got a Hold on Me or Money, I’ll listen to the Marvelettes, the Miracles, and Barrett Strong, respectively and respectfully. Call me when Abbey Road is up.

Ladies, ladies, ladies, ladies ... This lady is here for it, with way more fondness than when she started off, only knowing Under the Table before today

This guys rock pretty hard! Uncompromising on volume as well as sound.

The Cure-ish

Won’t be confusing these guys with The Beach Boys again! Not my preferred sound, but it was expanding.

Zany and transporting

Justice for Knoxville Girl!!!! Appalling songs of life, maybe.

I hear the opening chords over the screaming crowds and I see the album cover and I get it. That hair, those eyes! That Daft Punkesque foghorn(??) on the final track. We are mere mortals—take the wheel! Show us the way, Peter!

Was fully in the groove with the final three tracks. Bonus points for the relentless bass that drowned out the jerk blasting music next to me on the train.

Was seeking more of a Reelin’ in the Years electric jolt.

Automatic 3 for Sir Duke and As. Enjoyed Black Man and Another Star, too. The faster, the better for me, so the more spiritual songs were less engaging.

Pleasantly surprised. The first track was what I had expected from Kraftwerk—monotone chanting, synthesizer. But the rest was lovely accompaniment for the walk home.

Well, well, well—it’s the greatest rock song countdown stalwart, Hotel California! On the Jersey/Philly radio stations, it always seems to rank #4 all-time behind Stairway to Heaven, Freebird, and … something much less memorable, evidently. The commentary is resonant, the metaphors incisive. Then the guitar solo! Hotel California earns its berth. Wasted Time sounded a bit like Elton John—nice. Try and Love Again was my other favorite; these guys really make the most out of harmony.

I got halfway through Side B, then had to head home. But I hold a place for music with lyrics in languages I do not understand; they can be very meditative, like chanting or noise machines. This closed out the workweek nicely with me, and despite lack of understanding or familiarity with the music, I could detect the album's arc and through line.

Y'all, Hallowed Be Thy Name totally rocks!!!! I had wanted to join this (4-year-long) project/challenge/???? in part as encouragement to move past pre- or misconceptions of bands I knew superficially. This week, 1001 paid off big!! Hallowed is the best new rock song I've heard since joining. Generally, I thought it was musically terrific, with that hard-driving guitar. The lyrics are a little on the nose—and scream-y. But honestly I'm a bit enamored after Hallowed. The solos in Prisoner and 22 Acadia are great, too.

Woncha Come On Home has been a fave of mine for several years now. Love Joan's voice, too. All said, this album felt a bit meandering on first listen, but I wouldn't be surprised if it grew on me over time.

Sparkling—I want to line dance to Double Dutch. Then I heard the Merengue/Punk It Up double play! It’s all foryoubaby, foryoubaby, foryoubaby … Though the last track was ????

My new textbook definition for concept album, for sure. Lou’s an acquired taste, but—after two attempts—I see the vision! I liked Man of Good Fortune on first listen, and the guitar solo on How Do You Think It Feels it is really good. Oh Jim and Caroline Says II are particularly spidery, like Bowie or Kurt Cobain. Loved the steady, damning pacing of The Kids. By Sad Song, things had gotten quite orchestral, and i appreciated the fuller sound in closing.

Yes to the horns on The New Pollution! Can I have a GameCube and a copy of SSX3 to go with Derelict??

Unmemorable. The opposite of love isn't hatred, but indifference. Pay It Back was the strongest of the set, but bloodless nevertheless.

*Whispers into phone on train platform* “Please be loud.” Cut to: Hungry Like The Wolf crescendoing as the D cruises across the Manhattan Bridge. A jolt of musical adrenaline is all I ask for these wintry mornings. Put another way: “Darken the city, night is a wire/ Steam in the subway, earth is afire…”

I’m loving Who’s Loving You.

Chill, chill, chill, chill. I’m hearing Modest Mouse. Is this “punk pop”? Strong 3.

Look, the woman writes bops. Been doing it since 2008, since Love Story. The people have spoken and I’m here for the radio singles: Blank Space .. and Style … and Shake It Off … and (the bridge into the chorus of) Bad Blood … and Wildest Dreams. I acknowledge the rest of the slate was AI-generated generic—though excellent house remix fodder! Anyway, keep it up, Tay-Tay! (I still will be rooting for the Eagles 🦅)

The only problem with the sheer likability of CCR, borne out of their distinctive sound (John Fogerty’s voice, hello 😍), is that you will be tricked into thinking that singing Bad Moon Rising at karaoke is a good idea. It was not.

Good fun. Regine's voice adds jeuje.

Funereal, which I am into

Got a little obsessed with the riff in Bring On The Night. Is Sting man or instrument?

Took a break after Candy Perfume Girl. Turned it off for good during Shanti / Ashtangi. It’s not me, it’s you, girl.

No lyrics necessary

A rollicking good time. Beyond Jump (jump!), I really enjoyed Drop Dead Legs, Hot For Teacher, I'll Wait (esp. the guitar solo), and Girl Gone Bad. The guitar is so distinctive, but the vocals are up to it.

That was a long hour! Kept me guessing—do I actively dislike this, or am I merely ambivalent? The former: tiebreaker to that feedback on JC.

Pretty and poignant and groovin'

A whole album of anthems to love. Unpredictable, varied, and vibrating. The stalwart Hallelujah clinches the 5.

Yes, yes, YES to Closing Track Hall-of-Famer Bitter Sweet Symphony. The crushing desperation it triggered, the shot of Ryan Phillippe launching himself into traffic...teenage sublime. (Shout-out to fellow CTHOF for Fight Club, Where is My Mind?) I was pleasantly surprised with the album as a whole, which had immaculate packing-up-at-the-end-of-a-trip vibes. Had heard some of the other songs before, but never really placed them.

Bit conflicted about the premise. Some songs were nice.

Bookended by two longtime favorites, the classic Imagine and plaintive Oh Yoko! My upbringing in a resolutely pro-Lennon (if Beatles-indifferent) household secures the 4.

Mhmmmm Amy Amy Amy! Utterly damning, complex messaging (Stronger Than Me, I can't even) and somehow a one-of-a-kind sound to match

Elton John, de-spangled and unblinking—for the first half of the album, anyway. Initially quite taken with how Dion was leaving it all out on the field with that earnest, ‘60s belting and soaring brass, never mind the year 1976. But the album kept going ... and going ... and ultimately became easy listening, in the indistinctive sense.

They are for real

Title track is an all-time best bop, alongside several other very good ones. Potent analgesic for the Monday morning commute.

The Kinks are kinked—like mean-spirited Beatles. Here for it!

Another Beatles album!? What are the odds?? FWIW, Rubber Soul perfectly captures my relationship with the artist: it’s complicated. I remember exactly when and where I fell in love with Nowhere Man (8th grade, on the bus to Six Flags, universal site of rites of passage). In My Life remains irresistible, supernaturally invincible in the face of overplay. Whenever Drive My Car plays in the car in summer: no notes. And, also: I hate Norwegian Wood. Really hate it. You Won’t See Me, for some reason, personally offends. Michelle and Girl [*teeth-sucking sound*] are the two worst Beatles songs ever, thoroughly awful, and somehow both on here! Two incredible songs will usually tip the 4, but the whiplash has tired me. Which is the occupational hazard of unprecedented musical experimentation/the-Beatles-changed-everything-blah-blah-blah, I suppose.

I used to have the Scientist music video memorized shot for shot, so... Evident cohesion as a whole and standout tracks theoughout: ✅✅✅ The Scientist ✅✅ Clocks ✅✅✅ Warning Sign ✅✅ A Rush of Blood to the Head

Curiously bad. The leader singer has a compelling voice, and does different things with it. Knew I didn’t like it from the outset, but had to solve the mystery of why and play the whole thing back. I think sound mixing may be the crux of the issue—the guitar and drums wash her out, like live music at a restaurant not designed for live music.

👌🏾 Ladies who punch 🤘🏾

In a Little While makes it at least a 3 … and Beautiful Day is on here, too … but that New York song was plain insulting—guys, that’s my home!

Although I like some songs more than others, I always listen to Mellon Collie from the very beginning to the very end. Its sneaky, spooky sparkle hinges on the interdependency of its parts. The albumiest album, as such.

Did Disney consider the Police for The Lion King soundtrack? Mother! +5 for surprise factor. Very Labyrinth. Album art note: shirtless Sting and skeleton. Multiple sightings of each. Every Breath You Take, a reflection: I now prefer stalker songs to be unequivocally menacing, i.e., #1 Zero.

This bleary-eyed listener thought the album cover was a piece of carved flint for the duration of the first three tracks. Didn’t take anything from the music.

What in the James Blunt vocals? When this album appeared, I thought for a moment that this was the “Boom Boom Boom Boom” Vengaboys. Alas!

Where is my where is my mind Pixies?

Strange fun as always from the Talking Heads. Thrilled to play back Stop Making Sense.

Seriously, think I would give every heavy metal album a 3—minimum—if they were solely instrumental. The music is that good. But I can’t with the screaming.

I could draw a line to Daft Punk and Glass Animals, and that’s beautiful

Hey, my dad’s back!!!! Had very much hoped to see Born to Run in 2025, which is 50 years old this August ❤️ Bruce and the E Street Band locked in with Born to Run. Yes, of course, that sax is dissolving—particularly on Thunder Road and Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out and Born to Run and She’s The One and Jungleland. But credit goes, too, to the piano and the guitars and the drums and even the strings … The total effect is cemented with that HOF album cover and testament to lifelong friendship—rest in power, Clarence Clemons!! To quote my favorite book, High Fidelity: “in Springsteen songs, you can either stay and rot, or you can escape and burn.” Born to Run sets itself ablaze. I, too, self-eject when I hear the opening chords of Thunder Road. I am Bruce and I am Mary and I am Wendy and I am 18 in a swaying dress and yes, let’s blow this popsicle stand! I walked down the aisle to Backstreets. Then walked out of the wedding ceremony to Jungleland. So you get it. Thank you for a wonderful morning, Bruce, and see you back here for Born in the USA! (Or Tunnel of Love, you never know with Rolling Stone …)

Good weird, but no Goodbye Stranger

Tore-ee-uh!

Stones in suits! Who are these swinging cats, and where are those slight deviants who gave us things we didn’t know we wanted, i.e., Under My Thumb?

Exactly what I expected an album called Among the Living by a band called Anthrax would sound like. Among the Living and Indians were good! I would describe this as a medium/medium-rare metal experience, which is 👌🏾

Introductions are never easy with Arcade Fire—some artists will always demand undivided attention across multiple playbacks. But do I ever love Antichrist… ✅✅ Ocean of Noise ✅✅✅✅ (Antichrist Television Blues) ✅ No Cars Go

Aw, Basket Case! Green Day any day for the nostalgia

Backstroking in this sound bath

Come pokin’ around with that harmonica anytime

Trompe l’œil Zeppelin

This is the same guitarist from Moving Pictures?? I’m movin’ now! There were nice moments in 2112 and A Passage to Bangkok, but the back half—and Tears especially—was a hard pass.

Nadia is a bop

Lively

Bring on the mems! ✅✅✅✅ Don’t Panic ✅✅✅✅ Sparks ✅✅✅✅ Yellow Vibes to match the title: I am thoroughly adrift and also.somehow cocooned, in simple chords and committed falsetto.

Beautiful arrangements and soothing vocals

Nice scale of sound and the choruses slap. Like if Berlin was written and performed from the perspective of Lou Reed still being high.

Wait, I think I love this man? I definitely love the first half of this album. Went back to Bryter Layter after listening to Pink Moon, and again: Nick's a first half king.

Oh, we had fun! Y yo quiero paz, tambien 💃🏾

Some kind of Stockholm Syndrome situation here. I don’t even like ballads!

My parents have Thriller on vinyl—12/10. Michael’s playing with a tiger cub in the centerfold and there are elaborate caricatures in the liner notes, including one of Paul McCartney and Mike pulling the high-heeled subject of “The Girl Is Mine” apart in their fervor. Undoubtedly one of the 101 or even 51 albums to listen to before you die. Mama say, Mama saw!

Didn’t know half these tracks before, but wouldn’t you know, this is one of the best albums I’ve ever heard. Zeppels, every time. The Rover is now a favorite. Trampled Under Foot and Ten Years Gone are longtime loves—if only Chase Utley hadn’t co-opted Kashmir for his walk-up music. LGM!

Running Up That Hill was rereleased a couple years back; I heard it for the first time then and loved it. I knew Kate Bush originally for her cover of Elton John’s Rocket Man, which will knock your socks off. Like Maggie Rogers would, Kate’s doing her own thing here. It’s big and vibrating and shifting and compelling and more, please!

Cheesy, cloying: a cold fondue—curious what’s not working, as an enduringly proud fan of the 2000’s angst rock era popularized by Puddle of Mudd, Fuel etc.

Must have really been something to have Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd making new music at the same time. Wish You Were Here reminded me of Animals, which I adore! Have a Cigar is a trip.

✅✅✅ Marquee Moon ✅✅ Elevation Reminded me at points of Led Zeppelin, the Stones, and Sir Elton. Really like the lead vocals, the guitar riffs, and the pacing. Sandy sunset beach concert vibes.

✅✅ Washer I sense cool people like this. Thus I infer that I am not very cool.

Chaotic. I concede that the YouTube ad breaks only worsened the overall effect.

Too niche a sound for me to make room for these guys when I already have the Cure and Bowie.

I’m not crying you’re crying

Gliding on these beats

Spectacular title track

Solid on your phone on the subway music

All I see are folk-playing vampires

Twang twang twang no, I really don’t have to listen to two (2) Johnny Cash prison concert albums before I die. Folsom and San Quentin are both interchangeable and one-note

Prime cut—album as Event. Best create a calendar hold; PF requests your undivided attention.

10/10 for French learners

Some pretty slick guitar holding down the top half.

Erm..

Since I’ve Been Loving You is one of the all-time (we should) break up songs, with Let Her Cry and Can’t You See. Loved the folk bent in the second half of the album, too.

Enjoyably, resolutely guitar-forward. Still, didn’t find the individual songs very distinctive.

Putting Disorder on repeat. Antecedent to LCD Soundsytem.

They sound really “cool”

I mean, if we're not going to get into classical, I don't see why this gets to be on the table. Also, didn't move me.

Lazarus is big and slow and awesome—interestingly with horns reminiscent of Untitled 4, from pre-Beirut teenaged Zach Condon.

I can kick it!

Drop just one album as fire as Miseducation, and 20 years later people will still buy tickets to your shows *despite* your decades-long reputation of showing up really, really late—or not at all. (“People” is my sister. She waited 2 1/2 hours for Ms. Lauryn in 2017 and is still mad.)

Looked up PIL’s Popular Tracks on Spotify halfway thru the first track, skipped ahead to sample Metal Box’s Swan Lake, and triumphantly turned this offffff Fool me once, PIL!!!!

Evident in its excellence from bar one, furthered elevated by sneakily staggering songwriting: “I wasn’t born, so much as I fell out.” WOW. YES.

Several classics here. Personally, I prefer Doors songs in ones or twos—their sound is so distinct. Touch Me is welcome whenever.

Bit Smiths, bit Fleetwood. Would not recommend for a sleepy commute, but that’s on me.

Chill chill chill

Sunday Bloody Sunday is an epic track and the only playback here. Bono the social activist is on the move! This is the stuff that gives U2 a histrionic reputation—heavy-handed in lyrical theme (War!) and musicality (screechy vocals ... and screechy guitar) and album cover (split-lipped child).

Watering eyes on the subway and it's only 6:13 AM. Exquisite, for 14 years running.

In a set of 43, there's gonna be bangers and there's gonna be flops

The Who are a shade too mild-mannered to hold me here

Like eating sugar out of the bowl

Always thought the song went “everybody wants to move along”. Moving along, Shout was very shouty. The lead has an incredible voice, but I’m not a ballad girlie.

Cutesy

It’s a go!

The harmony at the end of The Fish is reminiscent of ... Eagles? CSN&Y? Mood for a Day was pretty, too.

-1 for cultural appropriation

Not quite my taste but def see the vision

Things were looking pretty tenuous, but the back half pulled me in. The Rage totally rocks and Steeler is positively jumping. Though Iron Maiden remains my preferred provider of 🤘🏾🤘🏾 …

Production note: the shortest song here is 4:27—a choice! -1 for Freed Britney

Really front-loaded Sonic Youth here. Feel like I’m one album short of a certificate. Again, great snatches of sound, but the song format manages to detract from the experience. Therefore a definitively awful album? How about no singing at all? My Need for Speed play would be off the charts.

Jumpin’ jazz

Dreams is a desert island single, no question. Stevie is the original alien superstar. ✅✅✅✅✅ Dreams ✅✅✅✅ Go Your Own Way ✅✅✅You Make Loving Fun

Ears ringing from the feedback

I wanted to like it!

Multiple varieties of liveliness

I am a mere mortal. Maxwell is the only bum note on possibly the greatest Side 1 of all time. I didn't think much of the medley format on Side 2, but more than anything I wouldn't care to live in a world without Come Together, Octopus's Garden, or I Want You/She's So Heavy.

Mild

Yes to these dudes doing their own thing—to Janie Jones & White Riot & London's Burning & Police & Thieves

These dudes rock

Chill vibes

Lucid dreaming—don't wake me

✊🏽

Real big ask for café beats to overcome a doll baby cover. Horse Tears is good creepy

Nice, but didn't grab me

Came around on The Man Comes Around

My ears are ring-ing

Flutie tootie hootin n hollerin and I liked it

Canonical hits at the top—and also kudos to that B side, which put me in a spaceeee. Didn't think I'd be repping a song called Rat Salad when I woke up today...

I am as disappointed now as I was eager yesterday to dive into some best-of Velvet Underground. This was like listening to a smash-cut of the absolute roughest Bob Dylan scatting. Heroin secures the 2.

Never not ready to put these guys on. ✅✅ Down to the Waterline ✅✅✅✅ Sultans of Swing ✅✅✅ Wild West End

Besides the powerful inclination to punch a stranger, that went really well. (Was playing Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails and paused it halfway through to Rage. Straight back to Downward Spiral now and I am all kinds of fucked up.)

N. W. V. P. A. and V. P. stands for Very Positive! Express Yourself!

Liked the folksy bend with Bluebird Wine and Before Believing, like Judy Collins or a chipper-er Fairport Convention. But things fully tipped country and things ran together a bit.

I have an Urban Outfitters tank top that says Lust For Life across it. Trust they only honor the greats.

Kanye, you mad genius. ✅✅✅ All Falls Down ✅✅✅✅ Spaceship ✅✅✅ Jesus Walks ✅✅✅✅ The New Workout Plan ✅✅✅ Last Call

Bow down

Re: Heart-Shaped Box—it's like the all the band members are trying to outdo each other, and it works so well. They're breathless, I'm breathless..

In fact, my birthday theme this year was experimental prog rock Ren Faire opera! Not.

Tenderest thoughts go out to my twin-plaited nerdlet self listening to this album at 17, fast-forwarding ironic detachment between Time to Pretend and Kids, then manifesting confidence with Electric Feel— She got the power in her hand/ To shock you like you won't believe

Needed ~2 1/2 playbacks to rate, and likely another 3 to fully process. I think I'm a basic Radioheadhead (Nude, anyone??)

Loud

A preferred provider of the indie soundtrack to my life.

Timeless detached cool

Forgetting everything I thought I knew about rock duos and richness of sound. Also thought Jack and Meg were siblings, not wildly well-adjusted divorcés. (Did they inspire Lena Dunham to write Marnie and Desi—to their discredit?) I can totally get why they feature so prominently in Meet Me in The Bathroom: equal parts ‘what’ and ‘yes’. Here's to a dozen more listens.

oooo sparkly vampiric ... archi bros?

Smooth like Johnnie Walker Blue

Underpinned with too, too many mediocre covers to be on this list

Chill and fun and Walk on the Wild Side is obviously rock-solid but truly I was more transported by Berlin...

Ya boyeeeeee

[Joke about enjoying soft back side here]

Listening to Dylan live turns the volume up on the music. And Dylan the composer—like Dylan the poet—is an absolute genius. I have never loved Like a Rolling Stone more.

Guy's more of a proctogonologist??

Lack of variety made this a long 25 minutes

Remembering this seminal study of our youth: "Metal Makes Ants Eat Faster, Science Proves" (9/4/14) Metallica made me that ant today.

Imma sucker for a choir and a hater for a cover

Mansion on the Hill has that epic Neil Young shredding. The album doesn't hold a candle to After The Gold Rush.

Fast then slow then fast then slow

Jumpin' Bit sunshiny for my taste, but Anarchy in the UK is fun as shit.

Pink Floyd is Queen Unplugged and Uncut. Incidentally, my father isn’t a fan of either! (He *does* like the Beatles, so conclusively, his mild reprovals have been less influential than Mom's prosecutorial, attack-is-the-best-form-of-defense school of musical appreciation.) I will never not sing along to Bohemian Rhapsody, and You're My Best Friend is a longtime fave. I'm in Love With My Car and ‘39 were first listens and also great. Freddie’s pipes and gusto elevates everything, even the gooier bubble gum bits.

Like hearing Mellon Collie for the first time. Need at least three more playbacks to pick up my feelings...

Girl power comin' on strong

Next time I need to go hyperproductive berserker, this album is up! Oh, and Legs is a perfect rock song.

(The) Weight, there's more! ✅✅✅ The Day They Drove Old Dixie Down ✅✅✅ When You Awake ✅✅ Look Out Cleveland ✅✅ Jawbone ✅✅ King Harvest (Has Surely Come)