Mar 12 2025
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The Bends
Radiohead
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.
4
Mar 13 2025
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A Girl Called Dusty
Dusty Springfield
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.
3
Mar 14 2025
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Parachutes
Coldplay
"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?
4
Mar 15 2025
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The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
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.
4
Mar 16 2025
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Get Behind Me Satan
The White Stripes
I've listened to this album dozens of times even before participating in the 1001 albums...
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.
4
Mar 17 2025
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The Fat Of The Land
The Prodigy
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
3
Mar 18 2025
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James Brown Live At The Apollo
James Brown
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.
3
Mar 19 2025
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The Gershwin Songbook
Ella Fitzgerald
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.
4
Mar 20 2025
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Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea
PJ Harvey
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.
3
Mar 21 2025
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Exodus
Bob Marley & The Wailers
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.
4
Mar 22 2025
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Paul Simon
Paul Simon
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.
3
Mar 23 2025
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Oar
Alexander 'Skip' Spence
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.
3
Mar 24 2025
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You've Come a Long Way Baby
Fatboy Slim
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...
2
Mar 25 2025
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Oracular Spectacular
MGMT
3
Mar 26 2025
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Hysteria
Def Leppard
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.
2
Mar 27 2025
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Seventh Tree
Goldfrapp
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.
3
Mar 28 2025
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Bridge Over Troubled Water
Simon & Garfunkel
Listens: 3
Stand out tracks: El Condor Pasa (If I Could), Cecilia
3
Mar 29 2025
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KIWANUKA
Michael Kiwanuka
Listens: 3
Standout tracks: You ain't the Problem, Rolling, Final Days
Fantastic. Wow. I'm not sure how I've never heard of Michael Kiwanuka before.
4
Mar 30 2025
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A Hard Day's Night
Beatles
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.
3
Mar 31 2025
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Astral Weeks
Van Morrison
4
Apr 01 2025
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Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme
Simon & Garfunkel
3
Apr 02 2025
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Dust
Screaming Trees
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.
2
Apr 03 2025
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Blur
Blur
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.
3