428
Albums Rated
3.32
Average Rating
39%
Complete
661 albums remaining
Rating Distribution
Rating Timeline
Taste Profile
1990
Favorite Decade
Blues
Favorite Genre
other
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
59
5-Star Albums
17
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
Top Styles
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Dr. Octagonecologyst
Dr. Octagon
|
5 | 2.7 | +2.3 |
|
Ys
Joanna Newsom
|
5 | 2.8 | +2.2 |
|
Black Monk Time
The Monks
|
5 | 2.95 | +2.05 |
|
The Dreaming
Kate Bush
|
5 | 2.98 | +2.02 |
|
I See A Darkness
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
|
5 | 2.98 | +2.02 |
|
The Scream
Siouxsie And The Banshees
|
5 | 3.04 | +1.96 |
|
Modern Kosmology
Jane Weaver
|
5 | 3.08 | +1.92 |
|
Third
Portishead
|
5 | 3.13 | +1.87 |
|
Repeater
Fugazi
|
5 | 3.14 | +1.86 |
|
Close To The Edge
Yes
|
5 | 3.19 | +1.81 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Actually
Pet Shop Boys
|
1 | 3.18 | -2.18 |
|
The Pleasure Principle
Gary Numan
|
1 | 3.15 | -2.15 |
|
Golden Hour
Kacey Musgraves
|
1 | 3.08 | -2.08 |
|
Armed Forces
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
|
1 | 3.07 | -2.07 |
|
The Gilded Palace Of Sin
The Flying Burrito Brothers
|
1 | 2.92 | -1.92 |
|
Pet Sounds
The Beach Boys
|
2 | 3.92 | -1.92 |
|
Tapestry
Carole King
|
2 | 3.91 | -1.91 |
|
World Clique
Deee-Lite
|
1 | 2.87 | -1.87 |
|
Survivor
Destiny's Child
|
1 | 2.87 | -1.87 |
|
I’ve Got a Tiger By the Tail
Buck Owens
|
1 | 2.81 | -1.81 |
Artists
Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Beatles | 4 | 4.5 |
| Black Sabbath | 2 | 5 |
| Radiohead | 5 | 4.2 |
| Yes | 3 | 4.33 |
| Nirvana | 3 | 4.33 |
| Neil Young | 3 | 4.33 |
5-Star Albums (59)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
Joanna Newsom · 3 likes
5/5
Listens: 3
Standout tracks: Emily, Bear and Monkey
Well this is certainly unique and off the beaten trail from what you normally get from the List. "Baroque Showtunes" , with a orchestral quality, steeped in heavy metaphoric, symbolic, poem-style lyrics, with a great use of harp and other string instruments. It's wild this was produced in 2006.
I really liked this. It's clear Joanna really poured her soul into this album. I enjoy how her voice squeaks or cracks at the high notes and beginnings of stanzas. There's something about the quality of her voice that I cant quite place, someone she sounds like (or someone who sounds like her).
Edit: Retroactively bumping this up to a 5. This album has become a guilty pleasure, mostly because I am pretty sure anyone for whom I would play this music in front of would look at me like I have 3 heads. But fuck the haters.
Deee-Lite · 1 likes
1/5
Listens: 1
Standout tracks: meh
This will be my second 1 in 75+ albums. I cannot understand how something like this made the list. Why? What does this album contribute musically to the zeitgeist? Does anyone actually go out of their way to listen to this outside of a dance club or other such setting in which people are dancing and raving to electronica music? Needless to say, I was not a fan.
Gary Numan · 1 likes
1/5
Listens: 2
Standout tracks: Cars
Man. There are just too many god damn new wave albums on this List. I am so tired of 70's/80's synth pop. And as a repercussion, Electronica is one of my worst genres. Which is insane, because I listen to so much modern Electronica: ODESZA, Zed's Dead, Gorillaz, The Avalanches, I Monster, etc. Even stuff like Rusko, Bassnectar, Ill.gates, An-ten-nae.
But no, instead of any of that, I get piles and piles of new wave: Simple Minds, Depeche Mode, Eurythmics, whoever the hell Gary Numan is.
This album feels devoid of any emotion. It is soulless.
Coldplay · 1 likes
4/5
"Trouble" is the stand-out track for me. The piano is hauntingly beautiful. The song is excellent for reasons that I am not able to fully articulate. Yellow is also great, but its hardly new or exciting for me. It has over 2B listens on Youtube Music alone. You'd have to have been living under a rock for the past 20+ years to have not heard it. Spies also started to grow on me over the course of the day and multiple listens.
Overall the album is quite excellent for a debut/freshman album from the band. The songs flow together really well. My one critique is that there's really no songs that bump up the tempo or ever really get more aggressive in their approach to music making. What I mean is that there's nothing to punctuate the slow, mellow songs; there's never any sense of building and building and building until release, and so while the music is quite enjoyable, I could see the replay value decreasing over time due to the lack of variety in the songs. My comparison would be to that of Radiohead, where they punctuate their slow mellow songs with aggressive upbeat shredding songs to improve the variety of the music.
I never got all of the hate for Coldplay. Probably just being overplayed? Or maybe it just fun to hate on them in the same way it's fun to hate on Nickelback?
The Rolling Stones · 1 likes
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Sympathy For The Devil
Sympathy For The Devil is awesome, but other than that, I was kind of expecting the album to be a bit more classic rock, high-energy, like Led Zeppelin or Pink Floyd. This felt more like an acoustic, bluesy album; More mellow and plodding.
Definitely not bad, just not what I was expecting.
4-Star Albums (111)
1-Star Albums (17)
All Ratings
Radiohead
4/5
Added to Library: TRUE
This album slaps. It was probably my second introduction to the band after hearing In Rainbows and it's something I keep going back to.
The intro to The Bends where you can hear some TV nonsense in the background is for some reason enjoyable to try to catch.
I also like the album cover. Its like... robotic or cyborg-ish, with feelings of elation or bliss, given the entity's expression.
Dusty Springfield
3/5
Seems very much so a product of its time.
Dusty really knows how to belt out those songs. Loud, prominent pipes coming from her. Proper singing.
I wouldn't have known this on my own, but apparently a bunch of the songs she sang are covers.
I am not particularly a fan. This is not something I'd listen to... ever, had I not been participating in the 1001 albums experience, but I cannot say the music is bad or undeserving of recognition.
Coldplay
4/5
"Trouble" is the stand-out track for me. The piano is hauntingly beautiful. The song is excellent for reasons that I am not able to fully articulate. Yellow is also great, but its hardly new or exciting for me. It has over 2B listens on Youtube Music alone. You'd have to have been living under a rock for the past 20+ years to have not heard it. Spies also started to grow on me over the course of the day and multiple listens.
Overall the album is quite excellent for a debut/freshman album from the band. The songs flow together really well. My one critique is that there's really no songs that bump up the tempo or ever really get more aggressive in their approach to music making. What I mean is that there's nothing to punctuate the slow, mellow songs; there's never any sense of building and building and building until release, and so while the music is quite enjoyable, I could see the replay value decreasing over time due to the lack of variety in the songs. My comparison would be to that of Radiohead, where they punctuate their slow mellow songs with aggressive upbeat shredding songs to improve the variety of the music.
I never got all of the hate for Coldplay. Probably just being overplayed? Or maybe it just fun to hate on them in the same way it's fun to hate on Nickelback?
The Velvet Underground
3/5
The music is pretty stripped down. The expected rock instruments are all there, but they are subtle and not always pronounced.The lyrics are mostly simple and not as subversive and I was led to believe they might be based on the description of the band on YouTube Music.
The Murder Mystery stands out to me because WTF IS GOING ON on this track. Two different sets of lyrics happening on the same track, one in each ear. Wild.
The White Stripes
5/5
I've listened to this album dozens of times even before participating in the 1001 albums...
Added to Library: TRUE
The range of different styles and variety of sounds Meg and Jack can make is, quite frankly, astounding.
Blue Orchid opens the album so aggressively; every time I hear those first few seconds I get so hyped up, and then the next song, The Nurse shifts gears and is using a marimba or some other type of xylophon, and feels... Tropical almost.
I think my favorite song(s) though are Passive Manipulation and Take Take Take. Especially TTT, where you have this escalating scenario of Jack's "needs" and expectations when he meets Rita Hayworth. He can't get enough and boils down the entire experience to one word. TAKE.
Edit: Increased to 5. I can listen to the White Stripes until time ends, and this is one of my favorite albums.
The Prodigy
4/5
Added To Library: TRUE
This is probably the only Prodigy album I've listened to.
It's mandatory listening for someone who's into early electronica or experiencing electronica's roots.
Diesel Power features Kool Keith which is pretty sweet.
My favorite song used to be Smack My Bitch Up until a coworker said something dreadful to me: that the entire song only consists of two sentences. "Smack my bitch up. Change my pitch up." Something about that dawning on me ruined the song for a while. It's still really damn good though. The whole album is.
3.5
James Brown
3/5
James Brown sure knows how to whip up the crowd. Honestly, the crowd sort of makes the album for me, in the same way that most people listen to live Grateful Dead rather than their studio albums. It add a whole new dimension to the experience.
As for the music. Seems perfectly fine. I have virtually no experience with the Soul or Funk genres (yet) and so as far as first experiences go, the experience was not amazing, but it wasn't awful either. I listened to the album several times, since it was so short. I also opted to listen to the extended/expanded edition, with about 10 more minutes of music. The stand out songs for me are Lose Someone > Medley: Please Please Please, but that's really only because the entire audience is going absolutely wild.
Ella Fitzgerald
3/5
Longggggg album. Could realistically only listen once throughout the day.
Loved what I heard. Couldn't speak to any specific song, though I'm pretty sure I heard some tunes that have since been used in rap/hip hop beats. That wouldn't surprise me at all.
It's weird. I know that this is largely "Jazz" music, but it's not what I have in my mind (for at least some of the music) when I think of jazz. Something faster with a lot more brass, bass and rhythm. nonetheless, the music is remarkable.
3/5
A solid entry. I'm glad I listened. 2.5 listens. Stand out track for me is A Place Called Home. The tunes with Thom Yorke in the are also quite good. Specifically the vocal layering in The Mess We're In is an interesting decision. I definitely hear some Patti Smith in there but I also don't have a ton of experience with any of Patti's music.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
Added To Library: TRUE
I've never actually listened to Exodus in album format before, but I've heard a number of the songs.
The music is largely chill. Something to put on while lounging or relaxing.Exodus, Three Little Birds and Jammin are timeless classics now.
It also seems like some of the songs appear on Legends so they are otherwise familiar that way too.
Paul Simon
3/5
Stand out tracks: Duncan, Hobo Blues and Paranoia Blues (both versions)
Listens: at least 4
I really enjoy the wind instruments in Duncan.
Similarly, the string instruments in Hobo Blues. It's a short and sweet little ditty. The best ones are.
Alexander 'Skip' Spence
3/5
Standout tracks: none.
Listens: 2
No particularly noteworthy songs, but on the second listen-through, the music did click a bit more than the first time. I can understand why the album is on the 1001 albums list. Some of the tracks get pretty psychedelic.
I do always appreciate when the listener gets those "behind-the-scenes" bits of dialog or noise or chatter before, during or after the song has concluded; they bring the process to life. It's a person recording these songs, talking with the sound engineer. Talking with their bandmates, figuring out what song to play next -- that they've run out of tape, etc.
The "why" behind the album and the context leading up to the album being recorded were interesting, to say the least. There is a certain melancholy-ness to the music, and an exhausted nature to the artist. There's nothing upbeat about any of the tracks.
Fatboy Slim
2/5
Tedious, repetitive. There are maybe a few tracks that are okay. It's the kind of music that I might put on if the purpose isn't to listen to music, but rather while I'm doing something else; Playing a game (that doesn't have a good soundtrack). Cleaning the house. Doing laundry. Whatever...
MGMT
3/5
Def Leppard
2/5
Listens: 2
Stand out tracks: Gods Of War, Pour Some Sugar On Me
Not a fan of 80 classic rock hair bands. I can't really discern qualities between most tracks. It's all heavy guitar and strong drums.
Pour Some Sugar On Me has transcended time to be one of their (or at least to me) recognizable tracks. I can't deny it as a piece of music; even one that I enjoy, despite categorically loathing most of the 80s rock, electric guitar-heavy genre.
Goldfrapp
3/5
Listens: 3
Stand out tracks: Happiness, Road to Somewhere.
Happiness sounds suspiciously like a Beatles song, but I couldn't find a track with that title. Some comments on YTM suggested that Paul McCartney would be jealous or ... Whatever. Regardless, the song is enjoyable.
Road to Somewhere on the other hand sounds like it could be a wound down version or cover version of an Audioslave track. Also great.
Simon & Garfunkel
3/5
Listens: 3
Stand out tracks: El Condor Pasa (If I Could), Cecilia
Michael Kiwanuka
5/5
Listens: 3
Standout tracks: You ain't the Problem, Rolling, Final Days
Added To Library: TRUE
Fantastic. Wow. I'm not sure how I've never heard of Michael Kiwanuka before.
Beatles
3/5
Listens: 2
Stand Out tracks: And I love Her, Can't Buy Me Love
Possibly controversial, but early Beatles just aren't as good as their genre shift to psychedelic rock in the latter half of the decade.
Some of the tracks are timeless, but most of if not all of the tracks seem to be dealing with some love affair/interest or affection towards a woman or women and the dynamics of relationships with those women. There's virtually no controversial opinions or political views expressed. The lyrics are simple and often repetitive.
Van Morrison
3/5
Simon & Garfunkel
3/5
Screaming Trees
2/5
Listens: 1
Stand out tracks:
Vaguely Christian or at least religious. Mention of halos, angels, the lord, miracles, gospel and other religious influences. Not particularly interested in Christian or pseudo-Christian rock.
The psychedelic influences however, are interesting. They elevate the quality of the music, distinguishing the band from otherwise being another typical grunge rock band of the 90s. The use of... I'm not sure if there's an organ, harpsichord or a sitar involved, as well as hand cymbals evoke other influences like the Beatles later work or the early Dead.
Blur
2/5
Listens: 1
The album felt pretty bland, monotonous from a music perspective. I didn't really focus on the lyrics too much. Has that one song that's been used in car commercials for the past 2 decades. I don't know how I feel about the fact that Damon Albarn went on to form the Gorillaz after this. The Gorillaz are generally fantastic. Maybe I need to give the album another more detailed listen.
The War On Drugs
3/5
Listens: 2
Stand out tracks: The Haunting Idle
80s vibes. A few tracks has vocals that sounded like Bob Dylan. I enjoyed the transition from The Haunting Idle to Burning. Atmospheric, moody qualities.
Run-D.M.C.
3/5
Listens: 2
Stand out tracks: Raising Hell, Proud To Be Black
This album has so many famous tracks. The "Walk This Way" collab with Aerosmith was, I think, unprecedented at the time. Lots of guitar riffs paired with rap lyrics are also unique.
Pet Shop Boys
1/5
Listens: 1
Stand out tracks: Rent (though not in a good way)
Not a fan at all.
Big Star
2/5
George Michael
3/5
Listens: 3
Stand out tracks: Praying for Time, Freedom! '90
Good variety of music styles in the tracks.
This is not something I'd go out of my way to listen to, but I enjoyed the opportunity to hear it and was impressed by the music and lyrics.
George Jones
2/5
Listens: 2
Standout tracks: Our Private Lives
Very twangy. Some of the tracks almost had a pseudo-Hawaiian quality to them, like as if they are something you'd hear in a spoof/stereotypical Hawaiian scene in a movie, or cartoon.
Not for me.
The Kinks
3/5
Stevie Wonder
3/5
Listens: 2.5
Stand out tracks: Living for the City, Higher Ground
Chef's Kiss.
3.5
The Stooges
3/5
Listens: 1
Stand out tracks: We Will Fall.
Ram Jai, Jai Ram! We Will Fall is pretty weird. I don't understand the lyrics or the chant itself, but there's some pretty wild guitar playing on the over 10 minute long track. Cursory research at least partially suggests that it's filler content, considering the album would be only ~25 minutes otherwise. I don't know if the track fits on the album or not. This is the first time I've ever heard a Stooges song, let alone an entire album, but I dig it.
I also enjoy the vocalist (frontman?) screaming his voice into nothingness at the end of 1969.
Arctic Monkeys
5/5
Listens: 1 (and countless others outside of this review)
Standout tracks: From the Ritz to The Rubble.
Added To Library: TRUE
I love this album.
5/5
Listens: 4 and an increasing amount since hearing it.
Added to Library: TRUE
First, I didn't have an opportunity to give a proper review of the album when I first listened to it.
Second, the album has really grown on me. I've listened to it a handful of times since I first heard it and I find myself coming back to it now with somewhat regularly.
I fucking love the organs (I think they are organs) in Close To The Edge part III: I Get Up I Get Down. I love how the music shifts seamlessly between each part of the 18+ minute song.
Majorly upgraded to 5. Easily my favorite newly-discovered album since starting this.
Taylor Swift
2/5
Listens: 1
I do not much care for or understand the popularity of Taylor Swift, but I do recognize that she is both a cultural phenomenon and wildly popular. The subject matter of the songs on this album is not something I am interested in. The music is largely synthetic, which, while I do not inherently have any issues with (being an enjoyer of all manner of the electronica genre), I imagine she did not solely create. This may be a disingenuous criticism though, because I imagine Lorde or Lana Del Ray also fall into this category of working with producers to create melodies, and I enjoy some of their music. I may just need to listen to the album a few more times before really casting any further judgement.
Rocket From The Crypt
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout tracks: Burnt Alive
This seems like pretty standard affair for a Punk album. I have not much to compare it to. I have never heard of Rocket From The Crypt before and I suppose I won't hear from them again unless they have another album in the 1001 albums list.
If I were to speculate, I would say that the music itself pulls in influence from the grunge scene, which was occurring in the 90s, as there are a mix of traditional "Punk-y" songs mixed in with some actual singing. It's not excessively thrasher music.
The Police
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Mother
Mother is pretty uh, interesting. I wonder what the thought process is to come up with a song like that.
The Zutons
3/5
Listens: 1.5
Standout tracks: Zuton Fever
Musically, this album is all over the place. Sometimes it sounds like the Strokes or Arctic Monkeys, sometimes it sounds slightly country. The trumpets or.horn instruments remind me of Cake.
After listening to Zuton Fever I was kind of excited that the rest of the album would have that same level of energy but it doesn't quite land for some of the songs.
The album is ok. I might listen to it again in the future.
The Damned
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout tracks: Smash It Up
Machine Gun Etiquette is a dope album name, regardless of how I feel about the music.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
5/5
Listens: Dozens
Standout tracks: Under The Bridge, Apache Rose Peacock, I Could Have Lied, others.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers were one of the first bands I really recall experiencing on my own volition. Before that, it would be listening to classic rock and pop on the radio with my parents. Granted I started out with By The Way in the 2000s; I then quickly moved on to Californication and then eventually Blood Sugar Sex Magik (and beyond).
This album has the right amount bass, funky beats, good lyrics, explicit content and highly memorable songs and melodies on it. It's not a 5, but it's still excellent.
It actually is a 5 for me on the scale of Hate it to Love it. I am revamping my scale. I can't be so stingy when it comes to rating music I actually thoroughly enjoy.
Kate Bush
5/5
Listens: 3 or 4
Standout tracks: Suspended in Gaffa
Added To Library: TRUE
Early impressions are that this album or Kate Bush in general could be an influence for someone like Grimes or the genre that someone like Grimes falls into. I'm getting major baby/angel pop vibes from a few songs. There's a lot of vocal layering, high pitched shrill, growling-like and other voice manipulation involved. There's also plenty of traditional rock elements, and musical elements found in 80s British rock. It's not clear if the lower, deeper backing vocals are another person or just more vocal layering.
There a weird clacking sound in Suspended in Gaffa that keeps faking me out. Did a double take when I heard it the first couple of times. Sounded like there was someone knocking on the wall.
This album is the right amount of weird and I am onboard with it.
Simple Minds
2/5
Listens: 2
Stand out tracks: none
Largely unremarkable. Not particularly good, but not offensive to the ears.
2.5
Coldplay
4/5
Listens: 4 or 5
Standout tracks: In My Place, The Scientist, A Rush Of Blood To The Head.
Added to Library: TRUE
And let's be honest, even with all the hate for the band, Clocks is also wildly catchy.
...
A second Cold Play album on the 1001 albums list eh? And hearing them both within a month or so of each other... Ok.
Anyways, not as good as Parachutes, but still some good tracks. It's crazy how many of the songs I have absorbed through osmosis over the past 20 plus years, despite never once seeking out and listening to the band on my own accord. Quite the feat.
I seem to have a thing for adult alternative rock music.
Hugh Masekela
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout tracks: none
It is refreshing to listen to an entirely instrumental while churning through the 1001 albums list. I think this is one of the only instrumental albums I've heard so far. There is a bit of scatting on one of the tracks towards the end, but otherwise, no singing.
The music itself is fine. I don't think its something I am going to listen to long term, but its still enjoyable.
Stan Getz
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout tracks: The Girl From Ipanema
Reminds me of Bitter:Sweet and Thievery Corporation, with a big emphasis brass instrument and R&B.
U2
3/5
Listens: 1
Stand out tracks: Love is Blindness, Mysterious Way
Besides their iPod collaboration, a super cut of George W Bush "singing" Sunday Bloody Sunday and South Park making fun of Bono, I honestly forgot U2 existed.
The album is cromulent. It isn't offensive. It's not mind-blowingly good. It's boring and normal rock music. Unlike the description of the album, I'm not hearing any of the genre qualities being described: industrial, electronic dance. Alternative, sure, I guess.
A few of the songs are catchy.
Garbage
4/5
Listens: 4 or 5
Standout tracks: Queer, Only Happy When It Rains, Milk
Added to Library: TRUE
Honestly, a lot better than I thought it was going to be. It's not Smashing Pumpkins good, but its been a lot better than a lot of the other grunge that's come my way as part of the 1001 albums list.
3.5 stars.
Edit: Increased to 4. Listening to this more and more.
Little Richard
3/5
Listens: 1
Standout tracks: Tutti-Frutti (obviously), Ready Teddy
Proper rock and roll. It's too bad I think virtually all of the songs sound the same. There's obviously a little nuance, but it's pretty consistently the same material. Also, crazy short album; not ever 30 minutes of material.
I'm also pretty sure my father took me to see Little Richard in the summer of 1998, and the only thing I distinctly remember is him telling the crowd to "Shut up"... That's his schick, apparently.
3.5
Depeche Mode
3/5
Listens: 2-3
Standout Tracks: Behind the Wheel
I have conflicting opinions about this album/band. On the one hand uggggh 80s New Wave is blah; it seems so stereotypical of the era, but on the other hand, the album is growing on me; I am finding myself enjoying it, and I am not sure why. Perhaps its like an accident on the highway. You can't look away.
This music is not where my brain goes when I think about or want to listen to Electronic music.
3
Mj Cole
2/5
Listens: 2
Standout tracks: Slum King
The first few tracks have good break beat vibes. Break beat, as a genre, is not something I encounter very often. Good beats.
The composition of the album is familiar. MJ Cole producing the tracks with loads of different guest artists providing vocals, samples and skits, though there's not loads of different guests on this album. Feels like proto-dubstep in a way, specifically Rusko or Caspa.
The deluxe version is the only available version in YouTube Music, and so I probably listened to variations of some of the songs multiple times. The experience started off good, but it eventually got incredibly repetitive.
Dropped to 2. Wholly unremarkable and borderline bad.
Pixies
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout tracks: Where is my mind?, Oh My Golly!, Bone Machine
Added to Library: TRUE
I've tried to listen to this album for a long time, but its never clicked over the disparate times over the years. Finally forcing myself to listen to it, holy shit is it clicking now. I hear Modest Mouse, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, all bleeding through this album.
I will also never get tired of Where Is my mind? Fight Club ending! The renditions of it in The Leftovers. Damn.
Derek & The Dominos
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad?, Little Wing, Layla
There are some real bangers on this album.
Big Star
3/5
Listens: 1
Standout Tracks: Holocaust, Big Black Car
This is my second Big Star album. The music is significantly darker, more moody and atmospheric. It starts off innocuous enough, but by Big Black Car, the music starts to slow down and become a bit more prodding and emotional. Holocaust is especially dark, both the lyrics and the music.
I gave "#1 Record" 3 stars and unfortunately didn't elaborate on why at all. I don't think this album is 4 stars despite being better than their debut album, so I am going to have to bring "#1 Record" down to 2, and put this to 3.
Songhoy Blues
4/5
Listens: 5
Standout Tracks: Irganda, Wayei, Petit Metier
Added To Library: TRUE
So far, I can't understand anything they're saying (and I don't imagine that's going to change much), and YTM isn't showing any lyrics, but the beats can't be denied! They're hoppin'. Major "Irish jig" qualities to the music. Some of the songs remind me of the Dropkick Murphys.
Wow, the album is excellent.
4
Stereolab
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Metronomic Underground
I love the track names; bizarre and totally out there.
The music is good, the lyrics less so. For several tracks, there's not so much singing as there is stating the same few phrases over and over again. Its inherently repetitive. The music is keeping the album afloat though. Its a good fusion of electronica, guitar rock, jazz, funk and some other stuff that I can't quantify.
3.5
Edit: Increased to 4. I have started adding this album to my rotation. I am listening to it a month later. I have also started listening to their new 2025 release "Instance Holograms On Metal Film". I am still not thrilled about the repetitiveness of the lyrics sometimes, but the beats and melodies are undeniably good.
Genesis
2/5
Listens: 1.5
Standout tracks: None
Nothing particularly exciting for me.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
Listens: 3-4
Standout tracks: Hey Hey, My My and My My Hey Hey
Added to Library: TRUE
The premise of "rust never sleeps" is an insightful one; something we should all keep in mind. You gotta keep moving lest we become complacent in the things we do.
Funkadelic
3/5
Listens: 1.5
Standout Tracks: Not sure. Something about poop. Couldnt view the track list as I was listening.
Could not listen to this on YouTube Music. Not available for some reason. Sounds like a recurring theme based on other reviews/comments. Had to use YouTube. No ads though since I have YTM. Anyways...
I enjoyed this album, though I am having trouble rating it. As I continue to rate albums I am torn on what it means for an album to be a 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5. Obviously, 1 and 5 are the ends of the spectrum; either hate it or love it, but in between?? What is the litmus test for a 4? "like it"? Do I expect to listen to an 4-rated album beyond the day I am assigned the album? Do I add a 4 to my rotation? Do I add it to my library? No one knows.
I enjoyed the baselines. I enjoyed the lyrics for some of the songs. I enjoyed the artwork for he album (and the art work in general looks great too). I don't think there was anything I actually disliked about the music.
3
Edit: Dropped to 3. I havent thought about this album since listening to it.
Led Zeppelin
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Since I've Been Loving You, Immigrant Song, Gallows Pole
Since I've Been Loving You has a great blusey feel to it. It's probably the pinnacle of the album for me. I've heard Immigrant Song before, and so it helped that it was the first song on the album for me - to get into mindset of 70s hard rock, but it feels... overplayed somehow? I've heard it (or renditions of it) in at least two movies: Thor Ragnarok and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.
Mudhoney
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: If I Think, Halloween
It took me a few listens - actually actively listening helped too - to warm up to Mudhoney. Their sound is raw and bordering on scream-o music which I am not super keen on, but the songs that have actual singing and melodies and good guitar riffs were decent. Halloween was a great track - a good way to close out the album.
This is now my 3rd or 4th Grunge album. There are miles between this album and for example, Garbage's self-titled album. Its interesting how both can be classified as Grunge.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
Listens: 4
Standout tracks: Graveyard Train, Proud Mary
Nice, quick and easy listening album. 7 songs. 34 minutes. :ChefsKiss:
I don't, and haven't listened to CCR before, besides whatever gets played on the radio, and while I probably won't put this into my rotation, I enjoy most of the songs and am inclined to rate this higher than I otherwise might have.
3.75
The Slits
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: I Heard It Through The Grapevine.
Album is RAW. Raw in the same way that Wu Tang Clan's first album is raw. Stripped down; minimal, rough around the edges. Definitely not bad. Some of the tracks are pure punk, but some of them are more like punk-disco or punk-ska or punk-dub/reggae. It's interesting; there is a lot of variety here, but with the scream-o, punk undercurrent throughout.
3.5 (rounded down)
Cornershop
2/5
Listens: 2
Standout tracks: Sleep on the Left Side, Candyman
The music is all over the place. I initially misread the album date and thought this came out in 1987, to which I would be quite impressed. I would have said it was way before it's time, likening the music to a combination of electronica with soft trap elements. In 1997 this is so much less impressive. It's repetitive and not in a good way.
It's funny, I definitely enjoy some definition of "electronic" music, but whenever an album comes up here, I usually rate it really poorly. :(
Candyman features someone rapping, which is a nice change of pace, and Norwegian Wood being a cover (albeit in Hindi?) was also pleasant to listen to. I appreciate the spin they put on the track.
I don't think these two positives qualities save it though. 2.5
Todd Rundgren
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Zen Archer, Just Another Onionhead / Da Dad Dali, Dogfight Giggle
Added To Library: TRUE
Awesome album. I hear influences from the late Beatles and other psychedelic works. I was also going to say I hear Pink Floyd (Dark Side of the Moon specifically) influences, but that album came out literally one day before this did, so that's probably just a coincidence. I think it was the saxophone in Zen Archer.
I enjoy how all of the tracks flow together and even though it can sound disjointed at times, that was described as partially on purpose according to the description of the album - ... supposed to start out chaotic and end with soulful songs ...
I know that there was purposefully no singles, but Zen Archer would have made a damn good single.
Dogfight Giggle is just plain weird and that makes me like it even more.
Prince
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Darling Nikki, Purple Rain, Computer Blue
This album was... fine? Is that a controversial opinion? I was kind of expecting something much more groundbreaking, powerful, culturally prominent. This is Prince's _Purple Rain_ after all! Maybe it was groundbreaking in 1984, but today, listening to it now, it hasn't moved me much. The only track I found to be particularly eyebrow raising (and part of the reason I liked it) was Darling Nikki. I can see that track being exceptionally questionable and "transgressive" in 1984.
G. Love & Special Sauce
4/5
Listens: 2 (with more on the way.)
Standout tracks: Blues Music, probably others
Added to Library: TRUE
I have never heard of this band before, though maybe I have heard at least one of their tracks on the radio before (without ever having known who I was listening to), but I digress... Anyways, judging a book by its (album) cover (and the artist name too), I thought I was in for a seriously awful Saturday music listening session. You could hear my eyes rolling into the back of my skull. Visceral-like reaction to a band named G. Love & Special Sauce. I thought I was going to be hearing some electronica music even worse than Fat Boy Slim or J Cole.
So imagine my surprise when not only are these guys palatable, but I actually seriously enjoy what they're putting out for a debut album!
I hear Beck. I hear Sublime, I hear proto-Cage The Elephant. I hear good bass lines, good drums, good lyrics and good rhyming.
I am exceptionally happy I had the opportunity to discover these guys.
Peter Tosh
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Legalize It, Brand New Second Hand
Added To Library: TRUE
What's not to love about this album?
Radiohead
4/5
Listens: 3 (and probably more in the past)
Standout Tracks: Everything In It's Right Place, How to Disappear Completely, Idioteque, The National Anthem.
Added To Library: TRUE
Kid A is a good album. No; it's a great album, but by no means is it my favorite, second favorite or even third, fourth or fifth favorite. In no particular order, In Rainbows, OK Computer, Hail To The Thief, A Moon Shaped Pool and The Bends and are better.
The jazz and violin elements in The National Anthem and How To Disappear Completely are fantastic.
Ian Dury
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout tracks: My Old Man
Wasn't available on YouTube Music, had to listen to it on straight YouTube.
It's... Interesting. I'm not loving it, but I'm not hating it either. I couldn't help but look at the reviews before writing this (mostly to see others' experience with finding the album online). The general sentiment seems to be ugh god why. I don't have a visceral reaction to this, either positively or negatively. Some of the songs are amusing. The multitude of sexual references and scenarios in particular; to hear this guy talk about sexual encounters and scenarios is hilarious. Honestly the It's that Essex accent that probably puts a lot of people off. Woof. I probably won't listen to this ever again, partly because it's not easily accessible on YTM. I won't fret much about that.
The Everly Brothers
2/5
Listens: 2
Standout tracks: None
Yea no. Sorry, not interested. Not even remotely. Its not a 1; I don't hate it, its not offensive, but I definitely do not want to listen to it every again.
Sam Cooke
3/5
Steely Dan
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Do It Again, Dirty Work, Reelin' In The Years
Great debut album. Enjoyed it.
3.5
Astor Piazzolla
4/5
Listens: 1
Standout tracks: Vibraphonissimo
I really struggle with the rating system for this platform.
At first I was much more conservative with my ratings, but realized about 45 albums in that even some albums that I've highly enjoyed and would even describe as "loved" weren't breaking into 5, and I had only rated a single album a 1. Then I revaluated both my approach and the albums I had listened to, adjusting if necessary, and came up with a Hate/Dislike/Indifferent/Like/Love scale, which has been working so far... I guess.
So where does this fall? Is it musically impressive? Yes. Is it enjoyable? So far, for the most part. Do I love or hate it? No and no. Will I add this to my rotation or listen to it beyond today? Probably not. So then what's the rating? Middle of the pack 3? Am I just playing it safe and not really forming an honest opinion? I'm not sure. Sometimes I wish the rating scale was 1 through 10.
Some of the tracks so far are wildly inventive and highly creative. One of the tracks gave me the impression of the world coming crashing down around me. Frantic and aggressive, which I would not have come to expect from the genre of Tango. Other tracks are prodding, serious, sombre and thought provoking.
I would consider putting something like this on if I were just trying to mellow out after a day at work.
I am inclined to say I more enjoy it than not, so.... 4
Orange Juice
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout tracks: I Can't Help Myself, Mud In Your Eye
I don't know what I was expecting of this music, when i read the description of the band being "post-punk", but it wasn't this. I don't really understand what post punk is as a genre. Ive also usually despised New Wave music based on some of the other bands I've had to listen to in the 1001 albums framework, but I don't strongly dislike this either. There were some genuinely good tracks on this album. Great saxophone and violins on at least two tracks.
3
Beastie Boys
4/5
Listens: 2
Standout tracks: No Sleep Till Brooklyn, Girls, Fight For Your Right
I want to like the Beastie Boys more than I do. This album is important for a number of reasons: the foundation they laid for other rap and hip-hop bands, the amount they get sampled, their music's popularity in other entertainment mediums and pop culture, in popularizing the rap-rock genre along with Run DMC. It's crazy how influential they are. And yet, I need to be in a really particular mood to listen to them. There's a lot of shouting and yelling. Everything is amped up to. 11. It's high fucking energy. Energy I want to have, but don't.
Also, Girls is really sexist. It's comical how much this wouldn't fly nowadays.
This album gets a 4, despite the fact that I don't listen to often at all and probably won't be adding it to my library and rotation. It's such an important piece of work in the genre.
Tom Tom Club
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout tracks: Genius of Love, Wordy Rappinghood, Under The Boardwalk
Added To Library: TRUE
My gut reaction to this was "Oh look. More New Wave...." but there's something different going on here. This is not Depache Mode or Simple Minds or some of the other music I've elected to listen to. This is more like proto-Nightmare on Wax. I get major Nightmare on Wax vibes from this album: African Pirates, Man Tha Journey, Deep Down etc. If I had just heard this album without vocals, Nightmare on Wax would have been a guess.
So, all that being said, I was much more impressed with the album than I expected to be. The beat on Genius of Love is... genius (and entirely funky). The pseudo-rapping on Wordy Rappinghood is intriguing. I like how they sneak some French in there. Their cover of Under The Boardwalk is also great.
Notably, the Deluxe Edition was not available on YTM, so I only listened to the regular album, plus 3 remix/long version tracks tacked on. And it was plenty.
3.5
Edit: Increase to a 4. I normally do not like New Wave, but this album has an allure to it and some incredibly catchy songs.
Deee-Lite
1/5
Listens: 1
Standout tracks: meh
This will be my second 1 in 75+ albums. I cannot understand how something like this made the list. Why? What does this album contribute musically to the zeitgeist? Does anyone actually go out of their way to listen to this outside of a dance club or other such setting in which people are dancing and raving to electronica music? Needless to say, I was not a fan.
Crowded House
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout tracks: Four Seasons In One Day, There Goes God, Chocolate Cake
Nothing particularly remarkable about this album. I like the album cover. Halloween pumpkin vibes (even though it's a Woodman... Whatever the relevance of that is...) I don't like or dislike it after a full listen. Maybe subsequent listens will evoke something.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Sympathy For The Devil
Sympathy For The Devil is awesome, but other than that, I was kind of expecting the album to be a bit more classic rock, high-energy, like Led Zeppelin or Pink Floyd. This felt more like an acoustic, bluesy album; More mellow and plodding.
Definitely not bad, just not what I was expecting.
Turbonegro
3/5
Listens: 2.5
Standout Tracks: Are You Ready (For Some Darkness), The Age Of Pamparius
Good guitar shredding on this album. Not quite heavy metal but close and more palatable as a result. The first track, at the 1:30 mark reminds me a lot of the The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again".
The band name was an eyebrow raiser for me. I did not know what to expect when I put the album on. I recognize that the word negro in other cultures and languages mean other things (namely, the color black), but it was still... surprising to see such a band name. I wonder where the band name originates from . Fortunately, there doesn't appear to be any racist lyrics as far as I can tell.
Overall, I enjoyed it more than not. 3.5
Snoop Dogg
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout tracks: Gin and Juice (obviously), The Shiznit, Lodi Dodi
Love the mini-rendition of Notorious BIG's Hypnotize in Lodi Dodi.
Rap skits never get old. Lots of dick and ball jokes. Entirely childish and entirely perfect.
I still like east coast more than west coast, but this album was great and I am surprised I've never listened to all the way through before.
The Who
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: My Generation, The Kids Are Alright
I don't yet have a ton of experience with The Who yet. This being their debut album, and smack dab right in the middle of the 60s, mind you, they are all over the place musically.
There's a smattering of early 60s songs about girls and lovey-dovey shit (Much Too Much, Please Please Please) mixed in with late 60's psychedelic rock. Sometimes they sound like the early Beatles (La-La-La-Lies, The Kids Are Alright) , sometimes folksy Bob Dylan (The Good's Gone), sometimes they are going ape shit like in The Ox.
Again, I don't have much experience with The Who, but i kind of seems like in later albums their "The Ox" won out and that's the direction they went with.
3
Hanoi Rocks
2/5
Listens: 3
Standout tracks: Tooting Bec Wreck
Seems a bit post-new wave veering into classic hair metal with a Finnish twist, to be honest, if there was no mention of them being Finnish in the album/artist description I'd have never known that.
I largely dislike new wave and I'm really really not a fan of 80s hair metal, so although there are a few catchy or weird tracks and some good guitar riffs, it's not particularly interesting or exciting to me.
2
Jacques Brel
3/5
Listens: 4
Standout Tracks: Amsterdam
Amsterdam is a crazy strong opener. I was blown away by both the power of the song itself and the audience's reaction to it. Totally the highlight of the album.
Other than that, its short, sweet and to the point. I would give it a 4 if I understood French and could better appreciate the lyrics.
3.5
Frank Sinatra
4/5
Listens: 3 or 4
Standout tracks: Old Devil Moon, Too Marvelous For Words
This is the king of crooners. My grandfather loved Frank Sinatra; couldn't understand how anyone could listen to any of the "music you kids listen to" when I was a kid in the 90s and 2000s. I get it now. I understand his perspective. Sinatra can sing, for daysssss. My only gripe is that this album, is how every goddamn song is about him loving some woman. Trying to bang her. Infatuated with her. She's a drug for him. He'll be her slave. The only thing that redeems the album from this point is that it's expressly "Music For Swingin' Lovers". The entire point of the album is to have these kinds of songs. It's basically a concept album and the concept is utterly loving women. I have no idea if there will be other Frank Sinatra albums on the 1001 albums list. I also have no idea if literally every song Frank ever sang is about a woman. It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest, but I sure can hope that one day I come across a song that is about literally any other topic.
It's still a 4.
Prince
3/5
Listens: 1.5
Standout tracks: Starfish and Coffee, If I Was Your Girlfriend, Housequake
Second Prince album so far, with the other being Purple Rain. It's still not clicking for me. There's clearly talent here, I do enjoy some specific songs, and he's pouring his soul into the music, but overall I'm still not sure it's for me. It's certainly not something I'm going out of my way to listen to
As far as the music is concerned, there's a mix of genres going on: soul, rock and roll, funk, some rock ballads, pop music. Even with all the different genres, there's still an underlying consistency of the album shining through. There are themes of love and passion, gender identity, drugs use and sickness, parties and partying. It's definitely a product of the 80s for sure.
3
Alice Cooper
4/5
Listens: 2
Standout tracks: Many of them: Unfinished Sweet, No More Mr. Nice Guy, Generation Landslide, Sick Things, Mary Ann, I Love The Dead.
In Unfinished Sweet I enjoy the transition from a regular song into a bit of a Munsters ditty into a rendition of James Bond theme. Interesting.
Mary Ann has an interesting bit of Piano in is which is a significant instrument insofar that most of the rest of the album is basically all guitar, drums and bass.
I Love The Dead has wildly transgressive lyrics.
I could certainly listen to this again.
4
Jurassic 5
5/5
Listens: Countless
Standout tracks: Freedom, Remember His Name, What's Golden, Thin Line, High Fidelity, DDT (Kool Keith!).
Added To Library: TRUE
College buddies turned me on to J5 a decade plus ago. Here, hit this blunt, check out this Alt-rap group that's putting out excellent lyrics, sweet beats and not dropping N-bombs every 10 seconds (except that one song, "One of Them", but that's more of a criticism of a particular sub-culture within rap music more than excess for the sake of excess). All hail Chali 2na's crazy deep voice.
This album is fucking amazing. Easy 5.
Tracy Chapman
4/5
Listens: 2
Standout tracks: For My Lover
Ehhh. This album is not really of any interest to me. It's not bad per se, in fact it's not bad at all - its quite good - but it's not particularly exciting. I do not find myself wanting to listen to it again. Most of the tracks sound virtually identical. The album too bare bones. Far too acoustic.
If I were to evaluate the tracks individually - if I were to have heard one of the tracks on the radio for example - I would say the certain songs are quite moving. Most of the songs tell a story, Tracy is sending out a message. The songs are passionate and soulful. There are political connotations. There is empathy. There is sadness. There is real life. There's just too much of it concentrated into a single 30-somthing minute package.
I give it a 4. It's powerful music. Music I might find subjectively unappealing, but which may be objectively highly relevant in today's society (not to mention 1988).
Nirvana
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout tracks: The classics: (Come As You Are, Polly, Something In The Way), The Man Who Sold The World, Lake of Fire.
Added To Library: TRUE
This album is excellent. The inclusion of the audience (soundboard?) and the between-songs banter elevates the the album from just being an exceptional acoustic set to being highly intimate and equally casual. It doesn't sound like a big audience. It would probably have been amazing to actually be there. The premise of the set being acoustic means that the band isn't going absolutely ape-shit wild - something you might see at a regular grunge concert.
Anyways, solid set. I do wish they played Smells Like Teen Spirit (I am a sucker for that song, and a bunch of covers of it (Patti Smith's in particular), for some reason). An acoustic rendition from them would have been amazing.
4.5
The Byrds
2/5
Listens: 2.5
Standout tracks: No
No thanks. Dislike this "classic" type of country music. Too twangy, to southern. Not psychedelic enough, which apparently was a deviation from the Byrd's previous album. Disappointing.
Brian Wilson
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout tracks: Heroes and Villains, Child Is the Father Of Man
Wild coincidence. Brian Wilson has passed away and the very next day I get to listen to (one of?) his solo album(s).
This is barbershop quartet meets acid trip. Musical layering, harmonies, weird sounds, farm animal noises, singing about "vega-tables", kazoos!?. Pretty out there if you ask me, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with it.
There's a carousel-like quality to the music; its evocative of the kind of music you'd here on a carousel, at a theme park. Round and round... It also kind of reminds me of the Beatles, probably Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band or Yellow Submarine. All the whistles and kazoos.
It's quite the piece of music for a solo musician.
Beastie Boys
3/5
Listens: 1.5
Standout tracks: High Plains Drifter
A little surprised to see a second, lesser known Beastie Boys album in the 1001 albums list. I didn't recognize a single song while listening. There are some decent tracks, but otherwise this album simply isn't as good as License To Ill or Ill Communication.
The xx
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout tracks: None
A lot of duets on this album. That's pretty uncommon. This is also probably one of the most recent albums (chronologically) I've listened to on the list. It all sort of blends together. It was fine. Not terrible, not great.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
5/5
Listens: 4
Standout tracks: People Ain't No Good, Where Do We Go Now But Nowhere?
Added To Library: TRUE
I have "Where Do We Go Now But Nowhere?" on repeat. Dreadfully depressing, powerful and moving, and insanely good. Excellent use of the violin to really drive the emotion home. The song could be about a few things; It sure seems like it's about the loss of a child, driving a psychological and emotional wedge between two parents, further resulting in one of them having a mental break and being committed to a hospital or psych ward. Possibly one tries to kill the other, blaming them for the child's death. The other parent is reminiscing about life before it happened, both thinking about the child (and the event) and their relationship with their spouse.
I am equally satisfied with the rest of the album. It being stripped down lends to the intimacy and power of the song.
5
The Cure
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout tracks: The Final Sound --> The Forest
The first time I heard The Final Sound end, I thought my Bluetooth connection got corrupted, it just... ended, and immediately transitioned into The Forest. The Forest is pretty sweet; makes sense that it became a single for the album.
My first impressions/gut reaction with the album in general were "meh", and I was glad it was only 35 minutes long. By the end of the album, though, I was pretty satisfied with what I had listened to. The second go around I listened to the deluxe version that had been remastered and had some demos and live tracks, making the album 3x as long; I had a better appreciation for the album after the second listen. It still sounds a little too new wave for my taste, but I don't hate or dislike it like my usual dislike the genre.
3
Brian Eno
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout tracks: 1/2 (I guess)
Definitely, unquestionably, music for airports. I'm not in the habit of being in, at or around airports for any longer than I need to, but I can imagine that this is the kind of album that would really come alive while wandering though a preferably foreign, catastrophically large, utterly deserted, international airport at, say, 3 am on a Tuesday. Let's also say its the dead of winter, to really set the mood. Just you, your supra-aural noise cancelling headphones, and this album playing as you casually stroll down miles of seemingly endless concourse, staring at the occasional sleeping person, janitors milling about, empty storefronts, and a wasteland of empty seating. Ambient music, meet liminal spaces. Enjoy.
All that said, I've never done anything like that before and I have no desire to. This is not something I care for very much. I wanted to make a cheeky remark about Minecraft wanting it's music back, but this came out in 1978, so uh, its got C148 beat by about 30 years. This would go well with Minecraft.
I would give this a 2, but bump it up to a 3, because Brian Eno has apparently coined the concept of the "Ambient" genre with this album.
2/5
Listens: 3
Standout tracks: Where The Streets Have No Name, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
The album starts off strong enough, probably because I recognize the first two songs. After that, I really have no desire to keep listening. It's fine background music, but I'm not looking forward to any of the tracks. Usually by the third listen of an album, I tend to hone in on songs I like (or dislike). I've encountered no such songs. They all sort of blend together. I could stop listening to this and will most likely never have any interest to go back to [the album] again.
Sly & The Family Stone
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout tracks: Spaced Cowboy
The yodeling in Spaced Cowboy is positively absurd, otherwise this album is just okay. There are some good hooks and bass lines. That's about all I've got.
3
The Smashing Pumpkins
4/5
Listens: Probably a dozen or more.
Standout tracks: Cherub Rock, Today, Disarm, Spaceboy
Added to Library: TRUE
I have a controversial confession to make: While I enjoy the Smashing Pumpkins early work, especially certain tracks across their first 5 or so albums, my real enjoyment comes from their later works starting with Zeitgeist, Oceania (especially), Monuments To An Elegy, SHINY AND O SO BRIGHT, and Cyr. They have completely transformed from being a prolific 90s post/grunge band to a more mellowed out equally prolific (in my opinion) alternative rock band. I hope at least one of those albums comes up on the 1001 list, but I'd wager a bet it's more likely to be Melon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.
With that out of the way, this album is great. Cherub Rock is a fucking amazing starter, and it really gets you in the mindset of of what you're about to listen to. There's also a good mix of hard rocker songs and ballads, well spaced out throughout the album to keep things from getting too monotonous.
I can't give this a 5 since I prefer some of their other albums over this, but it still gets high marks.
4
Beth Orton
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Stolen Car, Stars All Seem To Weep, Devil Song
It's okay. Some decent tracks and some unmemorable. Nothing particularly bad.
George Harrison
3/5
Listens: 1.5
Standout tracks: My Sweet Lord, Beware of Darkness, Thanks for the Pepperoni
This album being a triple album, meant I really didn't get the opportunity to dive into the tracks and really appreciate any particular track. The album was decent. Glad I listened.
I think each of the individual members of the Beatles music will always be overshadowed by their music _as The Beatles_ though. That's probably an unfortunate reality of the situation.
Carole King
2/5
Listens: 1
Standout tracks: I Feel The Earth Move
I only had a chance to listen to this album once. It was fine. The reviews say that its groundbreaking for a number of reasons. The lead single spent 5 weeks at the top of the hot 100 charts. That's insane. It's also something I don't really comprehend, because I was not even close to being blown away by what I was hearing.
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
5/5
Listens: 3
Standout tracks: Death To Everyone, Another Day Full of Dread, Black
Added To Library: TRUE
There's something about this album that reminds me of John Frusciante, specifically his solo work. It's not the guitar shredding or the music per se; it's something to do with the singing, the emotion, and the whole "doing it on your own" thing that they seem to share. The subject matter is bleak and dark and brooding. The music is minimalist for the most part; I thought my headphones were busted and I had to turn up the volume more than normal to actually tease apart the different components of the music. Anyways, I really enjoyed this album. It was arranged well, and once I got the volume up to where it needed to be, I was engrossed with the music.
The Smiths
5/5
Listens: 3.5
Standout tracks: Death of a Disco Dancer
Added To Library: TRUE
As I do this listening and review process, one of the ways I've begun measuring my perceived interest in a given album, is if I ever have an itch to consciously look at and acknowledge the name of a track I'm listening to. Three songs deep, Death of a Disco Dancer, this happened. Specifically during the instrumental "verse" of the song. Something clicked, and I found myself jamming out while listening to the song during my bedtime routine. There's something about the guitar, possibly violin and perhaps piano all melding together that really elicited something. Epic song.
Girlfriend in a Coma is disturbing, and disturbingly upbeat considering the subject matter. Likewise for "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before", which, if I caught the gist of the song, amounts to someone being a shithead and making excuses for not being "there" for a myriad of (probably) bad reasons.
And then, Last Night I Dreamt That Someone Loved Me for some reason sounds to me like it could have been a James Bond title song (at least, once you get part the first part of the song). It has some orchestral and cinematic qualities to it.
Edit, 4 Months Later: I am still listening to this album pretty regularly. It's so good. Bumping to a 5
The Shamen
1/5
Listens: 1
Standout tracks: Nope
Oh boy. I'm not down with this at all, and that's being extremely polite. I'm going to have to break my rule of listening to each album twice. I can't even begin to listen to this album a second time. I don't even want to continue a first time after hearing the first few songs. How and why is this album an hour long!? Cut each song in half and maybe this would amount to a slightly less tolerable fusion of Fat Boy Slim meets MJ Cole with a dash of new age hippy bullshit. A PG version of The Prodigy.
Anyways, there's a growing theme here for me. I do not like dance music. Particularly so if I'm not dancing.
R.E.M.
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: It's The End of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine), The One I Love.
This album is fine. I have no bad things to say about it. The two most popular songs (above) are excellent and show off the best of what R.E.M. can be.
Linkin Park
4/5
Listens: 3 (and probably another dozen over the 20 years this album has been out)
Standout tracks: Points of Authority, In The End
The first half of the album, maybe up until In The End is pure nostalgia for me, and absolute bangers to boot. The latter half is adequate and sort of fizzles out. But just because the music is nostalgic and many of the tracks are seared into my mind, doesn't make it objectively good. Sometimes - most of the time - the songs feel angsty and edgy for the sake of being angsty and edgy, with virtually no variety in the message, though I will concede the message is consistent. It's 38 minutes of "I feel feelings" type shit. Yea. We all feel feelings. We get it. It's less edgy and more corny, eyes-roll-into-the-back-of-your-head inducing when you're in your late 30s. But God damn when I was 13 this shit was great.
Nu-metal in general isn't a particularly favorable genre for me. But of all the Nu-metal bands I listened to or in some specific cases still listen to, Linkin Park is pretty close to the top (perhaps behind System Of A Down).
It's a 4 because I enjoy listening to it and even consider playing it from time to time if I'm in the mood
Solange
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout tracks: Mad, F.U.B.U.
The use of interludes is kind of excessive. I understand the context and long history of using skits and interludes in rap, hip-hop and RnB genres, but damn there's 8 interludes and a closing in an album with 21 tracks. That's 42% of the album dedicated to basically not music.
There are a couple of good tracks. Mad with Lil Wayne is decent, F.U.B.U. is great. I would also say anything with Q-Tip is good, but he's barely on the track.
Elvis Presley
3/5
Listens: 1.5
Standout tracks: Only The Strong Survive, Long Black Limousine, In The Ghetto
Not a fan of country music, generally but I think I can give the King of rock and roll a break. He's a great singer and he's got both excellent backing vocals (very gospel-like) and a great band (The Memphis Boys) providing additional instrumentation.
Im sure I've heard at least one Elvis song before, but scrolling through the top tracks on YTM I don't see any that I might be familiar with. I would have expected to see Hound Dog on the top songs, but nope. Anyways, I've definitely never listened to a whole album before.
Fred Neil
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout tracks: Everybody's Talkin', Cynicrustpetefredjohn Raga
I have heard "Everyone's Talking" before, specifically during the Episode of Futurama in which Zapp Brannigan and Kif Kroker are out of pocket, having been dismissed from the DOOP for... blowing it up! But! It's actually the Harry Nilsson version, which is decidedly more popular (41 million plays vs 713k plays in YTM). That's got to suck a lot, for someone to take your song and play it (subjectively) better than you. It's a great song, both versions of it.
Anyways, I just got off of listening to Elvis's 'From Elvis in Memphis', and had rated that a 4. I listen to this and like... why would I give Elvis a 4 when I want to give this an actual 4 because I like this so much more! Its not exactly apples to apples, but this is actually something I want to listen to more than a few times. Elvis was riding high off being the King of rock and roll in my mind.
As far as actual other tracks go, hands down Cynicrustpetefredjohn Raga is the best track on the album. Very psychedelic. Very 60s. A fusion of folk and psych rock with a mix of middle-eastern/Indian influence in the form of what could be a sitar. Excellent track.
Jamiroquai
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Emergeny on Planet Earth, Revolution 1993
This was pretty funky. Good to put on for a while and sort of half tune it out while working on something like coding or writing documentation. Easy to groove to. I could have done without the album being two hours long though. It would have been nice if there was a version of the album that didn't include all of the live tracks, extended versions, and demo of songs tacked on at the end.
Yes
5/5
Listens: 4 or 5
Standout tracks: I've Seen All Good People, Starship Trooper
Added To Library: TRUE
YES! Second Yes album on the list. I still think I like Closer To The Edge more, but this album is also quite excellent. I just love how "I've Seen All Good People" and "Starship Troopers" are like 2 or 3 songs in one with each part being significantly distinct from the others. I've heard "I've Seen All Good People" before but had never really known it was a Yes song, and so when it came on for the first time I was like Ohhhh shiiit.
The Clash
3/5
Listen 1.5
Standout tracks: Jimmy Jazz, Lost In The Supermarket
Musically all over the place, with several different genres present across the 19 tracks, and yet, it all still sort of sounds the same. I wasn't particularly impressed with what I heard. It wasn't bad or offensive. Just meh.
Edit: I listened to this again, with better headphones, and while working and it might be starting to click. I am not ready to bump it up to 4 stars yet, but I may continue listening and make a decision later.
Eurythmics
2/5
Listens: 1.5
Standout tracks: Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This), This Is The House
With the exception of the album title track, which I have absorbed through radio osmosis and the general zeitgeist, I haven't heard of or listened to a single track on this album prior to today. Pop music is my second least favorite genre, and I'm very picky about what pop music I do enjoy, so this really isn't doing anything for me. I don't know what the cultural impact of this album or the band is, and I don't particularly care.
The Beta Band
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout tracks: Squares, Gone
So, the first song... started off quite weird; Muted and lacking in instrumentation and I was like okay.... and then it started to coalesce into something ... something .... familiar, upon which I had that eureka moment that they were sampling Daydream/Daydream in Blue. I really really quite like what I Monster did with Daydream (Daydream in Blue) and have listened to that album (Neveroddoreven) extensively, but I digress. Squares turned out to be a good song. Beyond that, things sort of went down hill. With the exception of one or two songs, the album was not too impressive.
Some tracks are really muddy or fuzzy sounding. The audio clarity is severely lacking. Bad recording techniques? Poor copies on YTM? On purpose? I am not sure.
There's a lot of repetitive lyrics on several tracks on the album, with verses being the same line over and over again.
There is no album "Hot Shots", so I'm not sure where Hot Shots II came from.
I get Flaming Lips vibes on some of the tracks. Evening though this album seems mostly electronica, there is a prog rock quality to it.
Music aside, the album cover is cursed. Gaudy "diamond studded" text on a fake star background with a fake... explosion in the center. Duly noted.
Edit: I'm torn on this, and am bumping it up to 3 stars. It has some allure to it. I am thinking about it two days later, and can't really understand why. I may go listen to it again even :/
Television
5/5
Listens: 4
Standout tracks: Friction, Marquee Moon, Torn Curtain
Added To Library: TRUE
Kind of reminds me of the Strokes, the music more so than the singing. I quite liked this, between Friction, the crazy good hook in Marquee Moon, and Torn Curtain, which is a banger track to close the album with. I've added the album to my library.
The Mars Volta
5/5
Listens: 10
Standout tracks: Televators, Take The Veil Cerpin Taxt
Initial Review:
I like much of the influence surrounding this album: Chili Peppers bassist Flea, Rick Rubin, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez's guitar playing, but so far I'm not feeling the music itself, specifically the vocals. It sounds (and is from) the exact era in which the emo subculture and music started to become (more?) prominent and I can't help but find the singing to be, well... a little too whiny sounding.
I was expecting the excellent bass, guitar and drums to be accompanied with more mature vocals. Maybe that happens in later albums. I don't dislike it, but I was excited to listen when it came up and was hoping that I would have enjoyed it more.
End of the Day Review:
After four or so listens, I've mostly changed my mind on the vocals. It's definitely still not what I was expecting from a sound perspective, but the subject matter and the instrumentation more than makes up for it. I hear the Latin influences - bongos/conga and possibly maracas accompanying the traditional instruments, mentioned in the album synopsis.
I appreciate the hectic-ness of the music and Omar's guitar playing. Absolute beast. It reminds me of a amalgamation of System of a Down, Incubus, Rage Against the Machine, early Chili Peppers, and maybe a dash of Linkin Park.
One week Later Review:
I am listening to this album a LOT. It's high-energy and great to listen to when you're jamming - I bike to and from work in a city and its awesome to bike to.
All of my notions of the voice being too screamo/emo have since melted away. I am upping the rating to a 5. This album is in the rotation.
Rush
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: 2112 Overture / The Temples of Syrinx / Discovery
At about the 3 minute mark (and at about 17:30) of 2112 Overture, I am strangely reminded of the music present in the video game Risk of Rain 2 (The Rain Formerly Known as Purple); the same kind of Power guitar shredding the music in that ROR2 has.
In A Passage to Bangkok, that little ditty that is typically associated with Asian culture, feels a tad um... jarring in today's world. I don't know if it's downright offensive but it definitely caught me by surprise hearing it.
Otherwise the album was perfectly adequate.
David Gray
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout tracks: Babylon, Sail Away
I'm sure I've heard Babylon on the radio in the car growing up. Instantly recognizable - not as a "David Gray song" necessarily - just recognizable in the sense that it has been played far and wide. It's cool when you can finally put an artist to a song you've heard, known about but never had the energy or bother to actually look up. Granted it's been made so much easier these days, in the age of the always-listening smartphone.
Anyways, I get some Bob Dylan influences, probably in the rasp of the voice. The music is eclectic, easy listening, not offensive. As I wrote this, I'd probably argue it's a little too safe, and plain. There's no daring or challenge here. Nothing particularly musically adventurous.
I also really like Sail Away. There's some additional instrumentation going on besides just acoustic guitar. Light drums; Possibly piano or maybe a string instrument (besides guitar), and some nice whistling at the end. It also feels like a departure from the rest of the album in that is stands out musically.
Marvin Gaye
3/5
Listens: 4
Standout tracks: Let's Get It On, If I Should Die Tonight
I tried to think of a witty or clever remark or pun about how this album will help get you laid or at least increase your chances with a prospective partner, but I couldn't think of anything before I had to submit my rating :( . Also It's been a bit of a dry spell lately, so, thanks a lot for reminding me Marvin Gaye.
Violent Femmes
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout tracks: Blister In The Sun, Gone Daddy Gone
Raw, stripped down, post-punk with minimal instrumentation and interesting vocals to say the least. I had no idea Blister In The Sun was a 50 year old track. I'd heard it on the radio and assumed it was much more recent. Like something Cage The Elephant would put out. In fact, this band reminds me of Cage The Elephant, just with less instrumentation and polish.
Lou Reed
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout tracks: Viscious, Take a Walk On The Wild Side, Perfect Day, Make Up
Added to Library: TRUE
The Velvet Underground's eponymous album was 4th albums I listened to when I started the 1001 list. I found the music to be subdued and stylistically stripped down (been hearing that a lot lately with Violent Femmes, Bonnie ('Prince' Billy), and so I kind of expected this to be more of the same. This album is certainly not sonically dense like The Mars Volta album I just heard the other day, but it was richer than the The Velvet Underground and definitely more enjoyable. I quite liked a number of the songs; enjoyed the subversive themes in Take a Walk on the Wild Side and Make Up in particular. Perfect Day incorporated some classical string instruments and a piano at one point, which was a nice touch to an already great track.
The album or rather the artist is described as Glam Rock... And while I understand the sentiment and relevance of the idea or concept as it relates to live shows and cult of personality and overall presentation of the artists, I find it weird to attribute what mostly amounts to visual and stylistic representation of artists (the "Glam") as a way to describe their music. How an artist dresses or presents themselves, in my (limited) opinion, has little bearing on how the music gets made and/or is sung. Taking your shirt off or wearing platform shoes or KISS makeup doesn't generally change how the music sounds. Genres should describe the qualities of the music, not the people singing or playing the instruments. /rant
Depeche Mode
2/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Enjoy The Silence
I guess I liked this more than "Music For The Masses". The synths were better sounding. That's probably about it.
This is my second Depeche Mode album on the list. I am going to be pretty pissed off when these guys got (at least) two albums on the List and some bands I actually like only got one. (I don't know which bands those might be though; Not peeking at the list).
Anyways. I would give this a 2.5, but I can't, so rounding down it is.
Bonnie Raitt
2/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Love Letter
So listen. I was not looking forward to hearing this, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I was expecting. Is this an objectively bad album? Not by my own standards and certainly not based on how many Grammys it won, including album of the year! Is the instrumentation good? Yes. It's diverse; there's blues, R&B, (what I consider) country, rock and pop found on all the tracks. A good spread. The backing band, whoever they may be, put their work in. Especially in Love Letter, which I could imagine hearing on Shakedown Street by the Grateful Dead. Are the vocals good? Yes. Bonnie can sing and she does it well. So where does that leave me? Well, I don't particularly care for this. It's just not my style. I will probably never listen to this again and I certainly won't go out of my way to put it on. I will not add it to my library. I will not play it for company when they come over.
That puts it in solid 3 territory for me.
Objectively, probably a 4
Subjectively, a 2
Mudhoney
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Into The Drink, Shoot The Moon
I was surprised to see a second Mudhoney album on the List. I had never heard of them prior to starting this journey and so to see them get two albums, the authors of the List either have a soft spot for Grunge or there is a perception that they are just a good band.
I think the album is average. I don't exactly expect grunge music to be particularly harmonic or melodic, but the vocals are meh. The instrumentation is great. There was a harmonica on one of the tracks that I liked.
I went back to listen to Superfuzz Bigmuff to see how the band's sophomore album compared, and I think I like their freshman album more. I think they are at their best when they are actually singing instead of yelling, and they are actually playing chords and guitar riffs instead of just absolutely off-the-walls shredding and hammering on cymbals. On "If I Think", they actually do this. They sing. The guitar has a good hook (if that's the right terminology).
There might be one of two of these kinds of tracks on Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge, but they are far and few between, and so I think the album suffers from a lack of musical diversity. All the songs are basically screaming and blasting guitar drums and bass.
I also dig both the album art and the album title.
Pere Ubu
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout tracks: Sentimental Journey, Real World, Chinese Radiation.
Well, that was certainly something. What genre do we call this? Experimental rock? Post-punk and grunge? Experimental, post-punk grunge-rock. Yea! Does qualifying the genre even begin to truly classify or quantify what I just listened to? Does it even matter?
I have so many questions about this album, but honestly, maybe you just take it for what it is and just sort of go along for the ride. Loud horn instruments resembling honking geese or dying... something, mumbling lyrics, grungy guitar, bass and drums. Sounds of someone just periodically shattering glass bottles... perhaps an alcoholic.
I actually didn't hate this. I would even say I dislike it. I won't, however, be adding this to my rotation. I think this album just exists in a place and space entirely on its own. Perhaps it is like a violet accident on the opposite side of the highway. A train wreck. Something you just can't look away from. You stare at it. Marvel at it. And then move on with your day.
Lorde
5/5
Listens: 5
Standout tracks: Homemade Dynamite, Hard Feelings/Loveless, Sober II (Melodrama), Writer In The Dark
I really liked this. I have Pure Heroine on Vinyl, and for some reason I've never listened to any of her other music besides Homemade Dynamite (which I suspect is probably a single) before. So, it was nice to branch out and listen to something else Lorde has produced. Perhaps part of the reason why I enjoyed it so much is that I've just come off of two bands on the List that absolutely SUCKED (comparatively) at singing, keeping a melody, composing music, harmonizing, and pretty much all of the things you typically look for in music. And so, it was a very nice change of pace.
I've mentioned before in other reviews that Pop music is very hit or miss for me. Lorde seems to be largely in the hit category. There's something about the music that seems more adult like, even though she's only 28 (21 when the album came out). An old soul-like. I could just be making stuff up though. Who knows.
Morrissey
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Why Don't You Find Out For Yourself, The Lazy Sunbathers
First Morrissey album, but I've heard The Smiths Strangeways, Here We Come from the List (maybe 30 albums ago), so I have some familiarity with what I'd be getting into on this album. I quite liked Strangeways, Here We Come, but this hasn't yet clicked for me. There are a few tracks that are okay, but it mostly just passing through my brain. Nothing bad, but nothing particularly standout.
Ali Farka Touré
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Gomni
A second world desert folk album on the List. I personally liked Songhoy Blues', Music In Exile more than this, but this was also pretty good. Easy listening. No understandable lyrics to get hung up on. Can't complain.
Public Enemy
4/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Don't Believe The Hype, Night Of The Living Bassheads
"Brothers and Sisters!" Believe the hype. Public Enemy is the real deal. East coast, politically-motivated rap and hip-hop music. Great lyrics, awesome sampling and decent relatively minimalist beats (though, there are one or two that are really annoying); the result of which is a totally solid sophomore album.
My only real complaint with this album is Flava Flave's wildly excessive use of "Yeaaaaa Boyyyyy".
Eels
4/5
Listens: 4
Standout Tracks: Not Ready Yet, Susan's House, Your Lucky Day In Hell, Manchild
This is pretty offbeat alternative rock even for my own standards. Or perhaps its just miscategorized.
I hear a bunch of influences or perhaps the other way around: Morcheeba, Portishead or I Monstor; elements of trip-hop in Novacaine For The Soul and Your Lucky Day In Hell. Your Lucky Day In Hell could be a Flaming Lips song, similar to Ego-tripping At The Gates Of Hell. When you actually get a guitar heavy track, it sounds like it could be from a Weezer album.
And I can't fail to mention that 'Manchild' is played at the end of an episode of my favorite TV show, Futurama (Game of Tones).
My gut reaction to this album was out-of-tune vocals and quite strange song composition, but this album is growing on me a lot, mostly for its weirdness. You could say it's a Beautiful Freak.
Black Sabbath
5/5
Listens: 5
Standout Tracks: War Pigs / Luke's Wall
Okay, so this is the second time it's happened now: An artist dies (The Beach Boy's Brian Wilson last time) and I get his album the next day. So, yesterday, Ozzy Osbourne sadly kicked the bucket and now I get a Black Sabbath album? Not complaining, but majorly :sus: Maybe I'm just being paranoid.
I'm not being paranoid. There is apparently a way for the maintainer of this platform to slip albums into the queue, or at least artists/genres. On the one hand, listening to an Ozzy album immediately after he passed is a nice tribute to him and the band, on the other hand, the knowledge that my queue can be influenced or modified introduces an element of distrust in the platform. Is my album ordering really random? Is my queue influenced by upcoming artists releasing music? It's not really random if someone has the ability to tweak it.
----
Anyways, this album is epic. No bad songs. Not a single one.
On the first side, I really enjoy how Planet Caravan audibly punctuates War Pigs/Paranoid and Iron Man. It's a nice chill, seedy beat. Congas and hazy, atmosphereic-like style. Like you're in a dingy smoke filled lounge just chilling. War Pigs, Paranoid and Iron Man are all fucking epic high energy rock/metal songs totally deserving of all the popularity they receive and their place in the cultural zeitgeist.
Side B is equally awesome, especially Electric Funeral.
5
The Beach Boys
2/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks:Help Me, Rhonda
I guess the Beach Boys get a point for modernizing (relatively speaking) the concept of the barbershop quartet/quintet with their harmonizing and whatnot, but otherwise, this mostly sucks. The early and mid sixties are inundated with this boy band lovey-dovey shit and it's fucking exhausting. Some other poster said it best, when talking about the Everly Brothers - A Date With The Everly Brothers (it's the top voted comment for that album), paraphrasing: "there's something to be said about the Vietnam conflict that caused 50/60s rock bands to finally shut the fuck up about girls for a bit", and he couldn't be more right.
I have no idea how old these guys were when they recorded this album, but some of these songs are so cringy. When I Grow Up (To Be A Man) and So Young in particular are just mind-numbingly bad.
The only redeeming song on the album is Help Me, Rhonda.
David Bowie
3/5
Listens: 4
Standout tracks: Blackstar, Lazarus
I've never listened to David Bowie, at least not intentionally, and I don't think I can name any songs by him. I do recognize him by name and I am aware of some of both his tremendous musical career, and through his acting credits, mostly The Prestige, and Labyrinth (though I've never seen the latter). All of this is a long winded way of saying that I therefore think it weird for me to start listening to Bowie by listening to his 26th and final studio album he ever released while alive, rather than, for example, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust..., which I understand to be some of his most highly recognized work.
As of listen one I haven't yet formed any strong opinions on the album yet besides enjoying Lazarus. The album feels musically dense, with lots of music transitions happening within songs, and I suspect I'm going to need a few listens to really soak it in.
---
A few listens later, I think the album is totally fine. Nothing stands out as particularly bad or offensive, but I am not entirely blown away by any of the tracks. Lazarus and Blackstar is good tracks. I like the alternating between <Blank>-star and Black Star: porn star, gang-star ;) white star, rock star, movie star, etc. I can't help but thinking that "I Can't Give Away Everything" is directly related to the fact that he knew he was going to die soon. Annoyingly, Youtube Music does not have lyrics for this album and so I can't really easily dive into what the song is saying.
Mariah Carey
1/5
Listens: 2
Standout tracks: Honey (remix track at the end of the album)
Gut reaction: Well, at least its not one of the Christmas music ones.
Initial impressions: Way more R&B and hip-hop than I was expecting, but then again, that was THE THING to do in the late 90s.
I did not like this. Vapid lyrics, synth beats reminiscent of what I would imagine could be playing in dance clubs at the turn of the century. Vaguely hip-hop crossed with pop music. Everything sounded the same. Songs start and end without really anything interesting happening.
Kate Bush
4/5
Listens: 4
Standout Tracks: Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God), Hounds Of Love, Waking The Witch, Jig Of Life
Second Kate Bush album on the List. I enjoyed The Dreaming much more than this, but this was still great. Running Up The Hill was the first Kate Bush song I ever heard (knowingly) and it came to my attention probably the same way as a metric shit-ton of people: Stranger Things. It's a great song; Catchy.
I am still chewing on this album. I didn't fully come around to The Dreaming until about 7-10 full listens, and it was only then that I decided to retroactively give it a 5 (up from a 4) and I though I don't think this album is also a 5, I do think it will be something that I will add to my listening rotation. I plan to continue listening throughout the week to further digest the music.
Foo Fighters
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Big Me
I like the Foo Fighters later stuff better: In Your Honor, Echos, Silence, Patience & Grace. That being said, I really don't think I ever knew or truly appreciated that this is solely a Dave Grohl album. He created the entire album virtually by himself: vocals, guitar, drums (bass too I assume) with only the help of a producer to put it together into a consumable format, and so soon after Nirvana disbanded with Cobain's suicide. Crazy to think about. Not out of this world crazy (you still have people like Jack White and Billy Corgan who can do it) but it's nonetheless still incredible talent.
As for the music itself. It's fine. Like I said, I like their more refined, mature sound in the mid 2000s more so than the post grunge stuff he threw together. I also really need to be in the mood for this kind of music, because it can get a bit monotonous.
Venom
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout tracks: Teacher's Pet, Sacrifice
This is what I consider to be a proper descriptor of the genre that is "metal". I just listened to Ozzy Osbourne's Paranoid which is dubbed a heavy metal album, and although that album came out a decade earlier, I've just never considered the sound found on Paranoid to be anything other than classic rock - "Dad's garage" rock.
This album is decidedly not that. This album has all of the hallmarks of metal: Screaming vocals, insane guitar shredding and thrashing, aggressive, wildly suggestive, satanic and subversive lyrics, and an epic album cover to boot.
All that said, metal has never really been a genre that I've gotten into in any meaningful way. I can't relate to it. It doesn't call to me. But even then, I still like it more than the Beach Boys or Mariah Carey.
Dexys Midnight Runners
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: The Teams That Meet in Caffs, I'm Just Looking, Geno
Is "English Blues" a genre? That's how I'd label this, or at least some of the tracks. Most of the time, I can't make out what the hell the singer is saying. I quite like a few of the middle tracks; tracks 3, 4 and 5 are all pleasant. The instrumental track in particular I really enjoyed.
Not much else to say. Didn't love it, didn't hate it. Solid 3 material for me.
Joan Baez
4/5
Listens: 4
Standout tracks: Silver Daggers, House of the Rising Sun
Was a bit tough to find this on YouTube Music. The link on this site goes to a version of the album that is not available for listening. The album does exist though, under her list of albums; came out in 2021, and just titled Joan Baez (the implicit and sometimes explicit Vol 1 has been dropped). Hope this helps someone find it.
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Enjoyed the cover of House of the Rising Sun a lot. Would have been even better if she really got into it, even if it's an acoustic version. She has a lovely voice. That being said, it seems like most if not all of these songs are covers of "traditional folk music". Okay.
Something about this album reminds me of the Coen Brothers movie O Brother, Where Art Thou?, specifically some of the songs on the movie the soundtrack. That soundtrack does have a very folksy feel to it so tracks with what the album is putting out. I love that movie and I think this album is pretty good.
Yes
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Roundabout, Long Distance Runabout
Yes album number three on the List.
In my opinion, this album is not as good as Closer to the Edge or The Yes Album. It's a perfectly cromulent album, its just not clicking the same way the other albums did. I may need to have a few more listens. Closer to the Edge had the epic 18 minute eponymous song on side A that pretty much sealed the deal for me, and The Yes Album had both Starship Trooper (which I had not heard until listening for the first time) and I've Seen All Good People (which surprisingly isn't their most popular song, and in fact its more surprising that Roundabout is their second most popular song by plays).
Anyways, even after 3 listens, the album still didn't really click.
The Young Gods
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout tracks: La fille de la mort
The extent of my experience with the industrial rock genre is almost exclusively tied to Nine Inch Nails, and I really enjoy most of what NIN has put out, so when I got an industrial rock album - my first in 140+ albums so far, I was a little excited. The genre is underrepresented (so far) compared to the deluge of post punk, new wave, "classic rock" and pop music I've heard on the List.
To my dismay, though, the band is French, and all the songs are too. No hate for the French, but I can't really appreciate the lyrics in the same way a native speaker can. For all intents and purposes, I am listening to jibberish screaming, groveling and grunting, with industrial rock instrumentation in the background.
This album is categorically industrial rock. It's hard for me to pin down and articulate exactly what differentiates industrial rock from other sub-genres in the rock and roll category. I sort of imagine walking around a warehouse that makes... I don't know... car parts, and I can imagine banging on on the robot arms with drum sticks or swinging a metal chain around into things and recording those sounds. When I think of the genre, for some reason I get this picture in my mind of some of the later levels in Donkey Kong Country I, where the Kongs are moving through factories with dangling chains and flaming barrels - Oil Drum Alley is the name of one of the levels.
Anyways, the album starts off decidedly not industrial rock, and had I not known the genre ahead of time, I would be wondering what I was getting myself into. Creepy theme park music or a distorted and uneasy caresol song. But knowing the genre I was basically just waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop and finally about a little more than a third of the way into the track, the music starts to take on an even more corrupted, disturbed quality before diving head first into the hallmark signs of the genre: hollow drums, synth sounds, distorted guitar, chains rattling, banging on metal, etc. The rest of the album is a wild ride.
I would possibly give this a 5; I just wish I could understand what the songs were saying.
Sonic Youth
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Tunic (Song For Karen), Kool Thing, My Friend Goo
I wasn't blown away by any of the tracks; the latter half especially (with the exception of Mildred Pierce) was nothing to write home about.
I thought Tunic was weird at first, this girl talking about how she's making it on her own, but it grew on me after a few listens. My Friend Goo was kind of weird, but in an enduring way?
I wasn't left with any lasting impressions of the music itself. A lot of guitar heavy tracks, a ton of making noise experimenting with the guitar, but none of it particularly mind blowing.
Metallica
4/5
Listens: 4
Standout Tracks: Master of Puppets, Welcome Home (Sanitarium), Disposable Heroes
Growing up, I never listened to Metallica (or really any heavy metal), but to me, they were infamous for being the poster child of "Napster Bad, Piracy Bad" and so naturally as a kid with no disposable income or means to buy music: Napster good. Napster very good. Metallica bad. Boo Metallica.
Then I grew up, had disposable income, a love for music and the means, through modern, sensible streaming platforms, to no longer have a need to Sail the High Seas. We're in the golden age of listening to music, but I fear that's coming to an end with the incessant rising of streaming subscription prices. But I digress.
This album is great. Master of Puppets is masterclass (and sounds a lot like the first Doom level, to boot... or maybe, its the other way around?). Disposable Heroes is a scathing critique on the the industrial war machine.
It's 55 solid minutes of wild guitar shredding, loud drums and bass, and quite good vocals. Good job Metallica!
Gang Starr
4/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Who's Gonna Take The Weight?, Check The Technique
DJ Premiere is a masterclass at producing beats and samples and Guru's monotone style elevates his rapping to top-tier. The lyrics are so dense it practically requires half a dozen listens to really hear it all.
Most of the time I listen to Gang Starr, I listen to Hard To Earn; I have surprisingly never heard this album (though I have maybe heard some of the songs). This album is just as good as Hard To Earn, but I think I still like Hard To Earn more. That being said, this is being added to the rotation for sure.
I also especially love the use of California Soul in Check The Technique
Deep Purple
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Smoke on the Water, Space Truckin', Child In Time
Deep Purple feels like the Grateful Dead of Heavy Metal. Good crowd work, psychedelic rock vibes, on-point subject matter in the lyrics and song titles. And then all of the hallmarks of early Heavy Metal. Shouting and screaming, Heavy guitar riffs and shredding, heavy drums.
I liked this, but I don't think I can rate it more than a 3. I am not wanting more after three, almost four full listens. There's a lot of screaming and howling, a lot of noise. It's not easy listening and it's not something you can throw on in the background while you're doing something else like working at your desk in an office. It requires dedication. Perhaps I feel this way because of how long the album is. I could much more easily tolerate a 30 or 45 minute album of this. Cut Space Truckin' into like... a third of the length. Trim some fat on Child In Time, etc. Save the jamming for actual jam bands. Maybe this is the case for their studio albums. Not sure.
PJ Harvey
3/5
Listens: 4
Standout Tracks: All And Everyone, In the Dark Place
Second PJ Harvey album on the List.
There's a recurring theme topics ranging from the UK, America, war, death, exceptionalism, exploitation, country, patriotism, pride, etc. These are valid and interesting topics, in the 19 and 20th centuries, 2011 and certainly now, 14 years later. I would speculate then that this is a concept album detailing the country's (UK) past, imperialistic, exploitative, and rich history.
As far as the music is concerned, I found that the lyrics on some songs have some depth and richness, while others, are thin and often repetitive. It's a mixed bag. Likewise with the backing vocals or simply background loops. I could easily do without the Bugle in The Glorious Land. It ruined the track for me. Same problem with Written on The Forehead. The vaguely African/Caribbean "Blood Blood Blood and Fire" feels very out of place.
All this being said, there were a few tracks that I did like, and overall I was pretty satisfied with the instrumentation present: All And Everyone and In Dark Places I found to be pretty beautiful pieces.
I am torn on giving this a 3 or 4. Does my dislike of several tracks outweigh my enjoyment of the rest of the album? I might add a few of the tracks I liked to my rotation, but not the whole album.
Joni Mitchell
2/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: None
Utterly uninteresting. Good voice, good acoustic instrumentals, but nothing about this album is exciting or challenging or compelling, and I am not interested in continuing to listen once the day ends. All of this, despite how highly-rated this album is.
Jorge Ben Jor
5/5
Listens: 3
Standout tracks: Meus Filhos Meu Tesouro, Xica Da Silva
This album is excellent. I seem to have a thing for "world" music, where I can't understand the lyrics because I don't speak the language. Perhaps it allows me to really focus on the music itself. The songs a varied, unique, exciting and catchy. Its crazy to me that this came out in 1976. It's so fresh!
Gary Numan
1/5
Listens: 2
Standout tracks: Cars
Man. There are just too many god damn new wave albums on this List. I am so tired of 70's/80's synth pop. And as a repercussion, Electronica is one of my worst genres. Which is insane, because I listen to so much modern Electronica: ODESZA, Zed's Dead, Gorillaz, The Avalanches, I Monster, etc. Even stuff like Rusko, Bassnectar, Ill.gates, An-ten-nae.
But no, instead of any of that, I get piles and piles of new wave: Simple Minds, Depeche Mode, Eurythmics, whoever the hell Gary Numan is.
This album feels devoid of any emotion. It is soulless.
Ray Charles
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Let The Good Times Roll, Alexander's Ragtime Band
I listened to this album twice. Really nothing stood out to me. It's not like Ray Charles isn't talented. I just wasn't enjoying it; Not my type of music.
I preferred the first half of the album; the big-band stuff, and the ragtime style.
Black Sabbath
5/5
Listens: 5
Standout Tracks: Changes, Supernaut
Second Black Sabbath album on the List.
Definitely not as good as Paranoid, but still an great entry. This album has a lot of highs and lows in it; by that I mean not the quality of the songs but rather, some very heavy metal forward tracks and then some super chill ones that I would say are more in the realm of just being classic rock songs. Changes in particular is so mellow compared to like, Iron Man or War Pigs. It's more in line with how Paranoid sounds. Unlike, Paranoid, there aren't as many standout tracks for me, despite 5 listens. The album goes by fast, and is easy to listen to in a variety of settings: biking to and from work, at work, in the evening getting ready for bed. Just put it on and let it ride for 42 minutes.
Edit: Retroactively bumping this up to a 5. This album, along with Paranoid have become mainstays in my album rotation.
Tangerine Dream
3/5
Listens: 3?
Standout tracks: Phaedra (2018 remix)
For a period of time, I got really into the idea of lucid dreaming. I used to try the WILD method, where you let your body physically fall asleep while you keep your mind awake. Not an easy feat, because you can't move around at all, and there's a strong sensation to do so. Anyways, to aid in this approach I downloaded a pack of Isochronic Tones, which are among the nebulous claims of spiritual healing, charkha balancing and such nonsense pseudoscience BS, are supposed to help get your mind into a particular sleep state, as well as the added bonus of helping block out other external stimuli. Some of those Isochronic tones basically sound like these tracks, except they was more monotonous and there was way more brown/pink/white noise, and lots of droning sounds. That's the first thing that comes to mind when I listen to this album.
The second thing that comes to mind is this album or maybe just all of Tangerine Dreams' albums potentially being a precursor to some of the work guitarist John Frusciante did on his solo albums in the 2000s: A Sphere In The Heart Of Silence (Sphere) with Josh Klinghoffer, Shadows Collide With People (Negative 00 Ghost 27 and Failure33Object). If you like this music, you might really like those songs too.
A third thought that occurred to me during an additional listen is possibly just how prolific, not necessarily any of these songs or this album, but this kind of music is in setting the mood in a movie or TV series. I am reminded of series like Netflix's Dark and other moody dramas, that employ a lot of the elements found in these songs.
I enjoyed this album. I enjoyed it enough to listen to it, like, 3 times in a 24 hour period, that being said, it's way to fucking long. I wish I could have listened to the non-deluxe version that wasn't 2.5 hours long. If this album was 55, 70 or maybe even 90 minutes long, it would be even more enjoyable.
Björk
3/5
Listens: 4
Standout Tracks: It's Not Up To You, Frosti
I think this album was fine, but I probably listened too it one too many times. By the end of the day, on the last listen, I was basically really for the album to end about 20 minutes in. Its pretty long, clocking in a 55 minutes for 12 songs.
No prior experience with Björk, so don't really have anything to compare per se. Closest artist for me would be someone like Imogen Heap maybe? Grimes comes to mind, with the vocal layering and electronic beats and whatnot but that's basically it.
I really liked the track Frosti. Instrumental and short and sweet.
Fleetwood Mac
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Sara, Sisters of the Moon
I've never listened to Fleetwood Mac before in album form. Probably heard several tracks on the radio, but never listened to their albums. Strangely however, I saw them in concert in 2013, in Boston, with my dad and sister. Not really knowing them or any of their music, I had a hard time keeping my eyes open (man, is that a boring, depressing thing to write down or what?) during the concert.
Anyways, this album, like so many others on the List for me is just fine. Not terrible, not amazing. Some good songs: Sisters of the Moon and Sara stood out to me. Incidentally, those are both songs written and performed by Stevie Nicks. She has a nice voice.
What I tend not to like on this album were the country-like songs. Still haven't ever really acquired a taste for any country music so far while listening to albums from the List.
I would have liked to listen to this album one or two more times before rating, because I think it could be a 4 for me if I gave the music some time to sink in. My listening ritual was interrupted last night, and so what normally would have been at least three listens turned into two.
Slayer
3/5
Listens: 3.5
Standout tracks: Angel Of Death, Criminally Insane, Raining Blood
First foray into the thrash metal genre. Seems like a good choice for demonstrating the genre.
I can definitely understand the controversy around making a song about the Holocaust. It's a fine line between singing about it and singing about it critically. It's especially tough in 2025. The old adage is true: If you have 11 people and 1 Nazi around a table sharing dinner, you have 12 Nazis. The song isn't an outright criticism of what happened in concentration camps; romanticism is definitely too strong of a word, but like, it's not too far off either. Let's call it an interpretation. To be clear, these guys aren't Nazis and the song isn't xenophobic, but it's a complicated issue. With the exception of outright hate speech, people should be able to sing about whatever they want. If you don't like it, don't listen.
Criminally Insane for me is the actual standout tracks. It has some semblance of a guitar hook and was just overall enjoyable. Great subject matter :)
I also love the album art. It's weird that the band didn't like it at first.
I don't think this is a genre of metal I'll be listening to on the regular, but I did appreciate hearing it.
Joanna Newsom
5/5
Listens: 3
Standout tracks: Emily, Bear and Monkey
Well this is certainly unique and off the beaten trail from what you normally get from the List. "Baroque Showtunes" , with a orchestral quality, steeped in heavy metaphoric, symbolic, poem-style lyrics, with a great use of harp and other string instruments. It's wild this was produced in 2006.
I really liked this. It's clear Joanna really poured her soul into this album. I enjoy how her voice squeaks or cracks at the high notes and beginnings of stanzas. There's something about the quality of her voice that I cant quite place, someone she sounds like (or someone who sounds like her).
Edit: Retroactively bumping this up to a 5. This album has become a guilty pleasure, mostly because I am pretty sure anyone for whom I would play this music in front of would look at me like I have 3 heads. But fuck the haters.
Dusty Springfield
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Son of a Preacher Man, The Windmill of Your Mind
Second Dusty Springfield on the List: I enjoyed this a lot more than "A Girl Called Dusty".
Immediately recognized the intro of Son of a Preacher Man as having been sampled by Cypress Hill's Hits from the Bong. Double thumbs up there.
And the other standout track is The Windmill of Your Mind, which reminds me of Kero One's Windmills Intro, I guess because of the name, but also I just felt the two songs were somehow intertwined, conceptually. Not sure. Anyways, I think this could have been a James Bond Intro song. It's got a cinematic quality.
This album was short and sweet and with two good songs and nothing terribly dull or maddening, I am inclined to rate this favorably.
Dr. John
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout tracks: Danse Fambeaux, Jump Sturdy, I Walk on Guilded Splinters
I enjoyed this. It was weird. I felt like I was witness to a Witch Doctor Vodo ceremony. Otherworldly almost.
Danse Fambeaux sounds very old-country (Gypsy music?) - where the old country is the southern bayou Louisiana.
Crocker Courtbullion has some weird parts where it sounds like he's calling a cat pst pst pstpstpst pst.
Jump Sturdy has great chorus and backing vocals and the lyrics themselves are great.
Neil Young
5/5
Listens: 4
Standout Tracks: A Man Needs A Maid, Old Man, The Needle and the Damage Done
Second Neil Young Album (technically Neil Young and Crazy Horse).
This album is great, but also kind of weird. It has like acoustic compositions juxtaposed with orchestral, cinematic ones. For example, going into Old Man, you've got a pretty down to earth acoustic song and that's immediately followed up by this hugely dramatic gong, chimes/bells and keyboard intro to There's a World. A Man Needs A Maid is similar in this regard; the music itself has an overly-dramatic quality to it. It's a good thing. It really breaks up what could otherwise be a largely acoustic/acoustic-sounding set of songs.
I can't decide what to make of A Man Needs A Maid.. Is it sexist to need a maid because you're too much of a mook to take care of yourself? Is it elitist for similar reasons? Or is there some deeper meaning about pitifully being unable to take care of ones self and needing a maid to clean your house and make you dinner? I am not sure. It's still a good song; it makes you think.
Alabama is another track I'm not so sure about. Is it political? There's some bits at the end of the song that make me think its a criticism of the state for... well, lets just say the state isn't winning many awards from a societal, economical, public works or educational perspective. "I come to you and see all this ruin / What are you doing Alabama? / You got the rest of the union to help you along" With the last line being an implication that Alabama is part of the United States and it doesn't have to go it alone. But I could just be missing some point entirely. I am not generally familiar with the state.
Edit: Still listening to this Neil Young album and others months after I first listened to them from the List. Bumping this up to a 5
Jeru The Damaja
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Brooklyn Took It, Da Bichez, You Can't Stop The Prophet
Produced by DJ Premier == Double Thumbs Up! It's very clear his influence on the album, you can hear this in the sampling style on all of the tracks.
You Can't Stop The Prophet sounds like a proto-superhero rap song, something you'd here from MF Doom or more recently Czar Face. Love it.
I get a kick out of Damaga calling women bitches for almost 4 minutes and then in the middle of the track he has the balls to say explicitly that he's not misogynistic. LOL, like I get it, to differentiate "Queens" from "Bitches" but, come on. Being misogynistic against only one "category" of women is still in fact misogynistic. It doesn't change my attitude that the song is excellent in all regards, especially paired with the the jazz trumpet/sax sample.
Overall, this aligns with my enjoyment of rap and hip-hop from the 1990s. I found it appealing in the same way I enjoy Gang Starr, Notorious BIG, Wu Tang and other albums that came out of the 90s. And then from the west coast, Del The Funky Homosapien. Also Mos Def's Black on Both Sides, specifically his love for Brooklyn.
Radiohead
5/5
Listens: A LOT (20+ listens, 430+ song scrobbles)
Standout Tracks: 2+2=5, Sail To The Moon, Where I End And You Begin, We Suck Young Blood, There, There, A Punchup at a Wedding
I have listened to this album somewhere in the range of 20-30 times according to Last FM, and more recently a Maloja container I've been running in Docker. Look it up; its basically a locally-hosted Last FM deployment, but more simplistic. But I digress.
When I first started listening to Radiohead, this album didn't even register on my radar. I was all about In Rainbows and OK Computer. Jigsaw Falling Into Places, Karma Police and especially Climbing Up The Walls are some of my favorite Radiohead songs and perhaps some of my favorite songs of all times.
As I explored their extensive catalog, I got into The Bends (which is the first entry of my 1001 Albums Journey) and A Moon Shaped Pool before discovering Hail To The Thief. It was only in the last ~12 months that I tried out this album, and damn does it hit hard.
I am hard-pressed to name a bad song on this album. Some are more forgettable than others, but not a single one is skippable or un-listenable. This album isn't quite the perfection that is OK Computer, but its in my top 3 I think.
If I had to pick favorites, it would probably be We Suck Young Blood; Such a haunting, creepy tune, and There, There which has a killer, trippy third "verse" where they really go ham on the instrumentation.
But honestly, this album is just full of bangers, and its one of the easiest 5-stars (so far) I will give out during this journey.
And just recently, Radiohead released a live version of this album, a live recording of each song on the album put together in the same order as the studio album, so I've been listening to that as well.
Le Tigre
2/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks:
Wasn't really a fan. Seemed edgy for the sake of being edgy. To be honest though, I barely got in two listens throughout the day and so maybe I just didn't give this enough time.
Curtis Mayfield
4/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Little Child Runnin' Wild, Pusherman
I thought this album was pretty chill. It's definitely from a time and place that no longer exists. Everything these days is R&B, rap, pop and modern rock music. There's almost nothing being produced anymore that fits into this genre, or certainly nothing showing up in the current zeitgeist or culture of "mainstream " entertainment.
It was refreshing to hear this.
Kendrick Lamar
5/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe (Remix), m.A.A.d city, Swimming Pools (Drank)
This was way better than I expected it to be. My consumption of "mainstream" rap, hip-hop and R&B music drastically falls off around the turn of the century. I enjoy that alt-hip hop life: MF Doom, Aesop Rock, Deltron and Automator, Blockhead (guest artists), RTJ, Czarface, etc. And so it was refreshing to hear that this album being true to the traditional form of rap albums in the 90s: Great beats, amusing skits, down-to-earth lyrics: a good mix of gangsta life, music about relevant topics in the world, and a bit of critique about politics, money, etc.
Kelela
2/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Turn To Dust
I guess I don't really like the R&B genre too much. Never liked when rap/hip-hop music veered into it and definitely don't enjoy it on its own. I don't think there's anything particularly bad about this album. I just don't really want to listen to it. I gave it my customary 2 listens and that's enough for me.
As I think about it though, I do like the fusion of electronica and other genres. Does TOKiMONSTA constitute R&B in any regards? This album seems at least functionally similar in some ways to a TOKiMONSTA production, sans all the featured artists... I'm not sure.
Waylon Jennings
2/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Ain't No God In Mexico
Honky Tonk Heroes "Outlaw" country isn't nearly as edgy as one might given what it meant to be an outlaw in the mid west in the 1800s. To be honest, all I could think about when I read the album blurb was Carol/Cheryl/Charlene/Cristal from the TV show Archer yelling "Outlaw Country" over and over again while singing Danger Zone with Kenny Loggins . But anyways...
I categorically dislike nearly all country I've come across, and so this is no different. If I am going to listen to this kind of music, it might as well be the Grateful Dead: El Paso, Loser, Deal, Mexicali Blues, Jack Straw, etc. They are my one exception, but really, the really blur the line between country and psychedelic rock, especially once you get into the 80s live shows.
There's obviously overlap between Waylon Jennings and the Dead; I just wasn't impressed.
Paul Weller
2/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Shadow Of The Sun, Holy Man (Reprise)
Very middling, bland adult contemporary music with a few good pieces of guitar work. Some of the acoustic tracks are okay too. Very little risk-taking; nothing even remotely transgressive or controversial. Little by way of interesting hooks, catchy lyrics, or exciting stylistic choices/decisions.
This is going to be one of those albums that I will forget immediately after the day has passed. It occupies no space in my mind. I've never heard of Paul Weller and I suspect I'll never come across him again unless he - bizarrely - has two albums on the List.
Björk
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Venus is a Boy
Second Björk album on the List. There were some notable differences between this and Vespertine; mostly in the production value, but also the was a significant House-genre and maybe even breakbeat influence. I feel like you could put this on at a house party and have people dancing to it.
It's not for me, but its quirky, largely original and pretty fresh.
Aerosmith
2/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Water Song/ Janie's Got A Gun, Dulcimer Stomp/ The Other Side
I barely got two listens in. Not because I didn't have time. Simply because I don't really care for Aerosmith. Never was a fan of what I have since come to understand is the Glam Rock genre. A song here or there isn't terrible; in fact they have several quite good songs, I just can't bring myself to listen to Aerosmith for extended periods of time like I can other bands and genres. I can't throw on a Glam Rock radio station and listen to this for 3 hours in car ride.
Björk
2/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: ?
Initial Reaction: Wow, okay... a third Björk album in less than a month. Let's give it a whirl.
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I think I liked this the least out of the three albums I've heard, with the other two being Vespertine and Debut. It's very artsy, and I want to like it (I like Grimes and Florence and Lorde), but it's just not clicking for me.
The vocals were weird. This album was apparently sort of opposed or opposite Vespertine, since the previous album was heavily electronica, and so being almost entirely created from sampling and splicing together vocals is an interesting concept, but I am not sure it worked. I understand the appeal of a cappalla, but this misses the mark.
Neil Young
5/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Vampire Blues, Motion Pictures (For Carrie)
This is my third Neil Young album on the List, but I've consistently enjoyed everything I've heard so far. Not blow-me-out-of-the-water good (save for the odd track here and there), but just easy listening, interesting lyrics, rarely (if ever) grating music and instrumentation. This album is no different.
I understand that this album came after Harvest, and is more muted and melancholy that its predecessor. I recognize that. I think it works just as well, even if there are no instantly recognizable tracks (to me).
Edit: Two months later, this is an album I keep coming back to. Its sublime and worthy of being bumped to a 5 given the number of plays its gotten from me since I first listened.
Drive-By Truckers
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Days of Graduation, Three Great Alabama Icons
I enjoyed this way more than I thought I would; that is to say, I didn't absolutely hate it. Not particularly a fan of Southern Rock/County music or... Opera (fortunately there was no such Opera in the strictest sense of the Genre).
I particularly liked the subject matter as it relates to the politics and cultural commentary of "the South" in the form of the few skits/ spoken word songs littered throughout the album. Three Great Alabama Icons was particularly interesting and I really liked how it ended, with the bit about the Devil.
This will not be entering my daily rotation in any capacity, but I am glad to have heard it.
I also really enjoy the album cover art. Great style.
Leonard Cohen
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Story of Issac, The Partisan
This album or maybe Leonard Cohen reminds me of a whole bunch of stuff (in no particular order): Modest Mouse due to some similarities between Story of Issac and Ansel (from Strangers To Ourselves), Alexander 'Skip' Spence who had an album 'Oar' on the List; the same melancholy lyrics and musical approach, Ian Dury (also on the List), but less British/Irish and finally Fred Neil (again, on the List) virtually the same type of music.
As for the music itself, its obviously very stripped down, minimalist instrumentation. The focus is on the singing and the lyrics. I think he does a good job on both fronts.
The Partisan stands out to me due to it having backing vocals, when none are present on any other song on the album, and a whole verse in French (which I don't understand, but is good all the same).
Overall, I like it more than dislike it so, it gets better marks.
Tom Waits
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Eggs and Sausage, Warm Beer And Cold Women
I don't know. The first time around it was a novel enough experience to enjoy it. There's crowd work, comedy, improvisational jazz, wildly creative lyrics and vocabulary. But honestly, by the end of the second listen, I was done. 2 hours and 26 minutes of Tom not shutting the fuck up was a bit too much. It was too light on the jazz, improvisational or otherwise. Perhaps that's harsh; No one made me listen to it twice. I liked this, but the novelty wore off quick.
Talking Heads
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: The Good Thing, Take Me To The River (lol)
I didn't give this album enough time to cook in my brain. I only got in two listens and I was occupied with work, so, with the exception of the culturally-pervasive "Take Me To The River", nothing really caught my ear in terms of thorough enjoyment.
I had Tom Tom Club's debut album 100 albums back, and enjoyed it enough, even though I am not too keen on New Wave. I have tried to get into the Talking Heads a couple of times in the past. I am familiar with Psycho Killer and Burning Down The House, both of which I very much enjoy.
In some ways, I am glad I got one of their albums I've never really heard before (again, besides the infamous Take Me To The River).
I have nothing bad to say about this album, but I am not in love with it.
Rufus Wainwright
4/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Agnus Dei, Waiting For A Dream, Old Whore's Diet
Major Radiohead vibes. If you had told me that Thom Yorke was singing Peach Trees on this album, I would believe you. Sometimes applicable for other songs also.
An interesting arrangement of music on a bunch of personal topics: affairs, first loves, one's hometown, homosexuality, a song sung from the perspective of a female (which reminds me of White Town's Your Woman). All of this is done in multiple genre's: what sounds like show tunes, middle eastern or Asian influences on Agnus Dei, whatever the hell is going on in Old Whore's Diet.
This is certainly original, off the beaten path uniquely interesting stuff. I am glad it was included on the List.
Meat Loaf
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Paradise By The Dashboard Light
Teenage Angst? One-Night Stands? Being horny? All in the form of a cinematic rock opera? This feels like one of those "it's so bad it's good" kind of situations. It's not amazingly bad, but like, who was the target audience for this when it came out? This album spent NINE years "in the charts" apparently.
The album cover is excellent.
Also, and totally unrelated, I can't wait to read the reviews for Fight Club references.
Elton John
4/5
Listens: 3 or 4
Standout Tracks: Tiny Dancer, Levon, Rotten Peaches
I thought this was great. Tiny Dancer and Levon especially. The subject matter, the piano, the vocals. The whole package was quite amazing. The playout with Goodbye too was great. Glad to have heard it and going to be adding it to my library.
Steely Dan
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: East St. Louis Toodle-Oo, With A Gun
Second Steely Dan album on the List. Still largely average with a few standout tracks. I like the instrumental Toodle-Oo ditty, and With A Gun. Nothing I recognize from radio play and I was not super impressed by the single Rikki Don't Lose That Number.
Moby
3/5
Listens: 1.5
Standout Tracks: Natural Blues, Inside
My thoughts are all over the place on this album: First, it's over 2 hours long, at least the version on YouTube Music, and there is no non-deluxe-whatever version available consisting of the original some ~18-20 songs. So there's that whole struggle of listening to this Moby for 2+ hours.
Second, turn-of-the-century electronica is a weird hodgepodge of sounds and genres, and this album has many of them: techno, breakbeat, house, trance, downtempo, ambience, just to name a few. Some style work better. The tracks where it's not just a breakbeat loop - where there's actually some "meat on the bone"; a clear path from beginning to middle to end of song, some lyrics, interesting instrumentation (digital or otherwise), etc. - aren't actually too bad.
I quite liked a few of the tracks on this album. There is enough variance across the tracks that you're not stuck with just break beat or just techno or just ... If you hit shuffle on the album you're going to get a lot of variety. That's good in my book. Maybe not entirely cohesive or flowing, but it beats 2 hours of a singe genre.
I thought this was better than Fatboy Slim's You've Come A Long Way Baby (1998), which is also on the List, and different from, but as good as The Prodigy's Fat Of The Land (1997), again, on the List.
Sheryl Crow
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Run, Baby, Run, Strong Enough, The Na-Na Song
I enjoyed this more than I care to admit. It's a well put-together album. Sheryl has a great voice. The tracks are catchy and have great hooks. There's diversity in the music, and obviously some of the tracks are culturally significant if you grew up on the radio in the 90s. I particularly like it when she gets a little strained/growl-y voice on the track; She very well could have been lead singer in a sort of punk/screamo/grunge band. I am thinking like, Garbage or ... idk.
The Na-Na Song kind of reminds me of Billy Joel's We Didn't Start The Fire, hitting on a bunch of pertinent topics of the time.
Beatles
5/5
Listens: 4
Standout Tracks: Drive My Car, Michelle, I'm Looking Through You, In My Life, Run For Your Life
I imagine there have been whole bodies of work written about this album. It's divine. Not my absolute favorite, but excellent nonetheless. To me, this is the turning point for the band, where they went from the most popular boy-band in the world to being one of, if not the most popular band in the world. Rubber Soul bridges the gap between their pop-heavy, girls/lovey-dovey/covers quartet harmonies and their later psychedelic rock work found on Revolver, Sgt. Pepper, White Album and Abbey Road. This album has no bad tracks. Many of them are quite memorable, and they're both upbeat and sneakily subversive all at once.
Kacey Musgraves
1/5
Listens: 1
Standout Tracks: None
This is exactly the type of music I dread listening to on the List. A genre I already don't like, paired with vapid lyrics and meh singing about cowboys, love, relationships and other country-lifestyle stereotypes. This album give off real "trad-wife" vibes; There's a weird pervasive focus on deference to men and self-objectification. "Knowing my place", "I'm not good enough", "I'm only human". Yuck.
Iggy Pop
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: China Girl, Mass Production
I enjoyed this. It reminded me a lot of (the limited exposure I have to) Velvet Underground and Lou Reed's Transformer (both from the List).
I especially liked how discordant the music was on Mass Production.
Harry Nilsson
4/5
Listens: 3 or 4
Standout Tracks: Gotta Get Up, Without You
I had a big smile on my face, hearing Gotta get Up as the first track on this album. I have seen Netflix's Russian Doll, and Gotta Get Up is a prominent song throughout at least the first season, as the main character progresses through a series of time loops, trying to figure out what's going on. And so when I was able to put an artist/album to a song, it was a nice feeling. Sure, I could have looked it up, but where's the fun in that.
Anyways, throughout the album, I was constantly thinking "this sounds kind of Beatles-esque". The thought was on several songs, but ultimately fleeting, like a dream half-remembered on waking.
Coconut is pretty bizarre. The lyrics aren't anything particular, but I like how the song slowly escalates and escalates and progresses until its finally hits a crescendo and then sort of just fadessss out. Weird.
There's a diversity in the range of instruments and styles presented in 35 minutes, and I think it holds up. Its a little serious, a little zany, and 100% authentic.
Van Halen
4/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Atomic Punk, Little Dreamer
I basically didn't need to listen to this album; As it turns out, I've heard virtually every track through osmosis over the radio at various points in my 36 years on this Earth. That being said, hearing it all together in a cohesive format was great. The guitar is great. The singing is great. The off-beat parts where they break into a shooby-doo-wap is fantastic.
Of all of the similar genre bands I've heard so far from the List, this album by Van Halen is near the top of my personal favorites for the rock and roll genre.
Scott Walker
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: ?
I usually am able to pull out at least one standout track when I write these reviews, and if I don't that's usually a conscious choice to not select something. For this album I'm sort of coming up empty. I am not particularly impressed by this album. It's not objectively bad or even subjectively bad, but its not really good either? I don't know what to make of what I'm listening to. Is this a concept album? Is there an underlying theme? What is the genre. Is this a pop album?
I have this weird pervasive thought that Scott is singing these songs on a stage, live, in front of people. He's some sort of Vegas singer, putting on a show in a lounge. Its like he's part of a band that's playing music, maybe for a talk show host or something.
I will almost certainly forget I ever listened to Scott Walker after today, and would be surprised to see another entry on the List.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Fuckin' Up, Over and Over, Love To Burn
All of the Neil Young stuff I've listened to on the List has been great so far. I enjoyed the extended guitar playing the band got into on some of the longer songs. I'm glad I've been able to discover a new artist that resonates with me. Granted, I was aware of Neil Young prior to starting the List, but I've definitely never gone out of my way to listen to him or Crazy Horse. I appreciate how many albums of his have been included.
I was a bit thrown off by the fact that this is described as grunge. Country grunge? I certainly understand why that genre gets thrown around, but then I think about Mudhoney or early Smashing Pumpkins or Nirvana and I just don't think Neil has the voice or the guitar shredding to categorize this as grunge. Doesn't change how much I enjoyed it though.
I just listened to Rust Never Sleeps again, and I feel like, especially Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black) is way more grungy than this album and that album came out in 1979.
Norah Jones
3/5
Listens: 1
Standout Tracks: Not enough time spent listening.
I didn't get enough time to listen to to this thoroughly. Nora has a nice voice, but I wasn't familiar with any of the tracks on the album. I've heard her before over the radio, but it must have been from songs are on other albums.
Arcade Fire
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout tracks: In The Backseat
I was on vacation for a few days, and so I paused my progress on List on this album. I listened to it three or four times over the course of as many days, and with the exception of the last song - In The Backseat - nothing really stuck out for me. It all felt pretty same-y and the tracks all seemed to blend together. That's not inherently a bad thing. The album is cohesive, but it just never really clicked for me, even the popular songs like Wake Up and Rebellion (Lies). I can't really see myself listening to this again, but I didn't dislike it. It's solid 3 for me.
Beatles
5/5
Listens: Many (and I have this album on vinyl)
Standout Tracks: Maxwell's Silver Hammer, I Want You (She's So Heavy), Here Comes The Sun, You Never Give Me Your Money, Mean Mr Mustard
Well, It's finally happened. I've reached the most popular album according to the Global Stats of the List, 193 albums into the my journey. It's all down (or up?) hill from here!
Abbey Road takes the number one spot for me as far as peak Beatles are concerned, slightly winning out over The Beatles (The White Album). I sometimes waver back and forth over which is better, but Abbey Road is a tighter production and is entirely more consumable. The White Album gets a little too weird for me on side 4. Anyways, this album is magical. Every track is unique and memorable. Maxwell committing multiple murders to a cheerful song is fantastic. The droning washed out sound that overtakes the music in I Want You (She's So Heavy) before the song abruptly cuts out is possibly my favorite vinyl flip in my collection. An then on side B, you have a 3x one minute songs in Mustard/Polythene Pam/She Came In Through The Bathroom Window that just meld together so well.
And then finally, at The End, when you think its over, you have a hidden track with Her Majesty! It's both (supposedly) a first of its kind experience and a relic of a bygone era, where its practically impossible to have a true hidden track in the digital era.
Side Tangent, I think my first experience with a hidden track was on Take Off Your Pants and Jacket by Blink 182.
Nick Drake
4/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: River Man
Soothing and haunting all at once. River Man is a fantastic piece of music.
This ended up being quite a nice album to listen to. Not mind blowing, but eloquent and interesting.
Boston
5/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: More Than a Feeling, Peace of Mind, Foreplay/Long Time
How can even begin to dislike a band formed in and named after the city I live in? The answer is I can't. Fortunately, though, I enjoyed this enough that I don't have to give it a bad review. No; Actually, I didn't just "enjoy" it - this album rocks. Good hooks, catchy, iconic instrumentals, and great singing. Classic "Dad's Garage" rock.
This album is short; I keep thinking about some other reviewer on another album, where he or she said the LP Vinyl keeping (read: forcing) albums to be between 25 and 50 minutes usually makes for an amazing body of work, because the artist needs to be selective about what will make the cut, and because it makes the album highly consumable. Some of the albums on the List have runtimes between 1 and 2 hours, and it just becomes a slog to get through them. This album doesn't overstay it's welcome. It comes on, rocks out and then fades out in a cool 37 minutes.
The Rolling Stones
4/5
Listens: 2.5
Standout Tracks: Mona (I Need You Baby), Now I've Got A Witness, Can I Get A Witness
This is my second Rolling Stones album and I am still thrown off by how tame this is, give what my understanding and expectations were from the Rolling Stones. Granted, this is their debut album and at least a few songs are covers of other artists. That being said, I still expected the rock to be a little harder and less blues.
All that being said, this is still a great album. Route 66 is a great upbeat opener, and the album is just full of lively, interesting tracks. Subsequent listens will surely uncover more interesting aspects of the music.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: This Year's Girl, (I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea
This was surprisingly modern sounding for having been released in 1978. You could have told me it came out in 1995, 2005 or 2015 and I would have believed you. The production value is crisp and clean. I hear elements of ska, post-punk, new wave, more traditional rock. It's not something I will be adding to my rotation or go out of my way to listen to in the future, but I was glad to have heard it.
Iron Maiden
4/5
Listens: 4
Standout Tracks: Remember Tomorrow, Transylvania, Iron Maiden
A completely respectable entry into the List, and the Heavy Metal Genre. I am really starting to appreciate the genre, which I honestly had reservations about before starting the List; Mostly because I always lumped all of the various forms of "metal" into the Heavy Metal genre. Although bands like Slayer, Turbonegro, Venom (for example) and other death/black/thrash metal bands share the same root of heavy electric power guitar, bass and percussion, I feel like there is still a world of difference between the aforementioned bands and bands I would consider to be more "traditional" metal, like Black Sabbath, Metallica and Deep Purple, and now Iron Maiden.
I am again being reminded of the video game Risk of Rain 2, which has excellent music that sounds very similar to what I am hearing on Strange World (sans the singing).
Billy Bragg
2/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Ideology
This was boring. I found the whole thing uninspiring, non-impactful and ultimately something I am going to promptly forget about in a day. I also could barely tolerate how frequently Billy veered into this English-Country twang that is just blahhhh.
So long Tax Man. Enjoy the poetry.
Roxy Music
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout tracks: In Every Dream Home A Heartache
The first half of this album is whatever; I wasn't too impressed by anything. But God damn, In Every Dream Home A Heartache is amazing. Instant repeat material. And, apparently I had heard it before. It's a track played on the TV show Mindhunter at some point; it definitely sounded familiar. After this song, the rest of the album is a lot more interesting. The Bogus Man feels like Industrial jazz genre mashup.
I am inclined to give the album a 4 just for 'In Every Dream Home A Heartache' alone. This album is definitely an album you must hear before you die.
The Libertines
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: What Katie Did
Middling at best. It's like a toned down Arctic Monkeys; I'd rather just listen to them instead.
Nirvana
5/5
Listens: Many
Standout Tracks: Smells Like Teen Spirit, Come As You Are, Polly, Something In The Way
I wonder if this album came up for me because it's been in the news very very recently that the now-adult individual on the cover of the album recently lost a lawsuit claiming the photo of themself naked constitutes CP (Cheese Pizza obviously). Regardless of any of current events that happen to be going on, let's talk about Nevermind.
I was first made aware of Nirvana in the late 90s. I couldn't have been more than 9 or 10. My cousin was listening to this album in CD format on the way up to a ski mountain in the northeast US; probably Mount Snow. He must have given me a listen to the first track, because Smells Like Teen Spirit immediate stuck out to me as a really cool song, but for the life of me, I couldn't really get into the rest of the album. Too... Grating? Aggressive? For a 10 year old who, at the time had virtually no experience with any music besides what my mom played on the radio (KC101, undeniably pop and college rock of the 90s); I didn't quite appreciate this the way I do now. Instead, my experience and enjoyment derived from Nirvana was almost exclusively through the single song Smells Like Teen Spirit.
Fast forward to probably high school. I've learned to sail the high seas. Nirvana pops back up on my radar through the Foo Fighters 2005 In Your Honor and I try to give them a fair shake again. Still not quite clicking though.
In college, my musical tastes are significantly expanded and it's starting to make sense. Grunge is starting to make sense. The lyrics and singing. The guitar distortions, the aggressive drumming. It's moody. Its heavy. It's timeless at this point.
Post-college and onward, this album has become a mainstay for me. It's sharp and biting. It's good for a listen if you need to blow off some steam or are in a jamming sort of mood. I throw it on when I'm biking or cooking or coding. It still interesting after 30+ years and I'm always finding something new in it. Songs take on new meanings and tastes evolve (and devolve).
Haters might say this album is overrated. Two things: That's just like, your opinion, man. And, what's it like to be so wrong??
5
The Sabres Of Paradise
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Planet D (Portishead Remix), Wilmot, Tow Truck
I had a lot of thoughts running through my mind when I started listening to this album. Bubble and Slide and Bubble and Slide II are terrible tracks to open this album with. They are too distorted and out there to give you a good idea what kind of album you're going to be listening to; There's nothing to dance to. It's all echos and clicks and pops and dashes. Needless to say, I was dreading the 1h15m runtime this album is clocking.
Once I got past the first few tracks, the album became more tolerable, perhaps even enjoyable on some of the tracks. Planet D - the Portishead remix is the first track that made me stop and check for the name of the song. It was catchy and interesting in ways that the four previous tracks were not. Wilmot and Tow Truck were also highlights for me. They remind me of two things: Nightmares on Wax (which should be both obvious and readily apparent) and An-ten-nae, the latter of whom has been developing the genre Acid Crunk. I hear a lot of similarities in this music and what An-ten-nae has been putting out, though more amped up. I could even bet money that An-ten-nae is sampling The Sabres Of Paradise, but I can't find any proof of this.
It's a shame almost none of these tracks have any lyrics. Some of these beats could go really well some rap/hip-hop music.
The Flying Burrito Brothers
1/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: None
This album reenforces my dislike for super twangy country music. I don't enjoy it. I don't like the singing, I don't like the instrument playing, I don't like the subject matter.
Strangely, the first two songs both make copious references to the devil or Satan. Kind of weird...
Miles Davis
4/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: N/A
I was quite satisfied with this album. Good album length; doesn't overstay its welcome. Interesting compositions. It's my understanding that the record is relatively free form They have to color in the lines, but there's no rule saying which colors they need to use.
I don't have a favorite track; to be honest, the record is so subdued, it was rare for more to notice that the track even changed.
If, in the future, I decide I want to listen to Grade A jazz music, this is going to be my go-to album.
Frank Zappa
5/5
Listens: 5
Standout Tracks: Willie The Pimp, The Gumbo Variations
I thought this album was awesome. I was a little worried that it was nearly entirely instrumental, but that didn't end up detracting from the experience at all. The whole thing felt very jammy and improvisational.
It's probably worth mentioning that I have literally no known prior experience with Zappa, and so if more of his stuff is like this, I am here for it.
Willie The Pimp absolutely slaps (with his pimp cane obviously).
Donovan
4/5
Listens:
Standout Tracks: Burt's Blues, Season Of The Witch
This was a largely enjoyable entry on the List, for me. I enjoyed the variety of instruments present on the album. There's some jazzy stuff (saxophone?), baroque harpsichord, guitars, percussion. The end drags a little bit, but there a few great songs in the middle which make up for it.
Season of the Witch is another one of those songs that sounds simply timeless, like Blister In the Sun by the Violent Femmes or Florence + The Machine's Dog Days Are Over. Pick a year, pick a decade between 1960 and 2025, Season of the Witch could have been written and performed at any time between then and now, and you would fool a lot of people into thinking its older or younger than it sounds. It sounds fresh in a way that other songs on the album don't.
Bert's Blues is another interesting track. It's clearly blues in origin, but also harpsichord? It scene changes a few times across the song and it kind of feels like two or three songs stitched or jammed together. I liked it.
Destiny's Child
1/5
Listens: 1
Standout Tracks: Bootylicious (because of that Stevie Nicks' Edge of Seventeen sample)
As a child of the 90s and 2000s, this music was basically inescapable. It was played literally EVERYWHERE. Department stores, fast food restaurants, bar/bat mitzvahs, Top 20/40/50/100 radio station lists, countless movies, sports and sporting events, MTV, VH1, BET. EVERYWHERE.
You can't deny the songs are catchy; That's the entire point. And that's what makes it garbage. It's designed to make money. Make songs, Make albums; pump them out. Sell Sell Sell. The lyrics are shallow and vapid. There's no band to speak of, so there's not really any commentary I can make about people playing instruments well or poorly. The members sing well enough, but that can only go so far. For late 90s early 2000s girl and boy "band" It's all about the beats, beats that were scientifically engineered to burrow into your ears and mind, and persist long after the music ended.
In all seriousness, I don't like this. It's practically torturous. For the millions of people that do enjoy this, by all means, enjoy it. Enjoy it for yourself, and definitely enjoy it for me, because I have no love to give.
Elvis Costello
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Welcome To the Working Week, Allison
This album honestly just felt like more of the same, as I have just recently listened to This Year's Model. This debut album and the other one were released only one year apart, and you could have slammed the two albums together and had a entirely cohesive sound, even if the subject matter differed. It feels like a smattering of genres, without really having its own identity. I don't hate it, but I'm not particularly in enamored with it either. It sort of just exists for me. In one ear an out the other, leaving very little imprint on me.
My Bloody Valentine
3/5
Listens: 1
Standout Tracks: No idea
Not available on YouTube Music, and so I had to resort to some random uploader on YouTube. There are a bunch of different uploaders who have added the album, so for the second listen, I'm going to try someone else. The point being, I'm not sure if what I'm listening to actually sounds this distorted on purpose or if that's just the quality (or lack thereof) of the upload to YouTube. It's certainly not flac quality.
I ended up listening to the album from these two links (not sure if posting a link is allowed, here I go...)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfnVoY6RHMc -- Probable terrible quality, but 14k views and was the first hit when searching.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIpsinKIfLY - Much higher quality audio (and a supposed remaster), but far fewer views.
Anyways. I liked some of the distorted qualities of this album. I'm always on the lookout for avant-garde stuff, because even if it sucks, it's still pushing some boundary. I appreciate that in music. There's such a diversity in the music that you can get weird and still have it be good (sometimes).
Overall though, I thought this band was average at best. The interesting distortions in the audio don't really make up for quality of the music and singing. The whole album felt very "emo" even though the concept of "emo" didn't really peak until the mid to late 2000s. I could have sworn that the emo kids listened to My Bloody Valentine in high school, but perhaps I am thinking of My Chemical Romance or something else...
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Breakdown, Luna, American Girl
I've heard of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers before, though I've never gone out of my way to listen to them. So, with the exception of Breakdown and American Girl, which have thoroughly permeated American classic rock radio stations since their release, I had not heard any of the other songs on this album. What I heard was not bad, but its just not for me. At this point, there is just so much other stuff in the 1970s that I much prefer, like Neil Young, Yes, Black Sabbath, (to name a few). Compared to those mentioned bands, this just feels quite... bland? boring Americana?
Heart: Not broken.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Ventilator Blues
Rolling Stones album number 3 on the List so far (I think out of a 6 or 8)
I'm still not really getting it. They are a British band with a very American rock sound. You have a song like Sweet Virginia and you instantly think Grateful Dead or Lynyrd Skynyrd or Credence Clearwater Revival - Americana-like - not British invasion Beatles or Pink Floyd. It's just a weird dissonance I'm grappling with.
The music is fine. I would even lean towards good and interesting, but I just wasn't hooked on anything. It's certainly no Paint It Black or Gimme Shelter.
The Beta Band
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks:
I'll be honest. I did not expect to see a second The Beta Band album on the List... I mean... man, I hope to hear some other bands that have yet to come up. Grateful Dead, Modest Mouse, Notorious BIG, Portugal. The Man, Thievery Corporation, ODESZA, Rage Against the Machine, Run The Jewels, Audioslave... If The Beta Band can get two albums, these bands have to be able to get at least one on the List, right? RIGHT!?
The music is mediocre. Its average. For the sake of staying objective, I went back and listened to Hot Shots II. Both of these albums hit the level of "oh, this might be interesting..." and then sort of never really rise to the occasion. The music just sort of exists. Before embarking on this journey, I had never heard of The Beta Band, and I had practically forgotten them until their second album (on the List) came up. That's probably what will happen again.
Because there's nothing wildly disappointing and it doesn't make me want to pull my hair out, a 3.
Tom Waits
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: The Earth Died Screaming, All Stripped Down, In The Colosseum, Murder In The Red Barn
This was a really interesting one. Unlike 1975's Nighthawks At The Diner (also from the List), which played as a much more traditional jazz album, albeit with a lot of crowd work, this album had a real grunge/industrial rock feel to it. Industrial rock with... bones (like, playing drums using bones, drumming on bones, etc); All while also still somehow being jazzy.
What really stuck out to me is the emphasis on the percussion, combined with Tom's voice, it really reminded me of some of the music Issac Brock of Modest Mouse has put out. If you listen to, for example, This Devil's Workday or Dance Hall (from Good News For People Who Love Bad News), there's a lot of the same elements present, jazz trumpet and other jazz elements, Issac's very gravelly voice, and an emphasis on percussion. The primary difference is that Modest Mouse feels much more polished (in the studio), whereas Tom seemingly wanted a much more stripped down album. The stripped down nature of the music lends itself to some industrial rock and grunge influences.
Overall, I thought this album was pretty good. Weird, but interesting and definitely worthy of being included on the List.
Neil Young
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: None
This album didn't really impress me as much as Harvest or On The beach, or his work with Crazy Horse (Rust Never Sleeps, Ragged Glory).
Could just be Neil Young fatigue at this point. All of the above-mentioned albums are on the List and I've been listening to him a fair amount, because its been quite enjoyable to listen so far. There wasn't anything wrong with the album, it just didn't pop the same way as the others.
A Tribe Called Quest
5/5
Listens: 3 or 4
Standout Tracks: Buggin' Out, Check the Rhime
A Tribe Called Quest is hardly foreign to me. I've got about 260 scrobbles across 10 years to draw upon when writing this review. Most of my listening has gone into "People's Instinctive Travels and Paths of Rhythm", but I have at least a few prior listens to The Low End Theory.
This is hip hop music for people who are either not interested in, offended by or tired of "gangsta rap" that was so prevalent in the late 80s and early 90s: NWA, Notorious BIG, Snoop Dogg, Tupac, Nas, etc.
A Tribe Called Quest presents an amazing alternative to gangsta rap. Minimal swearing, limited use of racial slurs and cursing in general, almost no objectification of women or "gay bashing". Virtually no celebration or idolizing of murder, toting guns and other weapons, dealing drugs. Instead, we're presented with themes of social commentary, dealing with the business side of music making, materialism, and relationships.
Quite frankly, this album is amazing. A Tribe Called Quest is the pinnacle of alternative rap and hip-hop during the early and mid 90s.
Iron Maiden
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Children of the Damned, The Number of the Beast, Run to the Hills
Honestly, this was another banger by Iron Maiden. Just as good as their debut album. Great guitar riffs and choice lyrical content (especially Run to the Hills and 22 Acacia Avenue)
Neneh Cherry
1/5
Listens: 1
Standout Tracks: Inna City Mamma
I did not care for this. At all. The music tries way to hard to be authentic in its approach to hip-hop and utterly fails to do so.
Inna City Mamma had a nice piano/keyboard arrangement. That was the only thing that stuck out to me.
Joan Armatrading
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Water With The Wine, Join The Boys
There weren't really any songs that popped, and certainly nothing from this album ever went mainstream, but this entry on the List was was perfectly cromulent. I would be inclined to give it a 3.5 if there were half points, but alas, there aren't. Sort of reminds me of Tracy Chapman.
Ms. Dynamite
2/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Krazy Krush
This album reminds me of Lilly Allen's album Alright Still; Especially British, but instead of a Pop emphasis, an R&B one. But while Alright Still is a guilty pleasure, Ms. Dynamite's debut album... isn't. With the exception of a few beats and maybe one or two tracks, I was both not impressed and not interested. I suppose it wasn't as bad as Destiny's Child's Survivor or Neneh Cherry's Raw Like Sushi, but still not great. I am sensing a pattern here - not really a fan of the rhythm and bass genre.
The one track I did really enjoy Krazy Krush (God, I do not miss the 2000s warped spelling of all the words) has a quite catchy beat, that made me want to put it on repeat for a bit - mind you, I didn't do that, but I thought about it.
Wilco
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: ?
I've heard of Wilco, but never heard any of their music before. The less-country-oriented, psychedelic songs were okay, but the songs that leaned into the country style were meh. Overall, I was wholly nonplussed. It just reminded me of REM, with some country genre thrown in, and maybe a dash of Cake (who I love).
Electric Light Orchestra
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout tracks: Jungle, Mr. Blue Sky
This album didn't really leave too much of an impression on me, save for the two most popular tracks on the album. It was fine.sort of reminded me of the Beatles crossed with Boston or Rush or maybe Journey.
Miles Davis
4/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Bitches Brew
I enjoyed this more than Kind of Blue. It felt more spontaneous and alive. It was quite long though, and so I only got in a two maybe two and a half listens before I moved onto other music.
Big Brother & The Holding Company
5/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: I Need A Man To Love, Summertime, Piece of My Heart
I have never heard of Big Brother & The Holding Company, but I have heard of Janis Joplin, and when I read that this band and Janis are associated with The Grateful Dead, I was excited to say the least. And man, this album did not disappoint: Experimental, psychedelic rock with slamming vocals from Janis. :chefs_kiss:
Excellent album cover.
I also really enjoyed discovering that Eminem sampled Summertime in The Slim Shady LP's Rock Bottom. That was cool.
Wu-Tang Clan
5/5
Listens: Many (~17 times since 2016, according to Last.fm)
Standout Tracks: C.R.E.A.M., Method Man, Protect Ya Neck
This album, along with The Notorious B.I.G.'s Ready To Die and Nas's Illmatic, are, in my opinion, the pinnacle of early 90s east coast gangsta rap and hip-hop.
The whole album is so raw. The beats are stripped to the bone and the lyrics are so cutting, and even today still largely relevant. The skits still make me smile every time I hear them: The kung fu/samurai movies, the Method Man skit about torture, "Shameek just got bust in his head two times".
Worth mentioning that I listened to the expanded edition, for two reasons: The link from here to YouTube music doesn't work, and, the non-expanded edition, containing only 9 songs, doesn't have an uncensored version, for some reason. Given how many expletives the group drops, the censored album is basically ruined and a completely bastardized take on an otherwise masterpiece.
Curtis Mayfield
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Billy Jack
With the exception of a 6 minute song about Jesus, this album was okay. Pretty soul-y and easy to listen to. Short and sweet, which is nice.
Definitely not as good as Superfly.
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Worlds Apart, Lets Be Friends (Skin to Skin)
Not gonna lie, every time I think or hear about Bruce Springsteen, I can't help but think of an almost 20 year old YouTube video "commercial" for Power Thirst - specifically Power Thirst 2, where the narrator at one point yells JUICE SPRINGSTEEN. Look it up, it's stupid, but it's also... well, actually, it's really just stupid, nothing else. Definitely look it up. So, yea, forever seared into my mind is not Bruce Springsteen, but JUICE Springsteen. Turn that Everyman into a Beveryman!
As for the music.... There were a surprising number of good licks on this album Worlds Apart, for instance, had a world music quality to it. There were also some songs that were wildly repetitive; I think Countin' On A Miracle, for example, the chorus was the same line twice in a row, for like five or six verses, with two choruses.
I think I liked this more than what I would consider similar acts: U2, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Aerosmith (stretch), etc.
2/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Flow My Tears The Spider Said
I recognized this album... I had seen it on the bottom 20 global stats page :(
I kind of wish the Global Stats page (specifically the Bottom 20) didn't exist, or a bottom 20 album was somehow only revealed after you've listened to it. It both consciously and probably unconsciously biases people's reviews of albums. I have now listened to 4 of the current bottom 20. Two of them I rated higher than the average, and one of them lower. This album wasn't a 1. There are definitely other albums I have hated much more than this album, but there's not many redeeming qualities here.
Make no mistake, this album was bad. It deserves to be on lowly rated. I don't know if it should be on the list. Perhaps if I read the blurb in the 1001 Albums book the author might explain the why or what the cultural significance is. I know that I can think of better albums and artists that aren't here that could replace this.
When I was listening, all I could think of (besides please make it stop) was Brick from Anchorman screaming LOUD NOISES! There's a lot of dissonance going on, only maybe one or two songs had anything resembling a rhythm or cohesive musical structure. There's barely anything that you could really, truly consider singing. It was more like moaning, grunting, huffing, barking, chanting, etc.
On the plus side, it was consistent: across the tracks, conceptually and also consistently bad, so that's something, I guess. I also enjoy long album and track names. Very Modest Mouse-esque.
The Flaming Lips
5/5
Listens: ~10-12 (over the past 2 or so years)
Standout Tracks: Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1 and 2, Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell, Do You Realize??
I don't always battle the robots, but when I do, they are pink... and I know karate.
I had tried to get into the Flaming Lips over the years, but it only recently clicked for me. This album is what did it for me, though I initially started out with their rendition of The Dark Side of the Moon.
Anyways, you wouldn't know if from my summary page, but I do actually like electronica music, and so this album - their infusion of rock with heavy electronica elements and instrument distortion - hits pretty hard for me. I enjoy the themes present in the music and I adore the idea of a Japanese woman who is disciplined, and a black belt in karate, battling pink robots. Even more so given the album cover, where the robots have little arms and legs coming off of their massive tree trunk legs. Very Robotic.
Elliott Smith
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Pictures of Me, Rose Parade
I don't really have any feelings about this album. My sister like Elliot Smith, but for me he's just okay. Certainly not mind blowing. Not terrible either. I wouldn't have been able to tell you that three of the songs are featured on Good Will Hunting, apparently.
Eh.
Q-Tip
4/5
Listens: 2.5
Standout Tracks: Won't Trade, Life Is Better
I had no idea Q-Tip put out solo albums, and comparatively recently to when Tribe produced Low End Theory and People's Instinctive Travels.
I like it. It has the same themes and approaches to hip hop that Tribe had. It's definitively not gangsta rap, still, which continues to be refreshing.
Nina Simone
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Four Women, Lilac Wine, Wild Is The Wind
I thoroughly enjoyed this. Lovely singing, thought-provoking lyrics, and excellent piano and other instruments. Nice to put on and cook dinner to.
Jimi Hendrix
4/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Little Wing, Castles Made of Sand, Bold as Love
With the exception of Exp, this album is awesome. Not as awesome as Are You Experienced, mind you, but still awesome.
Exp is interesting for its use of what is effectively spatial sound, which might have been new or novel? at the time, but the track is basically just highly distorted guitar noise with a weird intro. It doesn't seem to contribute to the rest of the album. There's no further reference to UFOs or aliens...
As for the rest of the album, Jimi slays it.
I personally think the album cover is cool, even if Jimi didn't like it. Hindu iconography (which seems pretty innocuous overall) aside, its pretty trippy, which may very well have been the point, to really drive home the psychedelic rock genre present throughout the album.
Nick Drake
3/5
Listens: 3.5
Standout Tracks: Hazey Jane I and II
Lot of stuff going on in this album. Violins, jazz instruments (trumpet or maybe trombone), traditional acoustic guitar. Pretty nice composition and a lovely album. Short and sweet, doesn't overstay its welcome.
At times, though, it does sort of feel like I'm listening to elevator music. Not like, Brian Eno ambient elevator music, but similar. Perhaps game show music, while the clock is counting down before the contestants have to answer. Bryter Layter is like this.
Steely Dan
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: The Boston Rag
The Boston Rag was a great song. Otherwise, I continue to be not impressed with Steely Dan. This is my third Steely Dan album on the List and they are just okay. I can listen to them, I don't feel the need to turn them off or change the track or switch to another artist, but I just can't bring myself to give them anything other than "yea this exists". It's perfectly cromulent.
Talking Heads
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Psycho Killer, Don't Worry About The Government
Psycho Killer aside, I hadn't heard any of the other songs on this album. I think It's a fine album, but its just kind of weird. I don't know what to really think about it. I don't understand what any of the songs are conveying. Is the album political? About love? Are the lyrics laced with heavy symbolism or metaphor or are they literal?
Don't Worry About The Government, for example. What is David Byrne trying to say? Is this song about communism? Capitalism? Low-income housing? Being stupid rich and having your pick of convenient building with all of the best amenities? Why shouldn't I need to worry about [him]? Because his housing is taken care of? Okay...
Kanye West
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Monster, Blame Game
I want try to separate the relatively talented rap/hip-hop artist and musician Kanye West from the piece of shit human being Kanye West, but that's proving pretty hard to do. Just some of the insane shit he's done over the past decade really negatively influences my perception of the music he produces. In the same way that people detest movies that Kevin Spacey has been in, because of what he's been accused of, or... Kid Rock *shudders* who I actually detect for basically the same reason I detest Kanye - their decision to align with a certain political affiliation... Kanye's decision to do that is especially bewildering.
If this were 2007's Graduation I was reviewing, I had heard this album thoroughly before Kanye started to really go off the deep end, and I would have given that album a very favorable review. I mean, it might still be the case that Graduation is on the List.
But anyways, lets talk about the album. High production value. Good featured artists. Long, for 13 songs. Catchy beats and hooks. Kanye can definitely raps well. I don't have much (any) experience with Nicki Minaj, but she sort of steals the show on Monster. And that fucking skit at the end of Blame Game: "Look at you motherfucking butt-ass naked with them motherfucking Jimmy Choo's on?" "Yeezy Taught Me" in a slightly sleazy, slightly bragging, submissive voice. Jesus Christ. There's also a weird amount of Trump references, a full 6 years before he became the president.
This gets a 3. It's a well produced album, but its tough to separate the art from the artist.
Genesis
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: ?
I definitely, one hundred percent, categorically do not understand Genesis, and for sure not this album. In what context do you listen to something like this? In the car? On the walk? Exercising? Could you see them play this music live in 1973 when the album came out?
It's not particularly bad or off-putting, but it also just doesn't hold my attention. I am not able to connect with it. It feels dated.
Dexys Midnight Runners
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: The Celtic Soul Brothers (More, Please, Thank You), Come On Eileen
Another middling entry on the List. This album is like the intersection of disco, proto-ska and traditional Celtic music slammed into an hour long album. My buddies and I (some of whom were British) used to listen to Come on Eileen, not quite on repeat, but in a very tight rotation, to the point where I'd get nauseous hearing it. Granted, its been a long time since then and so that feeling has mostly gone away... mostly.
Soundgarden
5/5
Listens: 4
Standout Tracks: Mailman Superunknown, Black Hole Sun, Spoonman
Very familiar with Black Hole Sun, but that was about it going into this album. I am acutely aware of Soundgarden, but never got into them for some reason, despite liking a lot of difference shades of Grunge- and by "shades" I guess I mean, grunge bands that are able to cover the range of qualities of singing from straight up screaming to the more melodic tuned in singing qualities found in, for example, Black Hole Sun. I've enjoyed Nirvana, and the Smashing Pumpkins, but found MudHoney to be a little too raw. That's basically what I mean when I say "shades of grunge".
Anyways, Chris Cornell has that range. He can get really screamo on the track and then go and belt out a proper singing with Black Hole Sun, or dare I say the Casino Royale title song "You Know My Name". This range elevates the band from run of the mill garage grunge rock to superstar pioneer grunge rock. Not to mention he went on to help form Audioslave, which was a stellar supergroup.
There's a diversity of the style of songs across the album and I am onboard with it.
Sonic Youth
2/5
Listens: 2 (barely)
Standout Tracks: None
I did not care for this album at all. I am not impressed by Sonic Youth (second album on the List so far) and I really hope there isn't a third.
There's a lot of noise going on; it felt disorganized, disjointed, dissonant and dizzying listening to this. At 1h 10m I wanted very much for the album to be half as long.
The Replacements
2/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Gary's Got A Boner
This whole album seemed pretty childish. It reminded me of a post/punk version of Meatloaf's Bat Out Of Hell; dripping with teenage angst, and a bit less mature. Needless to say, I was not a fan of the music or the subject matter.
John Grant
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Marz, Where Dreams Go To Die, Jesus Hates Faggots
Boy was this a weird one, from the music to the subject matter, to the themes... there's a lot going on.
I liked it. I don't know if its going to enter my album rotation, but it will definitely be added to my library. It was interesting and memorable enough to think about.
I don't know what to make of Marz, but it evokes a certain hometown, southern, middle America vibe - specific lyrics - Football, Henry ford, rootbeer, sweet sixteen, butterscotch - and this is juxaposed with like... desserts? flavor pairings? Not to mention Marz could be short for Marzipan, which is a dessert.
And then you have the absolutely devastating Where Dreams Go To Die - a person so infatuated with their partner, and their partner is just not giving anything back - an emotional black hole. The person regrets the relationship because its just not emotionally fulfilling.
The hits keep on coming. A song about John feeling sensations Sigourney Weaver felt as Ripley in the movie Alien. And also Winona Ryder.
Chicken Bones is borderline nonsensical.
Silver Platter Club is a tongue-in-cheek "apology" about a person not being born "adequate" at "normal" things like sports, physicalities, being a jock, etc.
And then probably the most bold song on the album is Jesus Hates Faggots. Wow. Just Wow. Talk about a scathing criticism of pervasive homophobic tendencies found in a certain population of politically-aligned individuals, but its not just a criticism of homosexuality, its a criticism of ALL of the close-minded, ass-backwards opinions a significant portion of the world population seems to have - and this came out in 2010. A good 15 years later and this is still as pertinent as ever.
4.5
Bill Evans Trio
3/5
Listens: 1.5
Standout tracks: Alice In Wonderland
This album was pleasant enough. Nice background music or something you throw on while cooking or eating dinner.No complaints.
One of the tracks, I think Alice In Wonderland, reminds me of the end theme song of The Boondocks. Could have been a sample or inspiration.
Janet Jackson
2/5
Listens: 0.9
Standout tracks: none
Ugh. Not for me. From some cursory research, it seems like Janet Jackson is being genuine in her concerns she's raised in this concept album about a variety of social topics, but it still comes across as preachy, sterile and vapid.
AC/DC
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Hell's Bells, Back In Black, You Shook Me All Night Long
Yea so, in my mind, from the List so far, this album is the epitome of "Sex, Drugs and Rock n' Roll". Hard rock guitar, dripping with both explicit sexual imagery and references as well as sexual innuendo abound... and an assumed copious amount of drugs consumed to go along with the lifestyle.
This album has 3 extremely popular tracks on it, which I think carry the album more than it should. Without those three tracks, it's meh, but there's no denying that opening to hell's bells as totally epic.
All this being said, I don't like it more than Iron Maiden or Black Sabbath or Metallica.
And finally, shoutout to my Australian coworker who tells me that Australians call AC/DC "Acca Dacca". I now call them "Acca Dacca". Deal with it.
R.E.M.
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Shaking Through, Talk About The Passion
Pretty middle of the road, but I can definitely understand how R.E.M. paved the way for the alternative rock scene to really take off. There's not much else to say. It's wholly cromulent.
Justin Timberlake
1/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Cry Me A River
Yea, so Justin Timberlake along with NSync, Backstreet Boys, and 98 Degrees were borderline inescapable "bands" if you were a pre-teen/teen in the 2000s. I mean, you might have liked them as a young adult too, but I doubt, for example, my parents enjoyed them (or even tolerated them) the same way they enjoyed the Beatles or the Beach Boys. At least with those bands, they actually also played instruments.
Anyways, this shit mostly sucks. Cry Me a River is interesting insofar as the underlying beat is amusing - some weird mumbling going on deep in the music, and for the fact that I love using that phrase when someone's being whiny and obnoxious. But yea, not a fan of this. Not a fan of the genre, not a fan of the history of the modern 90s boy band, not a fan of the subject matter or lyrics; Overall pretty shallow and boring.
And of course, I will take any opportunity to reference or quote Futurama whenever I can:
Fry: How can you guys be so blasé? Here we are in the year three-hundred-or-so, yet you're just sitting around like it's the boring time I came from.
Professor Hubert Farnsworth: Boring? Wasn't that the period when they cracked the human genome, and boy bands roamed the earth?
Not a direct reference to Justin Timberlake, but amusing nonetheless.
a-ha
2/5
Listens: 2.5
Standout Tracks: Take on Me
Me: Clicks link to album from the generator.
Album: Take on Me has been played 2.8 billion times on YTM.
Me: What!? How the hell have I never heard of a band that has a song that has been played 2.8 billion times?
Me: Listens to song. Ohhhhhh.... ok, I have heard this before.
Me: I guess you could say I've had an "a-ha" moment....
Anyways, more new wave trash. Not here for it, not interested in it. This album demonstrates very, very clearly that these guys are the definition of a one-hit wonder. Their next most popular song has 125 million listens. An entire order of magnitude smaller. Crazy.
2 stars because Take on Me is catchy as hell, and so it's not actually too surprising that its so popular.
Weather Report
3/5
Progress: 250/1001 !!!
Listens: 3 or 4
Standout Tracks: Palladium
Overall Progress Commentary:
I have been doing this thing - listening to a brand new album from the List, most of which I haven't ever heard before - for 250 days. That's astounding, and quite the commitment. When I tell people that I have embarked on this project, they typically have two reactions. They say both: I can definitely see you having the commitment and fortitude to do this [project] , and, you're uh... certainly dedicated to it.
I haven't skipped an album yet, though I have taken the odd one or two day break. And too boot, only a few are missing reviews! Though the quality of my reviews tend to be quite subjective and lacking in what you might describe any semblance of technique - basically, I really don't know how to properly critique the quality of the music I am listening to.
Some stats:
5-Star Albums: 30
1-Star Albums: 10
Average Rating: 3.27
Favorite Decade: 1950 (somehow, probably because most of the Jazz I've come across is consistently a 4)
Thumbs-Up'ed Reviews: 5
Albums on the List that I have listened to before starting this project: 17
Album Review:
I did not know what to expect going into this album. I was expecting Country music, which I mostly loathe, and the first song, Birdland, does not do the album any favors. But as the album went on, and after reading the blurb on YTM, I came to understand that this is a Jazz album and, besides the first song, I found the rest of the album quite pleasant. I don't think I will be adding it to my library or rotation, but it was nice enough. At a few points throughout the album, there was the tiniest start of people beginning to sing, but that never really panned out, and so the album is basically an instrumental. Not necessarily a problem, but the few voice sounds on it were a bit of a tease.
Count Basie & His Orchestra
4/5
Listens: 4
Standout Tracks: None
I liked this. Reminded me of what my grand father used to listen to; this, and classical music.
I appreciate how by 1958, with the Cold War kicking into gear, that the Atomic bomb had entered the zeitgeist and was something that people were talking about, using nuclear explosions on album covers and calling themselves "Atomic".
I liked this upbeat, focused swing style of Jazz more than I enjoyed Weather Report and even Bill Evans Trio.
This was a hoppin good time.
The Stone Roses
3/5
Listens: 2.5
Standout Tracks: I Wanna Be Adored, Elizabeth My Dear, I Am The Resurrection
This album is a hodgepodge of different styles and influences (as well as potentially being an influence for future stuff). I am reminded of The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, Oasis, maybe a little The Clash. Perhaps Radiohead and The Strokes too.
I was not immediately impressed, but its growing on me after a few listens. I think it has potential to become more interesting with additional listens, teasing out and really focusing on the individual tracks. I only had the opportunity to listen to this album on my bone conducting headphones, and so a good amount of fidelity is lost compared to my Bose QCs. I intend to listen to this album tomorrow on a longer train ride.
Right now I am giving it a 3.5 rounded down. That may change to a 4 eventually.
Gil Scott-Heron
5/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: The Bottle, H2OGate Blues, Winter In America
This album was fantastic. I am visiting my folks for Thanksgiving and they were surprised when I put the album on. My dad shouted, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised! Which 1) True, and 2) is not actually part of this album, but close enough.
The Bottle is the standout track for me. The music is somehow upbeat despite the subject matter. I though H2OGate Blues and Winter In America are also both amazing. I think I was reading a YTM comment on one of the tracks, and there was some mention of Gil Scott-Heron's music being sort of proto-rap/hip-hop music, and I wasn't really sure how that was the case until H2OGate Blues came on. The entire track is basically spoken word song with loose rhyming. And, none of this is to mention how prescient and relevant the track is in today's America.
My only sadness about the whole thing is that this is not an official album on YTM, only a user-uploaded playlist, which makes it tough to reliably save to my library. It's too bad there's no official album in YTM.
Radiohead
5/5
Listens: Many
Standout Tracks: Karma Police, Climbing Up The Walls, Exit Music (For A Film) Lucky, Man of War (from OK COMPUTER OKNOTOK 1997 2017)
I tend to cycle on which Radiohead album is my favorite, between In Rainbows, OK Computer and Hail To The Thief. I think, for the purposes of this review, lets just go with OK Computer.
There's a ton of stuff to like here, but my absolute favorite is Climbing Up The Walls. It is an absolute stunner of a song, perfectly encapsulating that anxious, dreadful, paranoid, hungry (ravenous), crawling out of my skin feeling. The drum beat, the guitar and bass sliding up and down the strings. the weird chime sounds and the distortions. So fucking good. It has an almost alien quality to it. This song was used in a specific scene of Yellowjackets Season 2 and it really really set the mood in that scene.
Karma Police, Exit Music (For a Film), Electioneering, Paranoid Android and Lucky are all also bangers too.
And then, if you happen to listen to the extended version of the album, Man Of War is also another killer track.
And finally, shoutout to the Easy Star All-Stars for doing a full album cover/remix/re-imagining of OK Computer (called Radiodread) in Reggae/Dub. That shit is also tight.
Frank Sinatra
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Can't We Be Friends, Dancing On The Ceiling
I was really hoping that there would be a second Frank Sinatra album after Songs For Swingin' Lovers, but that it wouldn't basically be more songs about love and women again. Granted, the album isn't exclusively about those two topics, there's elements of melancholy, loneliness, etc., but its basically still all revolving around women and love. I guess I don't really know what to expect. Is that really all there was to sing about? Nothing about post-WWII? Nothing about the American nuclear family? I guess I should just be looking elsewhere for culturally significant music of the 50s and 60s?
Don't get me wrong. There's nothing wrong or bad with this. Is easy going, lovely to listen to, you can just throw it on and enjoy. It's not complicated and sometimes that's just alright.
Laura Nyro
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Stoned Soul Picnic
I don't know if the reviews will be particularly kind to Laura Nyro. I hear raw talent, but its just that - its raw. Really raw. The opener track Luckie, Laura's voice is all over the place. There's no real tune she's trying to keep from line to line, verse to verse. That might be part of the charm of the album, but its also a little grating. I think the staying power comes from the amount of songs she wrote that ended up being covered by more famous artists, which I imagine might be both flattering and disappointing.
In any event, the album is what it is. I played it, I listened to it - three times - and I didn't hate it or want to turn it off. I am home with my folks for Thanksgiving and no one asked me to turn it off, so that's a good sign.
Buck Owens
1/5
Listens: 1
Standout Tracks: We're Gonna Let the Good Times Roll
Man do I really dislike Country music. This was ultra twangy, tacky, stereotypical country music. And just as well, the sound on this album is described as hillbilly music. God. Shoot me in the head. Hard pass.
N.W.A.
4/5
Listens: 2 (and more beyond today)
Standout Tracks: Fuck Tha Police, Express Yourself, Dopeman
Normally, West Coast hip-hop isn't my thing, but there are so many good tracks on this album. So many quotable lyrics. I don't know why you'd quote them, but I do it and it's amusing nonetheless.
This is one of the Original Gangsta albums. Super aggressive lyrics criticizing the police, hyping the gangster and drug dealer lifestyle, a big focus on guns, painting various pictures of the culture and lifestyle of a young black American living in California in the eighties. This is a super important album and a huge influence on what is to come out of the 90s and 2000s.
Queens Of The Stone Age
5/5
Listens 2.5
Standout Tracks: Walking on the Sidewalks, These Are the Droids You're Looking For
This is a great album. It really bridges the gap between grunge and turn-of-the-century alternative rock. Reminds me a lot of Soundgarden. There's also hints of industrial rock on some of the tracks, so I guess Nine Inch Nails too. Perhaps even avant-garde in the ways they experiment with all the guitar distortions.
Prior to listening to Queens of the Stone Age, I was always getting recommended them on YTM, probably because of my enjoyment of Audioslave, RATM, NIN, Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana, but for some reason I never indulged. Stupid of me to have avoided them for so long.
Emmylou Harris
2/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: For No One
Nice Beatles cover. Pretty voice. Otherwise, still don't like twangy country music any way you slice it.
Muddy Waters
5/5
Listens: 4
Standout Tracks: I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man, I've Got My Mojo Working, Got My Mojo Working Pt 2
Man, this... this album was stellar. The way he whips the crowd up, the music, the vocals, the atmosphere. Everyone's having a good time in 1960 at Newport.
It was a bit weird how four songs got tacked onto the end of a live album, but I am not really complaining about hearing more Muddy Waters, just a strange choice.
Johnny Cash
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: The Man Comes Around, Hurt, I Hung My Head
Well, after railing against the Country music genre for the better part of a quarter of this Journey, I finally found the exception to the rule. Finally a country album that I enjoy. Its well put together, quite minimalist and has a lovely number of cover songs, including The Beatles' In My Life and Danny Boy. Plus, it has Hurt, the song Trent Reznor basically gave away to Johnny Cash after hearing it. I am still quite partial to the NIN version, but Johnny really does it justice too.
And, for anyone actually following along to my Futurama references and pop-culture, Zoidberg sings Danny Boy for Bender's mock-funeral, does a somewhat decent job and just gets skewered by Bender anyways.
Pentangle
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: The Cuckoo
This reminded me of a bunch of stuff: The Beatles, Grateful Dead, some of the music from the video game RuneScape and Joanna Newsom to name a few.
I don't know if this album is anything crazy, have-to-tell-my-friends good, but it was a completely adequate entry on the List. It was easy listening, a bit fancy (and fantasy) sounding and could easily serve as background listening, or be something you'd put on during a game of D&D (lol).
Khaled
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Imagine
I don't necessarily feel like this is bad per se, but it is incredibly hard to relate to. The musical style is not something I have more than a passing experience with, and even then, it would be confined to movies or other forms of visual media. Combine this with the fact that I have no experience with Arabic or French or French-Arabic (if this is even what Khaled is speaking), and so with the exception of one song (Imagine), I do not understand what is being sung. So, my review is exclusively based on the music.
I do not know if Khaled is just singing, or if he's also playing instruments, or if the artist is part of a band, or even if the apparent instruments are even actual instruments (as opposed to purely digital, electronic music).
Again, what I've heard so far isn't like, terrible. There's brass instruments, accordion (maybe), decent percussion, probably string/guitar, possibly wind instruments on some tracks and there's an (obvious) general Mediterranean vibe, which I like in some of the electronica music I do listen to (like Thievery Corporation and Morcheeba and Bitter:Sweet).
What I could do without is an 1:18:00 runtime. Yea, this could easily be only 45 minutes and that would be more than enough.
Duran Duran
2/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: None
None of these songs resonated with me. I've heard mention of Duran Duran before, but have no prior listening experience. I had always assumed they were sort of like R.E.M., alternative rock something or other... not new wave garbage. I am so done with the new wave genre.
Pulp
3/5
Listens: 2.5
Standout Tracks: Common People, F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E., Underwear
Never heard of Pulp before. Sort of post-punky, a tad new wave, but it also sort of reminds me of Arctic Monkeys and Velvet Underground/Lou Reed (even though they aren't British).
The first time through, it felt very bland and samey sounding, but its grown on me slightly over subsequent listens. I've got very few complaints, but I don't think this is going to enter any sort of rotation.
Blood, Sweat & Tears
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Variations On A Theme, You've Made Me So Very Happy, Blues, Pt. 2
This was a lovely album. I guess I can add Rock-Jazz to the list of genres I enjoy. I've heard Variations On A Theme before, but I couldn't place it. So, I looked it up and I may have heard it from the Royal Tenenbaums, or apparently an episode of Community. Either way, its a nice short piece.
I've also definitely heard You've Made Me So Very Happy before, probably on the radio.
For the live tracks at the end, the Blues, Pt. 2 has a nice bit of Smoke on the Water towards the end that's pretty cool.
CHIC
4/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: le freak, savoir faire
Honestly, I think this is my first proper experience listening to a disco album, and I am also pretty sure it's also my first disco album on the List. I am pleasantly surprised by both the consumability of the album and how fresh and funky it sounds.
Also, this is probably the first dance album on the List I've actually wanted to dance to. Not that I know how to dance to disco...
High marks for a short, sweet and catchy album
Liz Phair
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Mesmerizing, Flower, Fuck and Run
This album was... hypersexual, but like in an authentic kind of way? Singing about wanting a normal boyfriend or relationship. Getting ravenously turned on in normal sorts of ways by normal things. Female sexual escapades. There's a little bit of everything (sexual) going on.
I get a lot of Smashing Pumpkins vibes, though without the cryptic, esoteric lyricism that's normal present in Billy Corgan's songs. Very early 90s grungy, stripped down alt-rock.
And then on a couple of songs, like Mesmerizing, there are some really good guitar licks going on.
Motörhead
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Ace of Spades, Overkill
Other than Ace of Spades (which I think I am largely aware of due to it being another Tony Hawk's Pro Skater song), I have no experience with Motorhead. So, with that being said, I am not sure, or rather, I am surprised that the author of the List chose to put a live album of Motorhead playing instead of a studio album. I am not convinced that was a good idea. The music sounds very muddied or audibly blurry. Having the audience cheer and scream as the band plays is cool enough, but the production value just isn't there. The recording of the concert just doesn't sound good. Which is unfortunate, because the set list was pretty sweet.
Beyond the live album criticisms, I can't help but notice that there are a lot of similarities across the tracks. I found myself hearing Ace of Spades in probably two or 3 OTHER songs they played. The same... idk I guess its the percussion? Maybe the rhythm? I dont know enough about music to articulate how the tracks are similar, but they are.
For me the highlights are the vocals and the percussion. Lemmy Kilmister's voice is so distinctive, maybe even iconic, and the drumming is just out of this world.
All this being said, this album simply doesn't rise to the same level that Iron Maiden's debut album or Ozzy's Paranoid does. Maybe that's because its a live album, maybe its something else. I am not sure.
Alice Cooper
3/5
Listens: 2.5
Standout Tracks: Blue Turk, Public Animal #9, School's Out (I guess)
This is another one of those albums where the artist blows their load on the first song. School's Out is iconic, the titular track and its the first song on the album. The rest of the album isn't too bad, but there isn't really anything to noteworthy either, save for the instrumental section of Blue Turk. And certainly, there's nothing as shocking as Billion Dollar Babies "Raped and Freezin'" or "I Love The Dead".
Honestly, the album kind of ends of a depressing note. the penultimate track sort of ends with "Coop" goes from reminiscing about highlights of the school year, to sort of calling out to all his friends at the end of the school year, hoping they'll keep in touch. He's sort of perpetually stuck in school, while everyone else is moving on - graduating. That's obviously the point, but its sort of a grim situation to find one's self in, and probably one that's also pretty familiar to most people; something you wish could last forever, but ultimately ends.
I think I gave Billion Dollar Babies a 4. I am not sure that was correct. This is similar and its solid 3 material.
The Who
3/5
Listens: 1.9
Standout Tracks: Tattoo, My Generation
I barely got in two listens. I didnt really digest this album. It seemed kind of quiet (probably because its not a studio album). It also seemed sort of intimate, like Nirvana's MTV album, but i don't know anything about Leeds venue to determine if that's actually true.
The only other album I've heard by them is their debut album, and I rated that a 3, and also noted that I found the studio version of My Generation to also be a standout track.
This is also a 3.
Ryan Adams
2/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: My Winding Wheel
I dont have any opinions about this. It reminds me of some other singer songwriter album I heard about 100 albums back. Can't remember his name, but it was basically generic 2000s adult contemporary, like this.
Jean-Michel Jarre
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Oxygene Part 4
SPACEEEEEEEEEEEE.
I liked this. It felt fresh and exciting. It's electronica music way before it went mainstream. It is way more consumable than Tangerine Dream's Phaedra, clocking in at only 39 minutes vs. the 2h35m for the deluxe version of Phaedra. I am only comparing it because Phaedra is on the List.
Anyways, I had heard Oxygene Part 4 before, but I couldn't put my finger on from where. I was for sure not alive when this came out, and my parents wouldn't be caught dead listening to something like this, and yet, I've heard it before... from where. Trying to put my finger on it.... I was pretty sure the context was a carnival or county fair. You know, some music that plays on one of the futuristic rides like the UFO shaped "Rotor". I hit up my sister to see if she had any distinct memories of hearing the song, but she didn't. So I finally googled it, but nothing substantial. Apparently Carl Sagan used it in Cosmos, but again, I was too young and my parents never showed me Cosmos (as disappointing as that is).
Let's give the ole' AI (Gemini) a spin:
I was listening to Oxygene part 4 by Jean-Michael Jarre, and I've definitely heard it before. I have memories of hearing it at the carnival or county fair, so on or near one of the rides. Is that possible?
....
Arcade Grabber Machines: The track was frequently used in many arcade grabber (claw) machines, notably the Mega Crane, distributed by Elaut. A short clip of the main melodic part was often programmed to play at random intervals when the machine was idle but active.
....
Spit-take. WOW. Okay. So I was pretty close after all said and done. I unmistakably heard this song playing (well, at least a tight loop of it) at an arcade I had visited multiple times during my childhood, but still over 15 years ago, committed the sound it to memory, and then activated that memory when I listened to the album today. Nice.
Beck
5/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Earthquake Weather, Hell Yes, Broken Drum, Go It Alone
Now I understand why YTM kept recommending this album to me (presumably based on my tastes). It's... fantastic. It's a weird mix of everything. Alternative rock. Grunge. Elements of hip-hop, country, and pop. It's got slow music, It's got aggressive music. There's weird shit on Que' Onda Guero, and Hell Yes. Not to mention it has 3 insanely popular singles.
Glad I listened. Glad its on the List. Definitely adding to my rotation.
The Rolling Stones
4/5
Listens: 4
Standout Tracks: Gimme Shelter, Monkey Man, You Can't Always Get What You Want
I think I need to go back and revise the ratings on some of the other Rolling Stones albums I've heard so far. Let It Bleed is far and away better than their 1964 self-titled album. It's better than Beggars Banquet. It's better than Exile On Main Street (which I need to listen to again now that I've listened to Liz Phair's Exile In Guyville). All that's left for me now is Sticky Fingers and Aftermath.
Gimme Shelter alone is worth rating this album a 4. I guess I've drastically misunderstood the Rolling Stones. I had always been under the impression (based on their popular singles) that they were a classic rock band like Aerosmith or The Eagles or Journey or Pink Floyd, but they clearly have way more of a blues streak that absolutely does not come out in their hit songs. This is still weird to me that an English band does the Blues genre so well. The blues genre just seems so American to me.
The Jesus And Mary Chain
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Nine Million Rainy Days
Right out of the gate, this album (Expanded Edition and regular) are not available on YTM, so I have to listen on YouTube thrown together by some rando on the Internet. Quality of the upload was dubious. Sucks to suck I guess. Not being able to listen to high quality audio tracks really sours my mood and probably contributes to bias.
This kind of reminded me of My Bloody Valentine - the Shoegaze genre - and like, The Cure's Seventeen Seconds. Maybe Sonic Youth. I enjoyed a few songs, but it was quite samey throughout the album.
Fats Domino
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Trust In Me
First off, this album did not exist in YTM. I had to reconstruct it as a playlist from Fats Domino Ultimate Edition Volume 1. This was easy enough. All of the songs from "This is Fats Domino" were on Ultimate Edition Vol 1. I can't say for sure that the songs performed on the Ultimate Edition volume 1 were exactly the same as This Is Fats Domino, but it should be the same general vibe.
This album is SHORT. It clocks in at 27 minutes, or 31 minutes if you listened to the "deluxe" version with two additional tracks. There's not a single song that goes reaches 3 minutes. Easy listening, both figuratively and literally, is an understatement.
It's too short. Some songs just end rather abruptly. Others do the dreaded fade-out. You might find a song you like, and then its just... over. There's no opportunity to chew on any of the songs. They're all basically just little dittys that come and go.
Musically, the tracks are pretty bare. Singing. Some sort of rhythm, maybe percussion and maybe bass.
This album was fine. I am probably going to forget about it pretty soon though, it simply didn't have enough impact on me to call it stellar.
The Mamas & The Papas
4/5
Listens: 4
Standout tracks: Monday, Monday, California Dreamin', Spanish Harlem, Do You Wanna Dance
A good mix of Americana, quartet barbershop, folk rock and psychedelica. Very much a product of the time. Mid 60s. Hippie revolution. Beatles-mania. These mamas and papas sound just like the Beatles. Not every song is about love, women, or relationships, so that's a plus.
This gets high marks in my book. Its easy to consume, well put together and left a lasting impression.
Milton Nascimento
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Um Girassol Da Cor Do Seu Cabelo
Pleasant music. No idea what they are singing about, but flavorful all the same. Not as good as Jorge Ben's Africa Brasil.
2/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: The Devil Gets His Due, I Got Caught
You can't change my mind about country music being good. But, I will say, of all of the country music I've listened to so far, this sucks the least (ignoring Johnny Cash), weirdly.
Unlike a metric shit ton of music coming out in the 60s about love, sex and women, you gotta give Loretta Lynn some credit for singing about infidelity/cheating, jealousy, relationship dependency, inappropriate relationships and a variety of shit that can go sideways in a relationship.
She has a nice voice, and the subject matter is refreshing, so can overlook the twangy country music. If this was spun as like, a 1950s female Sinatra, I could really get behind it.
Solomon Burke
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: None
I haven't really formed an opinion on this album in any capacity. I listened during my nighttime routine and then I listened for a second time during work the following morning, and really, nothing popped out to me. I was not rocking and rolling, or grooving, but I wasn't pulling my hair out either. It came and went. It was fine.
Willie Nelson
3/5
Listens: 1
Standout Tracks: Moonlight In Vermont
I really did not expect this kind of intimate album from Willie Nelson. I don't know what I was really expecting, I guess country music, but I was not expecting this.
It was pleasant, but largely unrelatable, except for Moonlight In Vermont. I happen to be in Vermont right now, although it is definitely not a clear night. It is in fact snowing. It would be especially touching if it was a clear full moon.
Penguin Cafe Orchestra
3/5
Listens: 1
Standout Tracks: Zopf: Milk
This was quite off the beaten path as far as the List is concerned. I am struggling to come up with anything, mostly because I only got in one listen. Is this an actual orchestra (what constitutes an orchestra?). What is the genre of this? Experimental jazz? Not able to form an opinion.
Various Artists
2/5
Listens: 1
Standout Tracks: None
I could get behind the idea of the creator of this site manipulating the randomness of the List to feed me an album from the List when a musician died (like Ozzy Osbourne or Brian Wilson), but I am not going to listen to a Christmas-themed various artists album on Christmas Eve. I have been blasted by god-damned Christmas songs since the day after Thanksgiving and I am fucking done.
I suppose it would be weird for this album to come up in July or March, but I honestly would rather that have been the case.
Also, at least it's not Mariah Carey (but I am sure that will be the album next year or something like that).
~22 Hours Later: I reluctantly listened to this album today, not because I changed my mind on the quality and quantity of Christmas music I've heard over the past 40 days, but because I came here to listen to new music, and to be open to all music, even if I don't end up enjoying it. That being said, what I heard on this album was in no sense mind blowing or a revelation. Most of the tracks I have heard before: over the radio, through mall speakers and cheesy hallmark movies, etc. and for those songs I haven't heard, well, they were more or less the same as those I have.
David Bowie
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Fascination, Across The Universe, Fame
There are some catchy pop tunes on this album, and Across the Universe is an interesting cover. Fame in particular has a really good funky beat going on, right out of the gate.
Method Man
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Bring the Pain, What The Blood Clot
IMO Method Man has the most distinctive voice of the Wu Tang Clan members. It makes him stand out, and makes him easily recognizable when he appears on albums or tracks as a guest.
As far as hip-hop albums go, this isn't as good as 36 Chambers, but it's solid, respectable entry and shows that Method Man could break out and do his own thing, not strictly having to rely on Wu Tang Clan. The album features the same stripped down, minimalist approach to beats and rhythms that are featured in 36 Chambers, and it's personally a style I really enjoy It's not overdone; there's an ever-present focus on the lyrics, not on the music. The beats are just a way to tie the lyrics to a cadence.
The blurb about the album mentions "I'll Be There For You / You're All I Need To Get By" being (one of) the singles that drove the commercial success of the album, but this track doesn't even appear on the album. It's on the deluxe album, but only as remixes? Which one (if any) is the original track? Why is a "driving" single not on the original album release? Scratch this: The original track is "All I Need". It's weird that they title it differently as "the single" version.
Nas
5/5
Listens: Many
Standout Tracks: NY State of Mind, Life's A Bitch, One Love
WOW. I just came off listening Method Man's "Tical", and during an extended commute yesteday, I found myself in the mood for more hip-hop music, so after Tical finished, I put on Nas's "Illmatic", listened to that fully, and then put on Czarface's "Every Hero Needs A Villain". What a coincidence that it came up as the next album.
I've only really started listening to this album on the regular in the past year, but in the past year I've probably put in 25 full listens. My coworker was giving me a lot of shit that I've never listened Nas, despite being such a fan of 90s rap (Biggie, Wu Tang, Mos Def, A Tribe Called Quest, Del The Funky Homosapien, Gangstarr, etc.)
So, I gave this album a try, and man have I been hooked. So many bangers and good beats. Songs that have stood the test of time. The jazz beat and scratching on The World Is Yours is to die for.
I gave Method Man's Tical a 4. That was probably generous. I like Method Man, but that album doesn't truly have staying power like Illmatic does.
This album is easily a 5. It's on the same level as other East Coast Rap albums: 36 Chambers, and Biggie's Ready To Die (which I have to assume is also on the list).
Johnny Cash
5/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Cocaine Blues, 25 Minutes To Go, Jackson
This was a great album. Short, sweet, to the point, songs relevant and seemingly crafted to suit the environment from which Johnny Cash is playing in - a prison.
Malcolm McLaren
2/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Buffalo Gals, Double Dutch
I can't really make heads or tails of what this is supposed to be. proto-hip-hop influences, along with a lot of percussion beats and rhythms? Sort of reminded me of Nightmares on Wax. It was like listening to a disc jockey live on the radio in the 80s or 90s - not that I have any personal experience with that.
This album is apparently somewhat responsible for popularizing hip-hop in the UK in the 1980s.
And then, of course, the thing I personally recognize the most is the fact that Eminem sampled/remixed Buffalo Gals on Without Me (The Eminem Show).
I am pretty sure I also caught another sample; subtle: Deltron 3030 sampled the background beat in El San Juanera on their track New Coke (which is more of a skit than a song).
Sebadoh
1/5
Listens: 1
Standout Tracks: None
The term "indie" back in 1993 means something completely different from an "indie" rock band in the mid to late 2000s. I can only imagine this band took on the indie moniker because they are or were signed by a legitimate independent label, not to be confused with the term "indie" used to describe much softer adult contemporary music like Death Cab for Cutie, Arcade Fire or The Lumineers.
These guys can't keep a tune. They can't sing a harmony. The seemingly cannot play chords that sound good. There are basically no good hooks or melodies to speak of. It's almost grunge, but without even a modicum of anything resembling a coherent song structure. Discordant sounds all around; Everything sounded Washed out.
Needless to say, I was not impressed. I did a listen and that's about as much as you're getting out of me.
Herbie Hancock
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: All of them (there's only 4 tracks)!
Good jazz-funk-rock is good. Seriously though: Great grooves and a sweet album cover. What else is there to ask for?
Pixies
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Is She Weird, Dig For Fire
Second Pixies album on the List. For whatever reason, this felt less experimental than Surfer Rosa, and consequently more approachable; more refined, but still quite out there at times.
The album opens with like a surfer rock song, but then the immediately next song is almost screamo rock music called... Rock Music.
Three of the songs are named after women, at least. Velouria and Havalina could very well be too.
On closer inspection of some of the tracks, I am left with an impression of: This reminds me a ton like the Smashing Pumpkins, both in the quality of the music, but especially because of the almost poetic quality of the lyrics.
I think I gave Surfer Rosa a 4. I think that album is more likely a 3, but Where Is My Mind? elevates it to a 4. I think I like this album more than Surfer Rosa due to it being more refined, but it simply doesn't have that killer track on it.
Christine and the Queens
2/5
Listens: 1.5
Standout Tracks: Damn (what must a woman do)
Synthpop. Reminds me of La Roux, except, this album was sooo long. Cut it in half and it would be infinitely more tolerable. Half the songs are in French, so I can't really speak to the lyrical content too much, but the synth beats were okay.
Bob Dylan
3/5
Listens: 2.5
Standout Tracks: Dirt Road Blues, Make You Feel My Love
Wow. Over a quarter of the way through the List and I am only now just hearing my first Bob Dylan album. I think he has something like 9 albums on the List (along with the Beatles and Bowie)?
And similarly to David Bowie, where I heard his last studio album he produced before dying, I am hearing an album produced by Dylan in 1997 for my first official experience.
It was fine. He sounds like Tom Waits, or maybe Tom Waits sounds like old Bob Dylan. Either way, dig the vocals, dig the music and dig the genre. Unsurprisingly not his best work though.
Beatles
5/5
Listens: Many
Standout Tracks: While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Rocky Raccoon, Helter Skelter
I am not articulate enough or musically inclined enough to describe how good this album is, but I guess I can try. It is musically diverse. Trippy and in some parts possibly drug-fueled. Psychedelic. Culturally important. Politically inclined. Fresh, even 58 years later. There's lyrics of love, sex, women, humiliation, capitalism, sadness, happiness, parody The lyrics and the recordings are rife with tension, frustration and controversy.
This album is an easy 5. It's a top three Beatles album for me, but as I write this, I've decided that its not as good as Abby Road or Revolver. Unlike either of those two incredibly tight album productions, the second half (sides C/3 and D/4) sort of the album sort of drags on. With the exception of Sexy Sadie and Helter Skelter, and Side D especially, gets pretty out there even by my standards. I get that there's a lot of experimental stuff, but eight minutes of Revolution 9 gets me pretty bored, and I want to put the good stuff back on or switch to something else.
The Specials
4/5
Listens: 3 or 4
Standout Tracks: Sock It To 'Em J.B., International Jet Set
I am waffling on whether I like The Specials or not. One the one hand, there haven't been too many ska/rocksteady bands with a punk-ish attitude on the List so far, and so in that regard it was pretty refreshing. It almost dips into Reggae too, and it sort of reminds me of Thievery Corporation, who I love.
On the other hand, they are not playing any music that is revolutionary or mind-blowingly awesome. There are a couple of good tracks, some boring ones. There's so decent singing and some not-so-decent singing. I mostly dig the beats.
I think if I were in the mood, I would listen to these guys more, and I am inclined to add the album to my ever-growing library of albums I've picked up from the List, so I think they get a 4 from me.
I also really get a kick out of the James Bond Song. I have a buddy who's initials are JB and we call him JB, and I think, glossing over the "100% confirmed James Bond" references, this might just be his theme song.
Dolly Parton
2/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Hobo's Meditation
Man, shoot me in the head. Make it a triple-tap. Fortunately its only 39 minutes.
I just can't even with this. Half the songs are about fretting over or trying to please their "man". Insufferable. I think Hobo's Meditation is maybe the only redeeming song.
Jerry Lee Lewis
4/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Good Golly Miss Molly
I think this is the shortest album I've encountered on the List so far, clocking in at a measly 22 minutes, but it's also the tightest 22 minutes of rock and roll I've ever heard. Jerry Lee Lewis is not fucking around in Hamburg Germany. I don't know Jerry Lee Lewis, but I have for sure heard Great Balls Of Fire. Now I can put an artist to a song. Neat.
On looking the album up on Wikipedia, I've identified a significant discrepancy: The album is supposed to be 37:02 with 13 tracks, not 22 minutes with 8 tracks. Youtube Music be fucking up- or someone's fucking up. Not cool.
I found on YTM a playlist of the complete album by a fellow 1001 Albums traveler. Shoutout to BEAT PATROL 2 for throwing together the album in a playlist.
Sly & The Family Stone
4/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey, Everyday People, Sex Machine
Absolutely no complaints about this album. Love the funky beats on Sex Machine.
The second track (I am really not going to get in the habit of dropping the N-bomb more than once) being just the two statements over and over for four stanzas, with a single stanza woven in with just four lines of... well its not exactly political; I can't really say much of what it's supposed to mean is... its still great, the scatting the false build up. All great. And the you've got the classic Everyday People which is instantly recognizable from radio play, TV, movies and all other forms of media.
Ice T
3/5
Listens: 2.5
Standout Tracks: First Impressions, Bitches 2, Prepared to Die, Escape from the Killing Fields, Street Killer
I can't help but laugh at this album. There's some good shit on it, but its also just really amusing. You've got Ice T in 1991 singing about being an OG, and then I just picture him on Law & Order as a police. The First Impressions skit also cracks me up. In fact, all of the skits on this album are pretty great, especially Street Killer.
Ice T isn't the best rapper out there. Some of his rhymes are too simple, but what he lacks in lyrical style he makes up for with the persona and the bravado he brings to the album.
If Ice T doesn't like the rating, I give him, I guess he's just gonna have to... crunch the numbers (if you know, you know).
AC/DC
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Highway to Hell, Night Prowler
To be honest, if you've heard Back In Black (also on the List), you've also heard Highway To Hell, and vice versa. This album just has two less rocket-to-the-moon hits on it (but there are still a handful that have quite high play counts).
It's not bad music, it just very quintessential, stereotypical rock music. You put this on for background music when you're in the shop or the garage, or drinking beers with your buddies on a summer day. There's nothing deep to contemplate; No hidden meanings (sexual innuendos aside) to ponder. It's just hard rock music.
Jack White
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Love Interruption, Hip (Eponymous) Poor Boy, I'm Shakin'
The album started out... well, it sounded like Jack White was tired, like the years caught up with him. His delivery is a little slower than it had been during the White Stripes era. That might actually be true, but as the album progressed, that criticism sort of melted away. He's still very much at the top of his game, even if delivery of the lyrics is a bit slower.
The album is not something I've ever listened to before, despite being familiar with most of the White Stripes catalog, and highly familiar with certain albums. It's going to take a bunch of listens, but I can easily see this album being a go-to in the weeks, months and years down the road.
Bob Dylan
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Like a Rolling Stone, Tombstone Blues, Balled of a Thin Man
Overall, I enjoyed this album. I really dig Blues music and this album has Blues in spades.
Tombstone Blues and Balled of a Thin Man are especially awesome. I've heard the latter song before, covered by the Grateful Dead on one of their live show albums, Road Trips Vol. 4 No 2. April Fools '88
I'll be honest, I was sort of expecting to hear Maggie's Farm on this album. I felt that it would probably have fit really well. Oh well.
Desolation Row could have been 4 minutes shorter and still gotten the point across I think. I was listening to it and I was like "wow, still Desolation Row ain't it? How long is this fucking song?" It's over 11 minutes long.... Don't get me wrong, its a good song, but its long bordering on absurd. It doesn't have any music solos, so its just Bob Dylan doing verse after verse for 11 minutes.
Caetano Veloso
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Eles
I couldn't really relate to this or get into it, unlike other "world" albums I've heard thus far on the List. The variety of genres combined with the foreign language left me confused.
I don't think it was bad or off-putting though, so it cant go below a 3.
Louis Prima
5/5
Listens: 3 or 4
Standout Tracks: The Lip, (I'll Be Glad When You're Dead) You Rascal You, Banana Split For My Baby
Yea, this was awesome. Plain and simple. The music, the lyrics, the presentation. The album doesn't take itself too seriously; No, actually, it doesn't take itself seriously at all. It's just clean fun.
I mean, how do you even reckon with the glorious "(I'll Be Glad When You're Dead) You Rascal You"? Is Louis singing about a friend? A coworker? A frenemy? A literal dog that tries to steal all his meatballs!?
How about the way Banana Split For My Baby slowly unfolds where you come to realize he's not treating his girl to a nice ice cream sundae, but rather he's poor as fuck and asks the waiter to bring two separate checks - she can pay for her own damn ice cream, he just got his glass of water. LOL.
This album is GOLD.
5/5
Listens: Many
Standout Tracks: She's Electric, Morning Glory, Champagne Supernova
Perhaps it's nostalgia for me - my mom bought this album on cassette tape and we would listen to it in the car while doing errands - but I quite enjoy this album. This album and Third Eye Blind are some of the first bits of music I actually remember consciously knowing about and understanding (not necessarily lyrically, but just as music that exists somewhere outside of the radio).
Oasis albums are pretty hit or miss for me, but this album, and Dig Out Your Soul (which I doubt is on the List) get periodic listens a couple of times a year. I am happy to see (What's The Story) Morning Glory here.
I know Wonderwall gets a TON of hate - its seemingly "mandatory" learning for anyone who is interested in "showing off their guitar skills". Oh, you have your acoustic guitar out, dude, play Wonderwall!
Morrissey
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Suedehead, I Don't Mind If You Forget Me
This album sounds a lot more like The Smiths than his fourth studio album, Vauxhall and I. It also appears that two of the songs from this album are his top songs in general. Strangeways Here We Come was a sleeper hit album for me. I think this album also has potential for being a sleeper hit. It takes a lot of listens to really get into the music. What's being said? Where are the good instrumental sections? What exists under the somewhat cheery music Morrissey puts out?
Only time will tell if this enters into my rotation or not.
Kings of Leon
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: None
I am actually shocked that Kings of Leon released their debut album as far back as 2003. I don't think I'd ever heard of them until they went mainstream with Only By The Night while didn't come out until 2008. They got really popular then.
Anyways, they are vaguely country, which I am not super keen on. I didn't find any of the tracks particularly memorable. I guess there wasn't anything wrong with the music though. Pretty middling overall. I'd be interested to know if they have any other albums on the List.
The Isley Brothers
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks That Lady Pts. 1 & 2, Summer Breeze Pts. 1 & 2
Another sweet funk-soul album. Great vocals and excellent guitar playing.
Never heard of these guys before, glad I was able to listen. Definitely something you want to hear before you die.
The Cure
5/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Lovesong, Lullaby, Prayers For Rain
I enjoyed this much more than Seventeen Seconds. Interesting melodies and powerful vocals. I can definitely hear the hallucinogenic influences. This album sounds awesome at full blast with good headphones on.
Edit: Retroactively bumping this up to a 5. The entire album has entered into my rotate these last four or so months since hearing it.
Einstürzende Neubauten
1/5
Listens: 1.5
Standout Tracks: I would say probably one or two tracks could constitute as "standout", but I couldn't point at them given the German song titles, and with the album being 20+ songs and almost an hour, I couldn't keep track of anything.
I am pretty surprised to not see this on the bottom 20. Oh nevermind, I just looked it is there at second worst album on here.
So yea, this was terrible. It barely constitutes music. I can hypothetically get on board with the idea of making music using unconventional musical instruments. I have some experience with genres like glitch hop, and I am a big fan of the industrial rock genre, but there's a huge gap in what music from those genres is representative of, and whatever... this is.
And with this newish feature on the site of being able to see your next album before submitting your review, I now have the pleasure of reviewing two bottom 20 albums in a row. Next up, The Birthday Party's Junkyard.
The Birthday Party
2/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: The Dim Locator
I recognize that this is in the bottom 20 for worst albums on the List. Here's how I am approaching this: I choose to believe this music exists within the universe of Mad Max.
Hear me out: This is an Australian band who produced post-punk (apocalypse) album a few years after the first Max Max dropped. The album has the production quality of something straight out of the Max Max universe. This is the kind of shit you hear from The Doof Warrior (the guy literally suspended from hooks and chains on a moving vehicle) as you ride into battle against your enemies.
The album cover features both a Mad Max hot-rod style car AND Immortan Joe (holding a birthday cake, naturally). I can't really comment on the rat shooting at the cat. Maybe its a metaphor for failed capitalism.
This is exactly the music I'm going to be listening to in the burnt-out, gasoline-scarce, apocalyptic hellscape that is the middle of the Australian continent in Mad Max.
When evaluated in that context, this is basically the only music that exists now, so naturally it gets top marks.
Outside of the Max Max universe however, this is extremely grating, save for maybe one or two songs, and exceptionally difficult to listen to (I had to listen to nearly 3 albums worth of Thievery Corporation afterwards to get the stink out).
I still think its miles better than yesterday's Einsturzende Neubaten's Kollaps, but it definitely deserves a spot in the bottom 20.
2 Stars
Steely Dan
4/5
Listens: 3 or 4
Standout Tracks: Black Cow, Deacon Blues, Josie
Out of the four or five Steely Dan albums that I've listened to so far, from the List, this is the one I've enjoyed the most, by far. It feels relatable. Familiar. Good grooves. Great bass lines. Plus, Black Cow got sampled by MF Doom's Gas Drawls, so that also helped me get into the album.
I would definitely listen to this again and it's getting added to my library.
Aretha Franklin
3/5
Listens: 1
Standout Tracks: N/A
I barely got in a full listen, unfortunately. There's nothing wrong with this music. Very pleasant. Great voice. Great backing instrumentation. No complaints
Portishead
5/5
Listens: 4
Standout Tracks: We Carry On, Machine Gun, Threads
I absolutely adore and am intimately familiar with Portishead's first album Dummy, but strangely, I've never listened to either their self-titled sophomore album or Third. So, I was happy to see it come up on the List: new music to listen to from a band I have some familiarity with.
I was initially... not impressed. It felt jarring. Foreign. Some of the trip-hop elements had been shed in favor of... I'm not sure what. Abrupt ends of songs. Noise. Discordant melodies.
I wasn't going to give up though, because of how much I like Dummy. On listen number two, and with a little bit more focus on the music and what exactly is happening, some of the noise went away. We Carry On was no longer just loud beeping sounds, there was something underneath that. Same thing with Machine Gun.
Things got even better with listen three. Now I am looking at track titles. Oh this is interesting. Deep Water is a nice break from the chaos. But there's still a lot of chaos. A lot of... what's the quality I am looking for... urgency? Severity? Panic? Like an animal trapped in a cage. Trying to break out. Bursting at the seams.
All those things I initially said: Jarring, foreign, noise, discordant melodies. They are still there, but the underlying music elements have also been brought to the surface now too. And the trip-hop elements are still there too, but you need to listen closely. The crackle of vinyl. Hip-hop beats, etc.
After four and a half listens, I will say, I like this, a lot.
Simon & Garfunkel
3/5
The Roots
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Water, Pussy Galore
I listened to this album twice, but it left almost no impression on me. Well that's not entirely true. I usually listen to the album for my first listen during the bedtime routine. If its a longer album, it usually ends up being something I fall asleep to. While I was falling asleep, Water was on and it got to the section where there's a heartbeat underpinning the track, and I just remember hearing it half-asleep and wondering if it was my heart beat, or if my heart beat was somehow synchronized to the beating sound on the track. It was strangely tranquil.
I suppose, beyond this, there seemed to be this theme of the album being DJ'd by... well... a DJ, complete with radio transmissions, static, changing stations, the whole schtick. I have mixed feelings about this style of presentation. It can be novel or played out, depending on the context.
I do not have any especially negative things to say about this album. I perhaps wish it was a bit tighter on the deliver. It could have been 45 minutes and been more effective. Considering the Roots have at least four other albums, I would be interested to hear more of them.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout tracks: Brother My Cup Is Empty, John Finn's Wife
I can't say I liked this more or even as much as The Boatman's Call. Nick's voice is coarse, and more often than not, he's not singing in tune... at all. Reminds me of the Dropkick Murphys. Lots of emphasis on story telling, which I suppose he does well enough.
Sister Sledge
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout tracks: He's the Greatest Dancer, Lost in Music
Another groovy disco album. We Are Family (the song) has been played to death, but other than this song, which it's still perfectly fine, and the fact that there are four remix songs tacked onto the album that begin overstay their welcome, this was a solid album to listen to. Disco albums get high marks in my book so far. The genre feels timeless.
Oasis
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout tracks: Live Forever
Two Oasis albums less than 20 albums apart. I guess that's fine. Sort of surprised to see two albums on the List though.
This was a totally fine entry. I have listened before, but probably not since the mid 2000s when I was in my music-collecting phase. Had to have every album in the discography.
Queen
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Orge Battle
I simply cannot comprehend how there's a Queen album where I know literally none of the songs. Not a single one of these songs is on the... Like... Top 20 most popular queen songs. This album is, as the kids say, completely "mid".
Actually on closer inspection, it turns out that I know very little of Queen's 15 album deep discography and am really only familiar with their greatest hits. Hmm.
I don't really care for this too much. It's not bad, but it just doesn't occupy any space in my mind.
Joni Mitchell
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Twisted
This is the second Joni Mitchell album I've listened, and while it's not bad, I still don't really get it. I don't know who listens to music like this.
Unlike Blue, this album has some jazz elements that were cool enough, and the last song, Twisted, I quite enjoyed.
Pink Floyd
5/5
Listens: 3 (+Many)
Standout Tracks: All of them
I own this album on Vinyl. It's great listening on full blast surround sound. It's spacy. It's down to earth. It's got a sweet album cover. It's highly consumable. The songs take on different meanings and perspectives depending on your age, and change accordingly. If I played the guitar, I suspect I would have learned to strum out Wish You Were Here. It's just an overall great album. As good as Dark Side of the Moon (weirdly, I have little practical experience with The Wall).
For obvious reasons, this gets high marks.
Pretenders
3/5
Listens: 3 (but the non-expanded/deluxe edition; ain't nobody got time for that)
Standout tracks: Up The Neck, Brass In Pocket
I've never heard of The Pretenders before, but I've definitely heard the song Brass In Pocket, so about 3/4s of the way through the album (the studio part) I get that ah ha moment where I get to put a song to a band.
Overall a fine album. I do wish that 1) it wasn't a link to the 3+ hour delux edition and 2) I wish there existed a version of the album that was just the studio tracks. It probably would have made the experience better.
Big Black
2/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Kerosene
> "Regarded as one of the greatest albums of the 1980s".
That's an interesting take. What I heard was washed out sound and too quiet vocals that could rarely be heard over the grinding of a guitar and smashing of drums.
I didn't absolutely hate this, but it didn't leave me with a positive or lasting impression either, except for Kerosene. If life in Small Town USA (TM) is so boring that you want to light yourself on fire with Kerosene just to feel something (being on fire), you should scrape together some money and leave for literally anywhere else in the world. More seriously though, I did like that song. I can't exactly relate to the whole abolutely-economically-and-societally-dead small town USA experience, but I can imagine it to be is dreadful as it sounds, particularly where "religion-based politics" is running rampant.
I don't really like punk music too much it seems. I much prefer, like, harmonies and melodies and in-tune singing. Something I relax to or use to focus.
The Allman Brothers Band
4/5
Listens: 2, 3
Standout Tracks: You Don't Love Me, In Memory of Elizabeth Reed
I was expecting this album from the Allman Brothers Band to be something like The Eagles or Journey or Steely Dan, but instead got something more akin to the Grateful Dead or Big Brother and the Holding Company, but with an extra strong Blues bend. Perhaps the fact that this is a live album at Fillmore East should have told me everything I need to know about what I was going to hear.
Jam bands generally take me a bit to get into. There's often a lot of music to "digest". Some of the songs are 10+ minutes long, and the whole thing is just seven songs, but clocks in at over 1h15m. This is the kind of music you really need to focus on, not really focus in the same way you need to focus on complicated, cryptic or baroque lyrics, but rather focus on the individual components of the music. Guitar or drum solos. Where the music is straying, and how it "comes back to the song". Good headphones or a good sound system are required to take advantage of the nuances in the various instruments.
I liked this. No complains, even with the length.
The Who
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Baba O'Riley, Bargain, Won't Get Fooled Again
I suppose The Who's 'Who's Next' is the album I am most familiar with insofar as I recognize three or four of the songs, with Baba O'Riley being instantly recognizable song for its famous intro and people's habit of calling the song Teenage Wasteland. I am also pretty sure Won't Get Fooled Again is used in some capacity in one of the CSI TV shows.
This is a good album. It's good album length. Memorable, distinct songs, excellent singing and instrumentation. An the album cover feels legendary. A very 2001: A Space Odyssey aesthetic.
The Velvet Underground
4/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Venus In Furs, Heroin, There She Goes Again
Subversive lyrics: ✅
Avant-garde: ✅
Banana (for scale): 🍌
This is now my second experience with The Velvet Underground, and third if you count Lou Reed's Transformer. The songs are interesting and diverse. The instrumentation is excellent. Lou Reed is awesome as usual. I am quite happy listening to this, even though I only got in two listens. This is going into the rotation.
Kanye West
2/5
Listens 1.75
Standout Tracks: I Am A God
How big must Kanye's fucking ego be to make a song like I Am A God and compare himself to Jesus Christ. I was going to talk about the fact that he recently apologized (for what its worth) by taking out a full page ad talking about his mental health and how he's working on it and was in a dark place. I guess that's a good thing. Buying a full, front page ad in a newspaper is still pretty batshit insane. It reads more attention-grabbing than genuine seeking forgiveness for being a shitty person.
Positives: It's only 40 minutes long. The samples are certainly unique.
Negatives: Massive ego stroking. Shitty album cover. Shitty album name. Most of the songs are boring.
Jimmy Smith
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Messy Bessie
Went into this completely blind. There's something about the idea of a chicken shack that makes me think of Yakety Sax, and this album...well... It doesn't actually have that kind of quality at all. It's a straight, no nonsense jazz album. A fine entry into the List. The album cover is a little goofy though.
The Beach Boys
2/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Wouldn't It Be Nice
There's just something about the Beach Boys that doesn't sit right with me. This is their 11th album put out in a span of 4 years and, jesus, they are still singing about girls and relationships. There's virtually no variety. The subject matter just seems so... juvenile? I want to use the word prepubescent, but that's just makes the whole thing even more cringe-y. Wouldn't It Be Nice has the benefit of being especially catchy, but if you listen to the words, you might just want to jam forks into your ears. How old were these guys when they wrote this? I honestly think I asked the same exact rhetorical question on the last Beach Boys album that came up (The Beach Boys Today!); That album came out a whole 13 months before Pet Sounds.
Also, "Pet Sounds"? y tho
2 Stars because these boys sure can harmony.
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Chemical World, Miss America
This was entirely better than than Blur's self-titled album (also on the List). I don't really understand why they thought they needed to shift into generic indie, but IMO it did them no favors. This album on the other hand, I can hear clear influential styles that would eventually go on to become the Gorillaz, particularly on Miss America, which is far and away the best track. It's mellow, melancholic, subtly layered with different instrumental styles and just an overall good song.
Magazine
4/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Definitive Gaze, Shot By Both Sides, The Great Beautician In The Sky
Pretty funky for a post-punk band. Good guitar licks and good organ. Seemingly quite obscure, barely any listens on YouTube Music (comparatively). I liked this.
Tears For Fears
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Shout, Everybody Wants To Rule The World
I don't think there's any doubt about the absolute staying power of Everybody Wants To Rule The World, and to a lesser extent, Shout. Even as someone who largely despises the new wave genre, I find these songs to be catchy, melodic, culturally impactful, and I recognize the incredible popularity of them. They're just plain old good songs. Maybe even nostalgic, though I wasn't even alive in 1985.
But man, is the rest of the album a chore to get though. It's just not my style. Tears for Fears and pretty much every other new wave band that's come up on the List. I give it a 2.5 rounded up because of the two extremely popular songs.
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: I want You Right Now, Starship
I can definitely hear and understand how MC5 could be considered a forerunner of punk rock, given this live album. The music is all fuzzed out and unwieldy. It's not clean or buttoned up. The vocals are shout-y and aggressive and politically motivated.
I have come to realize that most punk music doesn't rank too highly as a genre I enjoy, but this is early enough that you still have some jammy, psychedelic rock influences in the music, which I do like.
I am surprised I've never heard of MC5 before, but I guess I can't be that surprised about that kind of thing anymore - there's simply so much on the List that I haven't heard. That's the whole point though, right!?
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: There She Goes, My Beautiful World, Nature Boy, O Children
I think this is now my third Nick Cave album on the List, plus a fourth if you count his first (or at least previous) band The Birthday Party.
At the risk of going on a bit of a rant, why does Nick Cave have four albums on the List? They're like... okay? This album had a few good songs. It feels very big-band like, probably due to the backing vocals. There are a ton of bands that I haven't heard yet that I hope are on the list, but every time I check off a notch on the list, that's one less opportunity to hear something else. Instead, it's Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, again.
About a 2/3s through the third listen I was basically like "eh, I want to listen to something else" and promptly put on literally anything else (Ataxia, John Fruscante's experimental rock band).
This is middle of the road average album. I am not convinced it was something I needed to hear before I die. There's a whole lot of music out there and it's more than 3 Nick Cave albums.
Public Enemy
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: 911 Is A Joke, Pollywanacraka
This album is both prescient and as politically and socially relevant today as it was when it came out 35 years ago.
I am glad that Flava Flav toned down the "Yaaaa Boyyyys" significantly. He's still a little grating - not to mention this album is quite noisy - but it's still an awesome full of original samples have been used dozens if not hundreds of times since its debut.
This album falls into the same category as Beastie Boys for me. I recognize its cultural significance, but the music both loud and it can be obnoxious; its something I can enjoy, but only every once in a blue moon. It's not an album that I can binge for hours on end.
3.5
Japan
2/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Despair
Pretty boring. Music from the 80s - the new wave genre - continues to enforce my dislike of... the genre. I chose despair for the standout track because it was probably the most interesting track (and instrumental) on the album and because it best represented my approach to this album, knowing I was in for yet-another-new-wave-album-from-the-80s.
Don McLean
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: American Pie, Babylon
What's not to like about this album. Endlessly debated lyrical interpretations of American Pie. Because it's so open to interpretation (even though Don has since come out and explained some of the lyrics), you get a bunch of different stereotypical groups claiming the song is a representation of their ideals and beliefs. At the end of the day though, and to bastardize Drew Carey's quote: Everything's made up and the lyrics don't matter!
This album, specifically Don's singing, reminds me of several artists I've heard on the List so far including: Nick Drake, Leonard Cohen, Donovan, Elton John, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and Simon & Garfunkel. Basically, its a big ole melting pot of musical talent distilled into this album (in my opinion).
It's a lovely album, Babylon in particular is quite pleasant. Short tracks are always the best (and too short!).
Radiohead
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Pyramid Song, I Might Be Wrong
I think this album, and Pablo Honey.... and maybe The King Of Limbs are probably the albums I am the least familiar with in the Radiohead collection, so I am looking forward to a proper and thorough listen.
---
This album had a few bangers, but otherwise felt pretty experimental. That's not a good or bad thing necessarily. The use of trumpets was pretty nice, and not so common on their other albums. I am not sure that this needed to be on the list, unlike OK Computer, Hail To The Thief, The Bends and Kid A (and I can only assume In Rainbows at this point).
Pink Floyd
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Another Brick In The Wall Pts. 1, 2, Goodbye Blue Sky, Is Anybody Out There?, Comfortably Numb
It's a fantastic album. The track transitions are seamless; the music is fresh, exciting, varied and somehow still familiar. The guitar playing is on-point. The story being told is interesting and prescient.
I think my only real complaint is that some of the skits (should they be called skits?) sort of draw out the length of the album to levels where you start antsy for the album to end, but then bam another banger track comes on and you're good for another 15 minutes :)
Definitely not as good as Dark Side or Wish You Were Here. Its just too long, even if its telling a cohesive story.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
5/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Jigsaw Feeling, Helter Skelter, The Staircase (Mystery)
This album just feels important, culturally. It oozes punk/alternative rock. It feels incredibly fresh coming out of the 70s. The guitar playing is excellent; sharp, aggressive... just totally rocking out. I do with there was a little more melody and singing in tune, but I seriously call into question that thought; if that's really truly needed, if it would elevate the music or actually detract from it. I suspect, in the spirit of punk or post-punk, singing out of tune is sort of the point.
Edit: This album has become a mainstay over the past couple of weeks. I keep coming back to it and it's getting better and better. So, I'm retroactively bumping this to a 5.
Saint Etienne
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Nothing Can Stop Us, Etienne Gonna Die
This felt very proto-trip-hop. Sort of disco-y, sort of break-beat-y, sort of hip-hop. It was a fine album; perhaps a bit long, but the singing was pleasant and the beats were largely enjoyable. I don't know that this is something I would personally dance to, but it's certainly dance-able. Not sure where the sample in Etienne Gonna Die is from, but it's my favorite skit on the album by far.
Paul McCartney and Wings
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Let Me Roll It, Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five
It's been a while since I've had an instantly-connectable, instantly-likable song on an album. Nineteen Hundred And Eighty Five is a certified banger. Sure, there have been plenty of album that I've enjoyed right away, had prior experience with, or have since come to enjoy over time, but this track, right out of the gate is instantly "bop-able". It sounds fresh as fuck. Funky. Could have come out last year. Something Danger Mouse would have collaborated on with someone. There's a Danger Mouse + Karen O collab that reminds me of this song. I think its all in the funky bass line.
Anyways, the rest of the album is quite excellent and easily consumable too.
Easy 4.
Primal Scream
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout tracks:
Musically they are all over the place. First track sounded like off brand Oasis. Second track was jazz-rock-fusion with a dash of Oasis, third track was more like Massive Attack vocals with a lot of distortion. And the track four is... Idk... Normal sounding?
If they tightened up what got put onto the album, this could be okay. I guess it is still okay regardless, but the hodge-podge of sounds makes the whole thing weird.
Maybe this is like their first album or something *checks notes* ... Nevermind.
I barely got in 1.5 listens. While I was shoveling out from 17 inches of snow and listening to this album, though, I thought to myself that this is the right kind of weird to me. Sure, its a smattering of genres and styles jammed together, but its still musically interesting, even if its not cohesive.
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
2/5
Listens: 2.5
Standout Tracks: Skunk, Fuck Shit Up
What is this? Screamo-blues? Thrash-blues? Blues-grunge?
This album feels like the intersection of a bunch of bands and genres: Elvis Presley, Cake, Jack White, uh... Beck? MudHoney? Turbonegro?
I don't particularly care too much for this, between the weird and glitchy instrumentation and the sing-speaking vocals. It's a tad too discordant for me and its not getting better almost 3 listens in.
Fiona Apple
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Sullen Girl, Criminal
This album was decent enough, but it never really hit any sort of exceptionally high note for me. It's pretty middle of the road adult contemporary. With the exception of maybe one or two tracks, everything sort of blended together and felt monotonous. Tracks sort of meander around and then end. To be clear, I express no dislike of what I heard, but the album will most likely fade out of my thoughts, having left no serious, lasting impressions. It reminds me of (what limited exposure I have to) Sia, just without the same level of pep. It's fine.
Air
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: La femme d'argent
On a whim (not exactly a whim) I listened to this album back in November 2025. I did so, because over the years, my downtempo electronica radio stations have played La femme d'argent a decent amount. Basically, it came up enough to the point of me saying "maybe I should check out the whole album". Before I get too deep into a full second listen, I will just say that I don't remember it leaving any particularly lasting impression on me. Maybe this will change between last November and now. I know that is a seminal piece in the downtempo electronica genre, in the same way that Portishead really established the trip-hop genre.
After a few more listens, I enjoy it well enough. It's exactly what you want in downtempo. Chill music to listen to while relaxing, having a nice cozy party, reading a book or cleaning the house. It's light on lyrics and more of a soundscape of ideas. It's an important piece in the genre. I hope some others come up on the List, like Thievery Corporation or Nightmares on Wax, or maybe even Bonobo!
Mike Ladd
2/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Bladerunners
Reminds me a LOT of Kool Keith's alter ego Doctor Octagon, and a bit of Deltron 3030 insofar the subject matter and lyrical content, but it's also a bit too tryhard. There are some okay beats, but none of the songs were particularly noteworthy or mind-blowing.
Tim Buckley
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Dream Letter, Gypsy Woman
This was quite pleasant, and just when it starts to drag a bit, Gypsy Woman comes on with some decent jamming. I am not sure that I love it, but I definitely enjoyed what I heard. Gypsy Woman is certainly playlist material.
Alanis Morissette
5/5
Listens: 4
Standout Tracks: You Oughta Know, Hand In My Picket, You Learn, Ironic
This album is literally, figuratively, metaphorically, categorically peak 90s, and dear lord I somehow recognize almost every damn song despite never having listened to this album. Like 5 or 6 songs on the albums were blasted out on the radio as singles. And, I cannot lie: This is a great 57 minutes. It's bitey, it's seductive, its relatable. The music is interesting and diverse.
Alanis even plays God in Dogma! What's not to like?
The Smiths
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Bigmouth Strikes Again, Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others
Second Smiths album and fourth time listening to something involving Morrissey. I couldn't connect with this as much as Strangeways. I gave Strangeways a 5 eventually. Started as a 3.5 and I kept going back to it long after the album had appeared on the List. It's one of my first retroactive 5s. I still keep going back to it, ~240 albums later. This album isn't clicking in the same way. Knowing a bit a more about Johnny Marr's guitar playing (and his work with Modest Mouse), though, I was definitely keeping an ear out for some good guitar licks. There's a good spot on Bigmouth Strikes Again that I quite liked.
I don't have anything bad to say about the album. Like I've said many times before, i think this is just something I am going to need to try to come back to a few times to see if starts to click anymore.
Joni Mitchell
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Coyote, Furry Sings the Blues
I think my opinions of Joni are improving as I listen to her. This is solid 3 material for me, and not something I really plan to listen to once the day is over, but its nice. I probably said a similar thing for Court and Spark. I had less good things to say for Blue, which is amusing in hindsight considering its widely considered her best work.
I like the storytelling that happens in Coyote and Furry Plays the Blues. "A prisoner of the the white lines on the freeway" is some damn good imagery... or expression; it's a damn good something. I would give this album a 3.5 if do half-points on this platform.
Kings of Leon
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Soft, Razz
Yea, I'm not sure Kings of Leon deserve 2 albums on the List, so when I accidentally clicked on the Artist and got brought to the list of albums that are part of the Book and saw a 3rd Kings of Leon album, I was, frankly, shocked.
This album is whatever. It exists. It's not grating or transcendental. There is nothing groundbreaking about it, but I also don't immediately want to turn it off like I do with Justin Timberlake or Destiny's Child. It exists. I probably did not need to hear it before I die.
Alice In Chains
5/5
Listens: 4
Standout Tracks: Down In A Hole, Sickman, Rooster, Dirt
Really like this album. Did a double-take when it first came up. Thought I was having to listen to another Alice Cooper album.
This album just sounds really good. The production is high fidelity. The guitar, drums and vocals are all really prominent.
Reminds me a lot of Audioslave and Queens of the Stone Age.
I think I've heard Rooster before, probably on the radio, but I can't place it.
This gets high marks.
Roni Size
3/5
Listens: 2 (Barely)
Standout Tracks: Um...
- Do I hate break-beat? No. Not inherently.
- Do I hate this specific album. No.
- Do I love break-beat? No. Not really.
- Do all of the tracks sound basically the same? It requires a really discerning ear to catch all of the nuances, and even then, its still basically just the same beats of music, with variations.
- Do I want to listen to New Forms 20th Anniversary Edition featuring 5+ HOURS of break-beat music? Absolutely not.
- Is that the only version of the album of New Forms available on YTM. Yes, yes it is.
Should this be on the list? Probably, though I imagine this probably isn't getting high marks among the people listening to new music daily.
According to various sources, this is premiere drum and bass, break-beat music. I think it's important that all music be represented on the List. It's important to know what's out there. This album is out there. All 5 hours of it.
And, to be clear, when I saw that it was over 5 hours of music, I went on Wikipedia and looked up which tracks were on the original release and just listened to those. Definitely, 100% did not listen to this album for 5 hours.
Afrika Bambaataa
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Planet Rock, Renegades of Funk
This album is a "missing link" discovery for me. It bridges the gap between the genres that came before modern hip-hop: soul/funk/rhythm and bass/jazz and the golden age of hip-hop that emerged in the late 80s/early 90s.
I really enjoyed hearing Renegades of Funk. I honestly though that was an original Rage Against The Machine song, and so it was pretty cool and refreshing to hear what is clearly the original version
The album cover is outrageously bad; its so bad its almost good.
Stan Getz
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks:
Quick 30 minute album. Couldn't really parse out the differences between songs or when one song ends and another begins. Like so many other instrumental jazz albums on the List, this was easy listening, light, gental and quite mellow. Put it on while cooking or when company is over. It's fine.
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout tracks: Gang Bang, Next, The Last Of The Teenage Idols
Well that was certainly something. I don't think I've ever heard anyone sing about a gang bang before, especially in 1973. Talk about progressive. Sure, orgies and sex and probably concepts like free love have been around since the dawn of human civilization, but to sing about it on an album in 1973. :obama-not-bad-face:
What exactly is a "swampsnake"? A metaphor for something or a literal snake found in the swamp (apparently there is a genus of snake found in the Southeastern US called a Black Swampsnake).
Overall, it was a fun album, but one i don't think I will be listening to beyond the day.
Raekwon
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Incarcerated Scarfaces, Ice Cream, Can It All Be So Simple (Remix)
Okay, so far on the List I've had:
Wu-Tang's 36 Chambers.
Method Man's Tical.
And now I have Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx (Terrible album name? Definitely terrible album cover).
I must say, even though this album isn't anywhere near the quality of 36 Chambers, I feel like it's still pretty good. The way I see it, these solo albums almost feel like deep cuts from the Wu-Tang catalog. Nearly half the tracks feature at least one other Wu-Tang members. Some feature multiple members, and there are even some sweet feats like Nas.
My primary complaint is that virtually every song has an intro/skit/whatever. You never just dive into any song.
I like this. It was raw, it feels just like 36 Chambers. I'm always down for new east coast rap.
The Doors
5/5
Listens: 3 or 4
Standout Tracks: Break on Through (To The Other Side), The Crystal Ship, Alabama Song (Whisky Bar), Light My Fire
This is an album I have certainly listened to and am familiar with, but it has definitely been a long time since I thought about the Doors. The front half of this album is full of bangers, but then it sort of fizzles a bit until The End.
I love Alabama Song - It's just so unique and twangy, but in a creepy and haunting sort of way. Something about the song reminds me of a carousel, but like a really fucked up, "Help me, I can't get off this ride!" carousel - dizzying-like, urgent, concerning. Something about finding the next little girl doesn't quite sit right either.
Anyways, this is a tight album with real face-melters. High marks all around.
Miles Davis
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Boplicity
Third Miles Davis album. I've got no inherent problems with this album or the genre in general, but this seemed to be lack in variety unlike the last two (Bitches Brew and Kind Of Blue).
I'm not sure this is something I need to hear before I die.
Thelonious Monk
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Bemsha Swing
I don't know... Perhaps it's because I just back-to-back jazz albums (Miles Davis Birth Of The Cool), I wasn't really feeling this. Jazz as a genre is fine. This album is perfectly fine, but it's background music. You put it on and you do other things. It does not require active listening, but if you so choose to do active listening, you don't really gain anything particularly insightful. The mysteries of the universe are not unlocked for you. I'd argue that's the case for most music, but doubly so when there's no lyrics or singing to speak of.
Must to hear before I die? Sure. Why Not. It's nice to have heard a perspective of Jazz that wasn't Miles Davis.
Napalm Death
2/5
Listens: 1
The prize I get for listening to 365 days - 1 year's - worth of albums I must hear before I die is... An album on the bottom 20. Yay!
I understand why this has scored so low. As far a thrash metal (or whatever the fuck grindcore means) is concerned, I could genuinely get behind the instrumentation, at least in small doses. The percussion, the bass, the guitar; all quite adequate in terms of the what is being presented and within the context of the metal genre. But the singing... You honestly can't even call it singing. It's more like growling or barking. I literally could not understand a single word said across the entire 33 minute album. I had to resort to pulling up the lyrics just to decipher anything.
I try to listen to every album at least 2 times, but when I pulled this album up for a second go around as I was about to cook dinner, I could not bring myself to do it. I could not consciously submit my ears to a paltry 33 minutes of auditory assault. My time would be far better spent listening to almost anything else, which I did. Morcheeba's Escape The Chaos.
This gets a 2. I dislike it overall, but I like it more than Justin Timberlake, Destiny's Child and most of the music that comprises the "Country" genre.
Led Zeppelin
5/5
Listens: 5
Standout Tracks: Black Dog, Stairway To Heaven, Going To California
Waffling between a 4 and a 5. It's short. It's really sweet. Stairway To Heaven is a complete face-melter and still especially excellent.
I think the thing that surprised me was how mellow and chill the album can be, and at the same time, extra heavy at certain parts. I think like Ozzy's Paranoid is an apt comparison. Paranoid into Planet Caravan into Iron Man for example. There's a lot of that going on in Led Zeppelin IV. Even in just Stairway To Heaven you've got the three "acts" with each subsequent act being more and more high energy.
And then, whenever I do actually listen to Stairway To Heaven, I eventually need to switch over to Tenacious D's Tribute, to give tribute to the greatest song ever made.
Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Relight the Flame, Bomba, Erzulie
A couple of disparate notes for this one:
1. I dislike how broad the genre "World Music" is. There are literally dozens of different names for genres under the umbrella category that is "rock music" and you could argue that Electronica music sports hundreds of micro-genres. So, why the hell is this album labeled simply "World Music" when Songhoy Boys' Music in Exile and Jorge Ben's África Brasil (to name a few) have actual defined genres (afro rock, desert blues, samba funk, etc.) Surely this album can be qualified into a specific or even multiple actual genres.
2. That rant above, aside, I have mixed feelings about this album. It feels like a proto-Thievery Corporation in some places, and positively cringy in other places. Unlike Thievery Corporation, this does not seem to have any electronica elements. It sounds like this is all physical instruments. So, really the only overlap is the "World Music" elements present in both bands, but there is a bunch of... well I can't really say Rising Above Bedlam actually influenced, say, Richest Man in Babylon, but it sometimes feels like it.
3. This is the sort of album that I like seeing on the list. It's not an all-time favorite. It might fade out of my memory quite quickly, but maybe not. Maybe it will have staying-power. But regardless, this is why the List exists. To discover new stuff. New, interesting, "world music"-y music that's weird and out there and maybe a diamond in the rough occasionally.
4. I like the foreign language elements, the arabic/middle eastern styles and themes, the sitar (I'm not sure if it's actually a sitar being played). I like how it gets funky (not like the genre funk, but more psychedelic, brain chemistry altering funky) on some of the tracks.
This is one of those albums I wish I could give a half point. It's a solid 3.5. I am going to round up (which I rarely do; points for being off the beaten path).
The Cure
4/5
Listens: 3 or 4
Standout Tracks: The Hanging Garden, Siamese Twins
Third Cure album on the List. I really didn't get Seventeen Seconds, like, at all. Maybe it was just too new and foreign to me at the time. I fell in love with Disintegration, eventually, but not immediately. I think I latched onto the idea that there were a lot of hallucinogenics involved in it's production (apparently). Pornography falls somewhere in-between. It's moody, its brooding and dark. It's growing on me.
I originally gave Disintegration a 4, which I think at this point needs to be bumped up to a 5, which would probably make this a 3.5 or 4.
Nick Drake
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Pink Moon, Places To Be
I must admit, I'm a bit annoyed that Nick Drake puts out 3 albums and all three - his entire discography (while he was alive) - is on the List, and that means one or two other bands with perfectly good albums aren't on the List. Is Nick Drake talented? Yes. Is the music pleasant? Sure. Is this album particularly groundbreaking or fundamentally different from Bryter Layter and/or Five Leaves Left. Arguable (though definitely the best album cover).
This album is short. That's probably a good thing. The songs blend together. It's tough to parse out when one song ends and another begins. That makes it a lot harder to review. On its own, its a fine entry into the List. But knowing that all three of his albums are also on it diminishes the impact of the artist.
3
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Slave Driver, 400 Years, Stir It Up, Kink Reggae
Love a good reggae album. Seriously underrepresented genre on the List. Songs written and composed by both Peter Tosh and Bob Marley. What's not to love!
Arcade Fire
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: The Suburbs, Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
Standard affair indie music. I don't necessarily think this album deserves all of the accolades it seems to have gotten, but neither is it a bad album. There's good guitar solos and a lot of the music is sonically dense, which I tend to appreciate.
For the most part, I usually hone in on the musical aspect of... music (as opposed to the lyrics). I like good beats, rhythms, melodies, solos, etc. and rarely focus on the lyrical content (except for Rap/hip-hop music). Consequently, I read about people's reviews of albums (after submitting my own notes) and usually observe how I completely missed the fact that an album was about X, whether X is depressing topics, social critique, or what have you, and I suspect that this album has something to do with life in .... wait for it.... the suburbs! Did I catch any of the points of any of the songs? No not really. Was the music pleasant to listen to? Yea, sure. Did it resonate with me? Eh, not really. Is this an album I must hear before I die? Perhaps. Culturally the indie genre has been quite relevant and important these past 20-25 years, but I am not sure how this album differs from their other album on the List Funeral, which I gave a 3. I would perhaps bump this up to a 3.5, but I would also round down in this case. I don't think its a 4.
Metallica
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: ...And Justice For All, One
A scathing critique of government corruption and war. I didn't really listen to Metallica growing up (or honestly, any music from the Metal genre). Boy have I been missing out. It turns out I really like the genre. It resonates with me on a lyrical level and I find myself really enjoying the instrumentation too - some albums more than others - but enjoyment nonetheless. This album doesn't has as much staying power as Master of Puppets, but it is a very solid entry still.
With the "Iran War" (is it a war or not?) really starting to ramp up, I can't help but think about the reignited relevance of this music. This music was and continues to be a powerful tool in criticizing institutions like Government, the Military Industrial Complex, Religion and even economic systems. It holds an important place in society serving as both an outlet for criticism and a means to communicate a message to people who might not otherwise necessarily have an awareness of such things happening in the world.
Sigur Rós
5/5
Listens: 3 or 4
Standout Tracks: Hjartað hamast (bamm bamm bamm), Viðrar vel til loftárása, Olsen olsen
This was quite a lovely album. Thought provoking and powerful. Interesting sounds, instruments, styles and vocals... and I can't understand a lick of it. This is undoubtedly a recurring theme for me here. A good handful of 4 and 5-rated albums are in languages I have no comprehension of.
There are some elements in Olsen Olsen that give me major The Legend of Zelda Majora's Mask vibes. The flute? reminds me of the Clocktower town theme music (I think). And then on the last track as everything is winding down, there's a lot of ambient sounds that remind me of a certain creaking, groaning and grinding clock tower.
All this Zelda stuff aside, the fact that I don't understand any of the singing means that I can sort of let the vocals fade into the background, and consequently, this becomes a sort of pseudo-instrumental, ambient, soundscape-y album, where I can really focus on the music.
Very high marks for me.
Pantera
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: This Love, Hollow
Maybe I only like the earlier roots of the heavy metal genre... To expand on this, I really like Black Sabbath, I've enjoyed most of what I've heard from Metallica, and Iron Maiden. For this album, I really like the instrumentals; the guitar and drums. The almost-revving up nature of the music is sweet. I guess this instrumentation lends itself to the "Groove Metal" subgenre?
Anyways, when the lead vocalist (Phil, right?) actually sings, I enjoy those songs. They are fleeting and few in number on the album. The screaming I can sort of do without. Don't get me wrong, the whole aggressiveness of the music got me pumped up when I was biking to work this morning. I suspect I would be similarly pumped if I were listening to this at the gym.
This gets a 3. If the vocals were toned down (less screaming more singing) even just a little bit it might be a 3.5 or 4.
David Holmes
4/5
Listens: 4
Standout Tracks: Let's Get Killed, Radio 7, Freaknik, Don't Die Just Yet
I have no problems with this album. I wouldn't call it groundbreaking or visionary, but I found it much more palatable than, say, Fatboy Slim or MJ Cole or a half dozen other electronica/break beat artists I've so far come across on the List. It's pretty basic, standard issue electronica grooves from the 90s. A couple of the tracks I would even say are playlist worthy. There are elements of reggae, ska, rocksteady, dub, hip-hop present in many of the tracks. I appreciate the "skits" on a bunch of the tracks; after doing some digging, I've come to find out that Holmes went around NYC and just sort of found Pimps, drug dealers, prostitutes, etc and just got raw recordings of them saying whatever the hell they liked. On Cadell Returns, that's Rodney Yates (who also has his own song) sounding like, basically, Hunter S Thompson right out of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (which came out a year later). Pretty wild stuff. And then the story on Let's Get Killed is interesting too. A guy beats the shit out of another guy who stole some money from a dead man's hand at a funeral, and then when he showed up randomly at some bar years later, the narrator lost it and beat the shit out of him. Amusing stories from the streets of NYC.
Charles Mingus
5/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Track B - Duete Solo Dancers
The music feels simultaneously harmonious and discordant. The first track feels so chaotic with the in-your-ear trumpet going all over the place, but its still all held together really well by some mysterious force I can't really put my finger on. And the same thing with Track B; it takes some time for the track to build up, but then it goes all haywire until the music almost crashes out with the sputtering trumpet (or maybe its some other brass instrument) around ~4:45... and then the track reboots and finds it ground again before wrapping up.
Ok, so what jazz have I heard so far: couple of Miles Davis records, Thelonious Monk, Stan Getz, Herbie Handcock, Bill Evans Trio and a smattering of other artists that show up in the jazz genre when I filter my history; there's a lot of jazz overlapping with other genres like funk and rock and swing. Anyways, I think this was better than pretty much everything else I've listened to, except for maybe Herbie Handcock's Head Hunters, but that also has the whole funk angle going on, so from a pure jazz perspective, I think this is my number 1 record so far, beating out all three of the Miles David records, including what seems to be the undisputed king: Kind of Blue, which I gave a 4.
This gets a 5.
Kraftwerk
2/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: The Man Machine
I do not like this. I almost hate it. But why? Why do I like Jean-Michael Jarre's Oxygène, but not this. They're practically the same thing.
This album is too upbeat; it feels cheesy for some reason. I think it's aged poorly. Something about the idea of this music being futuristic makes me think the exact opposite. It's not futuristic, its corny and tired and the evocative of a bunch of late 70s early 80s futurism/retro tropes. I also think the production is way too clean and buttoned up... it's inorganic, sterile... which I suppose makes sense within the context of robots and machines? But is that the intended purpose or is that just a coincidence? Do all of Kraftwerk's other albums have this same sterile production value?
As I put more words down, I think my issue with the album is crystalizing: This album sounds way too optimistic. The future simply hasn't turned out as futuristic as was envisioned 50 years ago. Space travel is not possible on a widely-available, commercial level. Robots exist, but not in the butler/maid sort of way envisioned in the Jetsons (unless you count a Roomba). Cybernetics are still a ways off. Instead, things seem a lot more dystopian. Social media that causes echo chambers, depression and addiction. People glued to their electronics. AI that is coming for your job. Mass surveillance and a loss of privacy. A global rise in authoritarianism, fascism and right-wing nationalism. Basically, this album sees the future as something to look forward to, and that cannot be reconciled with the future we're living in today.
I give this 2 stars. I do not like it, but it did get me thinking about the future (and the past through the lens of the impact of technology on our lives.
Minor Threat
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: ?
Very short album. Only 21 minutes makes it one of if not the shortest album I've come across on the list (so far).
I can see this album being a important piece of music for the punk genre, but I can't really appreciate it. It's a little grating and not too exciting. It does however remind me of playing Tony Hawk's pro skater, and I suspect Minor Threat has influenced a lot of the 90s and 2000s emo/alt/post-hardcore bands like Blink 182, Coheed and Cambria, Sum 41, The Offspring, Green Day, etc. etc.
The Notorious B.I.G.
5/5
Listens: Many, many, many
Standout Tracks: Gimme The Loot, Warning, The What, Suicidal Thoughts
Man, I fucking love this album so much. Awesome beats, insane lyrics, and hilarious skits. This completes my trifecta of 90's rap/hip-hop albums: Wu Tang Clan's Enter The Wu-Tang Clan (36 Chambers), Nas's Illmatic, and Notorious BIG's Ready To Die. The pinnacle of gangsta rap.
Top marks!
Dolly Parton
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Coat of many Colors, Here I Am
I still don't really enjoy most country music, but this could have been a lot worse. 27 minute album is short enough that its generally tolerable and there are some decent songs to boot. None of the songs are going to be joining any playlists, but I think in the spirit of listening/experiencing to new music, I was decently happy to listen thing this is a perfectly fine entry on the List.
Joy Division
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Decades
Very raw, gritty, stripped down music. Grimy is probably the word to use. Joy Division is a band name I've heard thrown around a lot since I started this journey (this is album #381) - usually in a good way, I think - and I guess I can see why. Like Siouxsie and the Banshees, this album sounds like a missing link that bridges the gap between the punk, post-punk and new wave genres.
I like the punk and post-punk elements - the exceptionally grinding guitar at the end of Atrocity Exhibition, the speak-singing and barely keeping a tune singing, and just the washed out sound in general. The parts of the album I'm not super thrilled about are the tracks that feature synthesizers. Or maybe I just want to not like the synth sounds.
I seem to have a love-hate relationship with the New Wave genre. Sometimes I can't stand it and other times I find myself wanting more and more. I think its related to the fact there's just so much 1980s music on the List. It gets tiresome hearing a new wave album every 5 or so albums.
Dr. Octagon
5/5
Listens: Many
Standout Tracks: Earth People, Blue Flowers / (Revisited)
I know that people taking this Journey aren't going to look kindly on this album. Those. People. Are. Wrong.
Yes, there's toilet humor, dick fart and sex jokes. Yes, it's absolutely absurd. Yes, it's juvenile. It's also wildly original, avant-garde piece of music that fuses a whole bunch of genres - including the budding trip-hop genre - emerging during the 90s. The samples are on-point and the whole thing was produced by Dan the Automator, who went on to produce such genius works like Deltron 3030, Handsome Boy Modeling School's So...How's Your Girl, and Lovage: Music to Make Love to Your Old Lady By.
For all it's incredibly offensive subject matter, the album is still fucking awesome. Kool Keith brings to life a character that has serious moral and ethical problems and it just works. The whole thing just works.
Also, how else are you going to cure your Moosebumps, if not by listening to advice of a homicidal, extraterrestrial, time-traveling gynecologist from Jupiter.
Jeff Buckley
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Mojo Pin, Lover, You Should've Come Over, Dream Brother
This is hard to categorize for me. It sometimes feels vaguely Christian, probably because of the Hallelujah, but it's really not that. The cover, for some reason, puts a picture of Elvis Presley in my head, but its definitely not "the king of rock and roll" either. Maybe Hozier? (but obviously loooong before Hozier even came out with his first album).
There is some real talent here; its a damn travesty what happened, and the fact that we'll never get to hear any new music from Jeff.
Anyways, I don't quite think this is going to be in the regular rotation of albums; not really my style, in the scheme of things, but 1) I might add one or two songs to my growing playlist 2) I am definitely happy to have listened, and 3) This should definitely be on the List.
Crosby, Stills & Nash
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: N/A
Largely unremarkable. Not great, but not awful either. In one ear and out the other. Maybe if it had been a bit more jammy and off the cuff it would have resonated with me more.
Fugazi
5/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Repeater, Blueprint, Two Beats Off, Shut The Door
This album is growing on me by the third listen. The whole genre is, being wholly unexplored prior to beginning my 1001 albums journey.
This album has all of the hallmarks of Punk without the over-the-top aggressiveness and screaming that is a bit of a deal breaker for me. I feel like this warrants further explanation, but its hard to articulate. I think about some of the bands I've heard so far:
- Minor Threat's Out of Step was quite tough to listen to. It was barely singing and the music raw and violent.
- Television, on the other hand, is also considered Punk, though they seem more on the fence between punk and post-punk. Marquee Moon earned a 5 for me.
- Siouxsie And The Banshees's The Scream is quickly becoming my most recent favorite album, initially earned a 4 and was retroactively bumped to a 5.
- The Clash's London Calling was middle of the road for me. It just didn't resonate with me, though that was 272 albums ago! at this point. Maybe they deserve a re-listen.
- Rocket From The Crypt's Scream, Dracula Scream was not fun at all.
These are just a few from the List so far.
Anyways, my point is, I like the toned-down, slightly melodic proto- and post-punk styles of Punk music, not the in-your-face, screaming, can-barely-understand-what-the-hell-your-saying Punk music that seems to dominate the 1980s. Fugazi's repeater seems to fall smack dab in the middle of the spectrum for me, and its at a threshold where not only can I tolerate it, but I kind of like it.
Edit: This has gone from a 4 to a 5 for me. I've listened to this a number of times since I got it on the List and I've recently started breaking into the rest of their catalog.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
Listens: 4
Standout Tracks: Down By The River, Running Dry (Requiem for the Rockets)
I've given Neil Young, and Neil Young + Crazy Horse very favorable reviews. This must be my 5th or 6th album on the List so far, and this album is no different. It's just so damn easy to listen to, and I really appreciate the soft of extended jammy sessions on Down By The River and Cowgirl In The Sand.
Something about Down By The River also reminds me of Cake, but I can't recall which song. I looked it up and there's no sample or link between Cake and Neil Young.
Thin Lizzy
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Dancing in the Moonlight,
Gut Reaction: Fuckkk. A live, double album from a band I've never heard of......
After listening: Oh! I have heard this band before, just never heard _of_ them before. This is one of those put-a-song-to-a-band scenarios. The Boy Are Back in Town is just out there in the world. You've heard it before, probably dozens of times, but if you're like me, you have literally no idea who Thin Lizzy is, despite that fact.
So anyways, no where near as bad as I was expecting. The 1h17m flew by.... well not flew, but it wasn't a complete drag either. I enjoyed the crowd work. I enjoyed the saxophone. The Irish accent brings some flavor to the music. I really quite liked Dancing In the Moonlight. Johnny the Fox Meets Jimmy The Weed was also memorable. And then of course I have nothing bad to say about The Boys Are Back in Town.
Misc Thoughts: Terrible album cover. Feels a little boomer-ish, but then again, I try not to play the boomer card too much. Having no frame of reference besides the studio version of The Boys... I didn't have any strong objections to the fact that this was a live album.
Solid 3.
4/5
Listens: 4
Standout Tracks: Five Years, Moonage Daydream, Starman
Okay. This is one of those top 20 albums, and it's one that I've never heard. Ever. In fact, other than having listened to two other Bowie albums on the List so far, I have no experience with Bowie. I hope this lives up to its fame.
After four listens I can say that Ziggy Stardust lives up to the hype. I am not sure it get to that 5 rating from me, but it's pretty damn close. Interesting concept album, diverse song choice and instrumentation, interesting critiques on fame and stardom. It's also surprisingly punk-ish, which I am really starting to appreciate.
The Wikipedia article is an interesting read. The songs are all packed with story and exposé on what's happening on earth and how Ziggy comes to be, his lifetime and finally his death at the hands of his fans.
Adding the album to my library and certainly adding a few songs to my playlist.
The Jam
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Start!, Man In The Corner Shop
Has a couple of good/playlist-worthy songs on it. Start! sounds very very similar in song structure to a famous Beatles song - maybe you've heard of it before - Taxman. I actually went back to listen to Taxman to hear just how similar it is. Obviously its not a literal cover, nor is it a sample (I think) but its definitely the same drum beat and very similar guitar riff? It's almost bizarro world-esque. Anyway, that's not necessarily a dig, imitation being the highest form of flattery and all that. It's just amusing to watch people in the YTM comments argue over it.
Beyond this amusing tangent, the album is fine. I guess it's refreshing to listen to a band that I've never heard or heard of, and know none of their songs. That's always nice, to hear and discovery truly new music.
What else is there to say? It was not groundbreaking. It was not revolutionary. It also wasn't mundane or boring.
The Dandy Warhols
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Boys Better, I Love You, Pete International Airport
I... think I liked this? Yes. This is starting to click. It felt introspective, atmospheric, melancholy, and vaguely Modest Mouse.
My initial impressions were: this is bland, early-American-indie music, before the "indie" genre experienced its revival in the mid 2000s.
But, as I've spent more time listening, there's something else in the music that I am trying to suss out: a sullen, middle-America, nothing-ever-happens-here quality. The music evokes a sense of: the barren wasteland towns you might drive through but absolutely never stop in, except maybe to use the bathroom at a rest stop or get some food at the local, but highly-commercialized fast-food restaurant chain.
There's a sense of dread in the music. There's a lot of drawn out guitar wobbles and feedback and static. There's sounds of trains on tracks screeching and groaning in the distance. One of the songs is about Heroin ab/use, but its sort of wrapped up in this cheery bop. A strange juxtaposition.
Anyways, I think I've talked myself into liking this. I certainly more on that side of the fence. It feels offbeat and slightly weird. I like offbeat and weird.
Fleet Foxes
2/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: ?
Compared to some of the stuff I've had on the List, this album has, on paper, good listen counts. I know those can be juked, but I tend to take it at face value if we're not talking top ten most popular artists in the world.
My point being, people seem to like this. It clearly has wider appeal than, for example, Fugazi's Repeater, who I just listened to a few albums ago. It's also not Beatles material either, but for an album from 2008, it has 7 songs with over a million listens.
I do not care much for this album. I don't hate it, but on just about every song, where I think something interesting is going to happen, or when I hope the song is going to go in a particular direction, it doesn't, and I'm left disappointed/deflated and wanting more. Most of the songs are short, so by the time you start to get a "lift-off" moment, the song is just about over.
It's just not captivating to me.
JAY Z
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Izzo (H.O.V.A.), Renegade
I can tell you right now, even though I like hip-hop, I'm not listening to the Collector's Edition. I can't devote 4.5 hours to Jay Z (I try to do every album at least twice).
This album has some good songs (and a really good feat. by Eminem) but I think it suffers from being too long and simply not being as good as both The Black Album and Blueprint III. I expected to both recognize more songs and ideally enjoy more songs, but I found it very same-y instead.
Nine Inch Nails
5/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Piggy, Closer, Ruiner, Hurt
I've been waiting for a NIN album to come up, and I am glad it's one I have less experience with. I'm very familiar with With Teeth and Year Zero, both of which are excellent and have similar themes as The Downward Spiral. I have listened to this album before, several times actually over as many years, but it hasn't ever quite clicked in the same way. This album is more raw and unrefined. Its hyper-aggressive, violent and unforgiving. It pulls no punches in the message its trying to deliver and oh boy does it deliver.
The industrial rock-style is in full view here; weird sounds abound, from the heartbeat in Closer, to I-don't-know-what-to-call-it-sound in Ruiner, to the distorted statics on Hurt.
This isn't my favorite NIN album, the latter half of the album, besides Hurt drags a bit, but its still incredibly good. A seminal piece for the Industrial Rock genre. This album is mandatory listening and 100% deserving of being on the List.
The B-52's
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Dance This Mess Around, Rock Lobster
Yo. YO. I want whatever drugs the B-52's were on when they recorded this shit.
Seriously though, this album is fresh. It's a little punk. It's a little surfer rock. It's a little psychedelica. It's a little dance. And that all adds up to 100% bonkers, just like the Beehive hairdo (which I secretly dig)
I have two memories of "the beehive": the first one is my maternal grandmother, who definitely had a beehive at one point in her life, and the second one, Mar's Attacks alien woman rocking a beehive right before she kills you.
Anyways, I approve of this (and the moon, which is called The Moon).
Muddy Waters
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Mannish Boy, The Blues has a Baby and They Named It Rock and Roll, Deep Down In Florida
I absolutely loved At Newport 1960. Instant 5 for me. This isn't clicking in the same way for me. None of the songs really stuck out. It's consistently good. I am inclined to give this a 4. I really do love the blues, but I either haven't fully digested this album (very possible) or maybe it's the whole not-live aspect of it that bring it down for me. I can tell you, at the end of some of the songs, when the band members are like "hot damn that was awesome", those are the high points of the album for me. At the end of I Want To Be Loved #2 and I Can't Be Satisfied they sound so fucking excited to have nailed the song. That's cool. It's insightful. It's humanizing (not that these guys are up on a pedestal or anything). I wish more artists did that (some do!).
John Lee Hooker
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: The Healer, Cuttin' Out
A second blues album in as many days. This felt entirely more toned down than Muddy Waters, almost like a B-side arrangement of songs. The Carlos Santana feat was quite nice, and I am honestly surprised I haven't had at least one Carlos Santana album yet.
I must admit, compared the other blues albums I've heard, I wasn't super impressed. It was a completely fine album, but almost none of the songs really popped out for me. It was adequate background music for biking to and from work. Maybe I just feel this way because I didn't get a chance to reset from the Muddy Waters album the previous day.
In any event, no complaints from me about this.
Sugar
2/5
Listens: 2
Standout tracks: None
Ugh. I mostly hate this. So far, College rock has been decidedly absent on the List. Sure, there's been a few R.E.M. albums and a Chili Peppers album, but I'm talking about, like, Eve 6, Matchbox 20, Green Day, Weezer, The New Radicals, Third Eye Blind, Everclear, etc etc. Some of these examples actually kind of suck, but my point is, this album - Copper Blue - is also a terrible example of college rock, alternative rock, and rock in general and is entirely undeserving of being on the List. The lyrics are vapid, the sound sonically "thick" and generic to boot. For a genre sort of defined by its hooks, catchiness, and radio appeal this album sure is lacking in all categories.
It's not entirely-overplayed late 90s / early 2000s tween pop music, so it doesn't get a 1, but its not much higher that that.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Commotion, Bad Moon Rising, Sinister Purpose
Second CCR album. I don't... um... Okay; It's two album so far that I've listened to, and they total barely an hour worth of music. I gave Bayou Country a 4. That was album 61/1089 for me. This is album 398/1089. I still have no strong objections against this music - Swamp Rock I read one reviewer call it - I just can't give this another 4. It's all too similar sounding. Individual songs are good. CCR in small doses is good. Compared to what this album could be, 29 minutes might very well be considered a small dose. I could not listen to this for hours on end, and so by the third full play, I want to turn it off. Again, not because its bad, but there's almost no identity to individual songs.
Butthole Surfers
3/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Sweat Loaf, Human Cannonball, 22 Going On 23
I thought I saw this album on the bottom 20 list of worst albums, but I checked last night, and it might be competing with one of the upper, bottom 20 albums. It's not on there presently.
I thought this album was kind of cool. Its definitely psychedelic and completely out there, but I think that's kind of the point, especially after reading more about the Butthole Surfers and the kind of music they make, the kind of shows they do and clearly also the names of their other albums (and this one). I like weird, and this album has it in spades. I like most grunge music, and this album is definitely showing some pre-grunge guitar distortions. The homage to John Wayne Gacy as the album cover is pretty twisted, as is the subject matter of several of the songs.
I think my point is that most people simply misunderstand this album and what it's trying to say. Do I know what it's trying to say? Absolutely not, but that's part of the fun.
ZZ Top
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: La Grange
Short one today: Eh. Perfectly average.
Queen
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Killer Queen
I don't much care for glam rock, and I am discovering that I really only like Queen's greatest hits, of which that album has one song. As such, this is unexciting to me.
Fela Kuti
4/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Egbe Mi O (Carry Me)
Good, and funky too, but I could have easily done without the 16 minute drum solo track. Other than that, no complaints and nothing bad to say.
Manic Street Preachers
2/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: None
Dreadfully boring, generic and dull. No standout tracks, nothing catchy, no excitement for me. The only intriguing about this album was in reading about the fourth member who just up an disappeared. And to be clear, not in a sensational, true-crime sort of way, just genuinely intriguing and kind of sad; In particular, some of the discourse that seems to have stemmed from his disappearance, Kurt Cobain's death and self-harm, suicide, depression, drug ab/use and other such goings-on for artists in the 80s and 90s.
The Louvin Brothers
1/5
Listens: 1
Standout Tracks: None
Hard pass. Country music just isn't for me.
10cc
2/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: None
I did not care for this. It felt like off-brand Queen. Very weird and not very entertaining. I've had a cold the past few days, perhaps this is influencing my opinion, but this just wasn't good.
Culture Club
2/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Karma Chameleon
I woke up this morning - my cold getting progressively better after a proper, full night's sleep - and sat down with my morning coffee to see what's playing on the List this morning. Yesterday was 70s UK trash pop 10cc. I have had a pretty bad run these past five or six days. Only one album that received higher than a 3. So, I was not super happy to see yet another New Wave band come up. This has to be something like the 20th or 25th (no, I just checked, this is my FOURTY-FIFTH) New Wave album I've had to endure.
This album feels dated. God, I fucking hate this genre. The 1980s are far and away my least favorite decade, its not even close.
Karma Chameleon saves the album from getting a 1.
David Bowie
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: "Heroes", Sense of Doubt, Moss Garden, Neuköln
I can definitely hear the Brian Eno influence on this album. It's all moody and atmospheric and ambient, and there's, I think, two or three fully instrumental tracks, which I would not have expected (in my limited experience) on a Bowie album.
I liked this album.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Listens: 4
Standout Tracks: Paint It Black, Under My Thumb
I feel like the Rolling Stones have some sort of split-brain going on. On one side of the brain, you have absolute bangers like Sympathy For The Devil, Gimme Shelter, Paint It Black, Under My Thumb. And on the other, you've got really weird (but not necessarily bad) shit like Lady Jane. Maybe my beef is just with that track, which feels otherwise out of place compared to the rest of the album. Its a baroque tune in a sea of rock and roll and blues. Why is it on the album?
Paint it Black and Under My Thumb are 5's and the rest of the album is a 3 (Going Home is a 4).
Neu!
2/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: None
This went right through one ear and out the other. Music in America and UK in 1975 is like, fucking insanely good and awesome, and then you have... this. It's not offensively bad, but damn is it boring. I did my two listens and then entirely forgot what album I even had today until I opened this page to write this review.
The Monks
5/5
Listens: 4
Standout Tracks: Monk Time, Shut Up, I Hate You
Damn. This is exactly why I'm taking this journey. For these gems. This was a really cool album. Unique, proto-punk-y and genius. Interesting songs. Anti-war sentiment is always a plus. Why would I listen to the Beach Boys when I can listen to this banger.
This album basically didn't exist in any meaningful format I could consume besides a shitty Youtube upload, which I ultimately tolerated, because I was kind of hooked after the first listen. It's seemingly out of service on YTM, Amazon, Spotify (partial).
I admit, I liked this album so much I actually did a piracy, in 2026.... You know, with boats and peg-legs and eye-patches.... Well, technically, a buddy did a piracy for me but still... While I couldn't really find anything digital, I do see that it's available on Vinyl for $35. I will be strongly considering this, to show my support.. to the music labels.... ugh.
Marvin Gaye
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Right On, Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)
Pretty powerful music. Sort of bleak too, that Marvin was signing about poverty, war, climate change, etc. going on in the world in 1971 and, despite how far we've come in a lot of aspects of society, we're functionally no closer to solving many of the problems raised in the songs - in some cases we've even gone backwards. And then, its all done up in this ultra-smooth delivery of rhythm and blues, soul and jazz, and excellent singing. Plus, I always love a good concept album.
Elbow
4/5
Listens: 4
Standout Tracks: The Bones of You, An Audience With The Pope
Never heard of Elbow before. This was quite a pleasant album. Something about it reminds me of Massive Attack's Heligoland. I also hear a lot of Radiohead influence, and maybe a bit of the Black Keys.
The instrumentation is great. Clean, good fidelity, very melodic. Diversity across songs. I like when adult contemporary doesn't sell out and go hard-right to top 50 pop music.
The Incredible String Band
1/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: No, not really.
I recognized the name of this album as being bottom 20 (I've really gotta stop looking at the top/bottom 20), and I'm thinking to myself, man, I really hope this isn't that bad (when are reviews going to support italics??).
I've listened to 7 out of 20 of the bottom albums on the List so far; Most have been deserving, but maybe one or two weren't absolutely soul-crushingly bad. 60's Scottish psychedelic-folk by definitely wasn't on my bingo card today, so I was not mentally prepared for this.
It started off okay enough I guess (no, not really), but things quickly went down hill. These guys tried to speedrun how to do everything wrong making music: out of tune vocals, the chorus singing over the lead and vice versa, particularly terrible and out-of-tune flute, congratulating yourselves on a particularly ordinary and not impressive at all song, and including it on the record... and saying "Huzzah!", referring to a Minotaur as a "buffalo man", something about slithering and squelching on a 13 minute long song about who the hell knows what.
All of that was just in the first three or four songs. Suffice to say, this was comically bad. I have no desire to listen to this ever again.
Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
Arrested Development
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: People Everyday, Give A Man A Fish
Good beats and okay rhyming/lyrics, but maybe a little too socially conscious. Or maybe it's just most of the songs seem increasingly particularly relevant these days :/ God, reality is so depressing. I don't exactly consume and listen to music to escape reality, but this is nearly an hour of decently heavy shit to process: homelessness, religion, making ends meet, motherhood, however you conceptualize the story being told in People Everyday, with a guy and his girlfriend having to confront a group of.. disrespecting hooligans, while trying to mind their own business, the raising of children with certain ideals (or not).
I don't dislike or hate this, but I am not in love with it either. I think I would rather go listen to A Tribe Called Quest, Atmosphere (Slug and Ant), De La Soul or Mos Def.
De La Soul
5/5
Listens: 3 (plus a handful in the past)
Standout Tracks: Potholes In My Lawn, Say No Go, Me Myself and I
Literally just yesterday I had Arrested Development's 3 Years, 5 Months And 2 Days In The Life Of... and I ended my review saying that if I wanted to listen to (socially) conscious hip-hop, I'd have my choice to listen to any number of arguably better artists... including De La Soul, and lo and behold, what comes on the next day? 3 Feet High and Rising, possibly one of the funkiest, freshest albums to close out 1980s hip-hop. Good skits, never takes itself too seriously, while still largely staying clear of the gangsta rap sub-genre that would become so prominent in the 90s. All of the beats are SO GOOD. The only thing I could do without is the gratuitous orgy skit. I still listen to it; I respect the sanctity of the "album", but I want to skip it. It really doesn't add anything.
Far and away, the best beat is on Me Myself and I. I can only assume such a fantastic beat is a sample from the funk era. WhoSampled shows several artists/albums that De La Soul sampled in the song, but I really don't care if its not original; its too good.
Germs
2/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: I am not sure. We Must Bleed has an interesting intro.
I think I want to like the Punk genre, but this album did not do it any favors. The music and instrumentation, pretty good actually. I don't really know how to articulate what I like about but the music, but I like it.
The singing however was horrendous. Why does it sound like the singer is drunk on EVERY song. Slurring his words like it's going out of style. I kind of wish there was an instrumental version of the album. It would be really cool to hear it without the singing.
The lyrics are also of dubious quality. Following along each song, I am not getting any real meaning from the songs. Are they literal? Metaphor? Is there a theme? Comprehending lyrics are generally not my strong suit.
...and I just finished reading the blurb about this being their only studio album for possibly many reasons including the lead singer committing suicide :( .
Bobby Womack
2/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: None
I don't think I care much for this. I found myself humming some of the melodies and beats, but its basically an album entirely about women and romance. At some points it feels creepy and contrived. I really did not like that flat, weirdly out of tune "sound" (dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun) played periodically over the course of Just My Imagination. Evokes images of a bad drug trip... or you know... your mind playing tricks on you. Or maybe clowns.
Anyways, did my two listens and that's about as much as I plan to invest in this.
Jane Weaver
5/5
Listens: 4
Standout Tracks: Slow Motion, Ravenspoint
This reminded me a lot of Stereolab, a dabble of Sylvan Esso and possibly also Phantogram. I wasn't so convinced of this on the first couple of listens, but it's growing on me. It's sort of electronica, kind of airy and "cosmic", good tunes.
I am kind of surprised by how low the listen counts on an album that came out almost a decade ago. This is apparently off the beaten path. That's okay. That's what this Journey is for.
Edit: This album is a lot more recent for me, but I've already become hooked and I'm bumping up my rating to a 5.
Anita Baker
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: Sweet Love, Mystery
Strong start with Sweet Love, which I immediately recognized as being sampled in Hoe Cakes by MF Doom. This kind of music isn't really my style... at all, but I can't say its bad or I dislike it. What's there to say? She has a nice voice. The music is super smooth. It's a fine album.
Leonard Cohen
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout tracks: You Want It Darker, Treaty, Traveling Light
I think this is my third Leonard Cohen album. While listening, I couldn't help but think he sounds like that theme song from S02 of True Detective "Nevermind"... Lo and behold, that is his song; ha!
This is a very personal album (for him). Released 17 days before he passed away. It's clear he put a lot of effort into the album. Its very well put together. His husky voice, the backing vocals, the cadence in his delivery of the lyrics, the music. All great.
David Ackles
1/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: None
Listen, this guy, David Ackles, might have been inspiration for the likes of Elvis Costello, Elton John and Phil Collins, but that doesn't make him or the music good. I'm sorry, but show tunes is just not high on my list of music I seek out and want to listen to, and judging by the catalog and the low volume of listens on popular music platforms, most people probably agree with that assessment.
Did I hate this? Not exactly, but hate is a strong word I try not to throw around too much. This was not fun to listen to. I took no pleasure in it. I found it to have very little in redeeming qualities. I don't loathe it the same way I loathe country music or 2000s top-100 music, but its not too far behind either.
Van Morrison
3/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: ??
I listened to this album twice, like I try to do with every album, even those which I don't particularly care for. I listened to 3 hours of Van Morrison. That was a lot of hours of Van Morrison. I didn't love it. I didn't hate it. I formed no impressions. There were maybe a couple of tracks somewhere in the middle where it sounded like they were jamming out for, but I don't know if that's really true; There's only one song over 10 minutes.
Entirely middle of the road.
The Fall
3/5
Listens: 2 or 3?
Standout Tracks: Paranoia Man in Cheap Shit Room, It's a Curse
I can first say that I did not listen to the whole album. Clocking in at over 2 hours... no sorry. That being said, I did actually listen to the whole album by accident when I was going to sleep, but I was not cognizant of it, really.
What I did listen to, several times, is the first 12 or 13 tracks. I have mixed opinions. Doing post-punk in 1993 seems... late to the game. And being late to the game, you might expect there to be a body of works from which to draw... inspiration from. I don't really see (hear) that here. What I hear is post-punk fighting, but not really winning, to be punk music. As a result, it sort of lands in this no-mans land. It's rough around the edges. Its faded and washed out. Its not quite sloppy, but its grimy. It's weird. The lyrics are cryptic or steeped in metaphor. It's hard to know exactly what's going on. But it's also got elements of new wave. There's piano on some tracks, I think. That's definitely not par for the course.
I think it's fine album, albeit a tad too long. It might enter my rotation, but probably not. I really wish there was a "original" version of the album, without the extra 20 songs. Ironically, this IS the shorter version of the album. The "Complete" edition of the album clocks in at over 5 hours of music.
The Blue Nile
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: A Walk Across The Rooftops
When I read that this was another Scottish band on the List, my eyes rolled into the back of my head so hard they could have caused a seizure. I've had to endure the likes of The Shamen, Primal Scream and The Incredible String Band, just to name a few and so I was not looking forward to this.
SO, color me surprised when I started listening; this is actually pretty good. It's totally outside of my comfort zone and what I would normally listen to, but I quite enjoyed what I heard. It doesn't overstay its welcome, its got great instrumentation, including that really deep bass spring-sound (that I can't articulate). I don't really know which other artists to relate this music to. Genesis comes to mind? I scroll though the "related artists" at the bottom of the artist page on YTM and no one stands out as familiar. There's not really a concrete genre this can be classified into. It's sort of standing on its own legs, at least IMO. Dare I say, I might even call this beautiful, which after 400+ albums, is not an adjective I think I've used yet.
Good job, The Blue Nile
Hole
4/5
Listens: 4
Standout Tracks: Celebrity Skin
I don't know what to write. I like this. I like the softer side of grunge - late-grunge, alternative rock, whatever. I got Garbage's debut studio album pretty early on on the List, and it took me a few listens to get into. Getting into this album was a lot easier. It's like if Alanis Morrissette or Liz Phair had a proper rock band. No complaints.
Nirvana
4/5
Listens: 3
Standout Tracks: Heart-Shaped Box, Dumb, All Apologies
Back-to-back Courtney Love (Hole) and Kurt Cobain (Nirvana) from the List. Weird coincidence?
I listen to my music primarily one of two ways; though Bose QCs when I am working, and through Shokz bone-conducting headset when I am just around the house, commuting to work, preparing to go to bed, etc. My Shokz get a lot of use and have drastically increased the amount of music I listen to. There's a point to this. This album's fidelity seems... off when using the Shokz, even though this is the 20th Anniversary Remastered edition. Obviously, there's a significant difference between the quality of the sound between Shoks and Bose QCs, but on this album in particular, where the sound can be washed out, and Cobain's usual lack of articulation in his singing really contributes to a poor experience listening on the Shokz. So much of the grungy, grimy sound just does not come the bone conduction well. But, I digress.
This album is a mixed bag for me. It's good, but it just doesn't get to the same heights as Nevermind in my book. Nevermind is banger after banger, while this album has a few excellent tracks spaced out with a handful of perfectly adequate, but otherwise not particular noteworthy tracks. This is evident by the disparity in the listen counts across the album. Popular songs are in the 70-500 million listens, vs the less popular songs, which barely scratch 10 million. To be clear, this is a popular album. Nirvana is as popular today as it ever was. Compare this album to some of the shit you get on the List; album that have been out for 40 or 50 years that barely scratch 50k listens and it's clear that Nirvana is here to stay.
I'll close with the fact that the album cover is dope as hell.
ABBA
2/5
Listens: 2
Standout Tracks: None
I really couldn't care less about this. It's about 15 minutes too long. It didn't leave a lasting impression. None of the songs stood out. I didn't connect with any of the supposed themes of isolation, the Cold War or splitting up of the band (since the List doesn't respect any sort of chronological ordering of how you hear a band's different albums). Consequently, and because I have listened to virtually no ABBA, I have no frame of reference for why this album is supposedly more mature and less "pop"-y.
The most interesting bits of the album came from the facts on the Wikipedia article - one of the first albums to be recorded and mixed digitally, and one of the earliest to be manufactured commercially for "Compact Disc" aka CD. Those are cool bits of information.
Edit: I've changed my mind. I dislike this a lot less than Elvis Costello and the Attractions.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
1/5
Listens: 1
Standout Tracks: None
My tolerance for Elvis Costello and what pop music was at the end of the 70s - and really just in general - has dropped precipitously. I gave them the benefit of the doubt in merely tolerating the band the first two albums, but with the third album they've shed basically all of the post-punk elements, which are questionable for me to begin with, and gone straight pop music. I do not like this.