1001 Albums Summary

Not for me - I tried, I really did, but I think I just don't get The Beastie Boys. Did I have to live through that time period or something? Either way: Q-Tip my beloved!! One of the highlights on the album. The enormity and diversity of it all, especially how wild and cool the beats are, is actually pretty cool, and I do love the jazzy interludes. It's just the vocals, especially that blown-out style and that pitch, that I can't stand myself. I see why people like this, but I guess I just must not like fun. Fav tracks: B-Boys Makin' With The Freak Freak, Get it Together, Sabrosa, Futterman's Rule.

Loop Zoop surprised me with this one; I was always a bit annoyed with Plant's vocals (not my style) but the writing and instrumentals on this one are so good that they really do overpower his — for me — unpleasant voice. And even that is really tolerable on this one, unlike the other records it fits the album it's on. Really good stuff - runs a bit too long for me to give it a 5 though. But still, great - especially because and even if the rest of LZ for me is mostly a no. Favorite tracks: In My Time of Dying, Kashmir

I can't tell if I yearn for the 2000s, this warped and romanticized version of a decade I hardly even have memories of, or if I would rather just not be in the 2020s anymore. Grab a plate: throw in lush instrumentals, a dark and snowy Canadian evening, plenty of early adulthood anxiety and confusion, hazy recollections of times long gone, immeasurable grief and pain, all sprinkled with some classic early 2000s melancholy, and you've got a pretty good, moving debut record. Also, bilingual lyrics are and will always be so fucking cool. Allez Quebec French! Favorite tracks: Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels), Un année sans lumiére, Neighborhood #4 (7 Kettles), Haiti, Rebellion (Lies).

A heap of brilliant stuff here, bogged slightly down overall by just a few more forgettable tracks. Even then, just a sunny, very enjoyable, and often poignant experience. Favorite tracks: You Are The Sunshine of My Life, You've Got It Bad Girl, Superstition, Blame It On The Sun, I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever)