I preferred Oasis when I was a kid, but time has definitely been kinder to Blur. (PARKLIFE!) A few of the songs are too whimsical, but the highs are very high. (PARKLIFE!) "In the End" especially has a gigantic chorus. (PARKLIFE!) Like most albums from the CD era, it's a bit too long. (PARKLIFE!)
If I were sipping a cappuccino while eating a bran muffin in a coffee shop in 1999, this being on in the background would add to the pleasantness of the aesthetic experience. This feels like I'm reviewing wallpaper. It's nice?
How dare John Lennon criticize "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" when he wrote the trash that is "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill." This has some of the greatest songs of all time, but no album with "Bungalow Bill" gets five stars. I enjoyed the throwaway blues songs more than I did the last time I listened all the way through.
Catchy and fun, dark and intense, and way weirder than your average alt-rock album. Love the trip-hop influence on "We Float," the complex rhythms and time signatures, and the Thom Yorke duet. Especially great in the second half.
Paul is on fire. Song after song with big hooks and memorable arrangements, putting this on the shortlist of "great post-Beatles solo albums." I like the suite-like song structures, although some of the musical callbacks don't make a lot of sense musically or thematically, like "Picasso's Last Words" containing a snippet of "Jet" for some reason. This seems to be based on the supposed cleverness of having listeners say, "Oh, I recognize that bit from earlier on the album!" I'm nitpicking — it's really good.
I love Dylan when he's sad. It sounds like he had a lot of fun making this one, which is bad news for me. "I Want You" is a fave.
Macho music for bullies and jocks. The synth songs are pretty fun.
Beautifully produced, as expected with Danger Mouse behind the boards, with lush and stylistically diverse arrangements. "I've Been Dazed" is very nice. The songs didn't stick with me and I probably won't ever revisit it, but I enjoyed listening to this album twice today.
I love Kate Bush, but this isn't my favourite of hers. So long as she isn't doing Tom Waits-ass poverty cosplay with a fake Cockney accent ("There Goes a Tenner"), braying like a donkey ("Get Out of My House") or doing whatever the title track is supposed to be (is that a bad Australian accent?), it's pretty great.
Maximalist production and minimalist intelligence. Every song is a muddled mess of parts that don't really fit together, with cool-sounding intros and dogshit choruses.
Fun hip-hop beats, catchy keyboard hooks, very '80s production, some great choruses, and simply terrible rapping and lyrics on every song. "Buffalo Stance" is a classic single, and the rest of the album sounds like a lesser version of the same thing.
When this album first came out, I was disappointed that the YYYs had made a new wavey synth album, because it seemed like everyone was doing that at the time. All these years later, the album's uniqueness stands out more — mostly thanks to Karen O, who's one of the best vocalists around. Quieter songs like "Soft Shock" and "Skeletons" are especially great.
It's the White Stripes' second-worst album (better than Icky Thump), but they're all great. I saw Jack White live twice this week! This band rules.
Do I feel like I'm in a party scene in a movie set in Latin America? Yes! It's very fun, and, like many a real-life party, gets a little repetitive by the end.
I preferred Oasis when I was a kid, but time has definitely been kinder to Blur. (PARKLIFE!) A few of the songs are too whimsical, but the highs are very high. (PARKLIFE!) "In the End" especially has a gigantic chorus. (PARKLIFE!) Like most albums from the CD era, it's a bit too long. (PARKLIFE!)
Comedy music, although I'm not sure if the members of Jethro Tull are in on the joke. It's not my thing, but it sounds a bit like Monty Python and the Holy Grail, so I didn't have a bad time overall.
I'm not a big Elvis guy, but his early rock & roll era is my favourite of his. I wish he toned down the hiccupy vocal affectations, but the ballads here are great.
Sorry, dad. The idea of a rock opera may have been radical in 1969, but half of this album only exists for plot exposition. Great rhythm section, just-okay melodies and goofy-ass lyrics.
It's fun to hear more of Bowie's work from his best period. Iggy gives some strong vocal performances here, although most of the album gets outshone by its two best songs, which are obviously "Lust for Life" and "The Passenger." I considered giving it four stars, but then Spotify autoplayed a song from The Idiot right after, and it was so much better than anything on Lust for Life.
Great grooves, the funkier the better. Those horns! I'm less fond of the makeout ballads with pitchy falsetto.
Super weird arrangement choices (loud bass, distorted drum loops, etc.) but it's also really delicate and pretty. Joni might be the best rhythm guitarist ever, and I love her jazzy, experimental era.