Mar 30 2025
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Remain In Light
Talking Heads
An important album in the evolution of the sound of Talking Heads. Not my favorite of theirs but even so it's quite good. Funky rhythms abound and Tina's bass is spectacular. Glad to have revisited it on my first day of 1000.
4
Mar 31 2025
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Can't Buy A Thrill
Steely Dan
An exceptional debut. "Change of the Guard" is a standout but the whole album is quite enjoyable. "Reelin..." and "Do It Again" suffer some from overexposure. Signs of great things to come!
4
Apr 01 2025
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Bayou Country
Creedence Clearwater Revival
A strong sophomore release from arguably America's best band, did these guys ever put out anything that wasn't excellent? It's short but it's got all the stuff that makes CCR great. I don't know what Chooglin' is but after listening to this, I did have a strong desire to keep on doing it...
4
Apr 02 2025
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The White Album
Beatles
I can only imagine how much this album freaked people out when it was released. It's a brilliant mish-mosh with absurd continuity that somehow works so very well. At this point it is so ingrained in to my brain that it feels like an old friend when I listen. It's got "Dear Prudence" for god's sake, how could it be anything but 5 stars?
5
Apr 03 2025
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Electric Warrior
T. Rex
I have loved this album for a long time. Mambo Sun opens it with an awesome groove and the killer guitar tone which sets the stage for the rest of the album. The thing about T. Rex is that no one else sounds like T. Rex. Great stuff here.
5
Apr 04 2025
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The Slim Shady LP
Eminem
I promised I would listen to the first minute of each song before I skipped to the next so I would at least give this a chance. I didn't make it past that minute on any song. I found it pretty non-musical and the lyrics I heard were juvenile. I know I am not the target audience for this in general but I don't understand or relate to this at all.
1
Apr 05 2025
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I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You
Aretha Franklin
This album is the sort of treasure that I know I will enjoy when I listen to it but for some reason it just doesn't seem to go in to regular rotation. Aretha's voice is just so amazing and this collection shows just how good she was. I am glad this was presented, it was a perfect Saturday morning mood lifter.
5
Apr 06 2025
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Unhalfbricking
Fairport Convention
I liked this, the musicianship is top notch and Richard Thompson shows why he is a favorite even back then. I don't know much about Fairport to provide any contextual reference but it sounds like what I have heard from them in the past. I particularly enjoyed "A Sailor's Life"
4
Apr 07 2025
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Ambient 1/Music For Airports
Brian Eno
Never has an album title fit the content better than this. I found this to be a really interesting listen as it remained in the forefront as an active listening experience but it wasn't distracting and never took me away from what I was doing, which seems to be exactly its goal. Just perfect for tasks where focus is critical but when silence is deafening.
4
Apr 08 2025
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Music in Exile
Songhoy Blues
Went in with zero knowledge or expectation and was sort of blown away. The music and musicianship is great and the vocals were almost instrumental since I wasn't able to understand the lyrics. Such an interesting story behind the music and I am glad that they are able to make it and put it out for people to hear. I really like it.
4
Apr 09 2025
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Let It Be
The Replacements
It's noisy and messy and raucous with a sense of controlled chaos, and I am here for every freaking minute of it!
5
Apr 10 2025
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Dust
Screaming Trees
It was fine. I don't think I appreciate it as much as others seem to. I liked "Look At You" as a standout track.
3
Apr 11 2025
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Tigermilk
Belle & Sebastian
I didn't really much care for this at all. I thought I would, but I didn't.
2
Apr 12 2025
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James Brown Live At The Apollo
James Brown
Great band, funky as hell and James is on fire. It's short at 31 minutes but I can only imagine what it was like to be there to witness this. Makes me want to dig deeper in to his live stuff that came a little bit later.
3
Apr 13 2025
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Now I Got Worry
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
Is it over yet? As I listened I really just wanted it to be over. Sweet Jesus please tell me it's over! I hated every second of this one.
1
Apr 14 2025
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Rage Against The Machine
Rage Against The Machine
I wanted to like this a lot more than I actually did. Just a little too much screaming vs singing and the repetition of the lyrics was a bit irritating. I thought some of the music was pretty good and Tom Morello for sure is talented but this just wasn't for me.
2
Apr 15 2025
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Nebraska
Bruce Springsteen
I am "I bought this on cassette when it was released" years old, but admittedly my 14 year old self wasn't quite ready for it at the time. Now though, I am here for it and can appreciate how remarkable Nebraska is (the album, not the state...)
5
Apr 16 2025
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Supa Dupa Fly
Missy Elliott
This is probably good to those who can appreciate it. I am not that person.
2
Apr 17 2025
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Aja
Steely Dan
After yesterday’s album I was so thrilled to see this one pop up for today. I adore this album, it is one of my very favorites. It is impeccable and perfect.
5
Apr 18 2025
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Low
David Bowie
I struggle a bit with this album and always have, ever since I first listened in the mid 80s. I can appreciate it in context of the time in his career and location of recording. It's an unconventional record and it's not always accessible though. What I like I really like but it's not an easy listen for me.
4
Apr 19 2025
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Automatic For The People
R.E.M.
I like R.E.M. a lot and have ever since I first heard "Radio Free Europe" on WXRT in 1983. I have mixed feelings about this album though. One one hand I dislike "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite" and "Man On The Moon" so much that I rarely listen to the rest of the album. On the other hand it has "Nightswimming" which is gorgeous and probably my favorite song of theirs. Everything else is somewhere in the middle, which is fine. And that's my review of this album - It's fine.
3
Apr 20 2025
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Talking With the Taxman About Poetry
Billy Bragg
I have really only heard a few songs by Billy Bragg prior to listening to this album, other than the Mermaid Avenue stuff with Wilco. I liked this a lot, It's full of protest songs and country songs and a phenomenal cover of "The Tracks Of My Tears"
4
Apr 21 2025
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Pearl
Janis Joplin
What an amazing voice, so strong and forceful but with nuance and soul and a crackle. The band is great and she is great and the album is great. For me, her version of Kris Kristofferson's "Me and Bobby McGee" is the star here. I normally shy away from the big hit and the obvious but she puts everything in to this one and it slays. What a triumph.
5
Apr 22 2025
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Led Zeppelin III
Led Zeppelin
In between listens I always remember liking this album more than I actually do. It's got some really good stuff but the misses are big, and Immigrant Song is quite possibly the worst thing they ever did, although I imagine The Crunge would maybe like a word about that. It's a strong enough album but when you're Led Zeppelin, that's just not good enough.
4
Apr 23 2025
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Liege And Lief
Fairport Convention
I liked a bit of this, there were some nice instrumental sections that were jams - celtic folk jams but jams nonetheless. It's really just not my thing though, I guess.
3
Apr 24 2025
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At Folsom Prison
Johnny Cash
From the iconic self introduction through the ending visit to Greystone Chapel, we get an intimate tour of life at Folsom Prison through the eyes of Johnny Cash. The album isn't just a perfect representation of prison life though, it also serves as a perfect self portrait of the man himself.
The tough guy deals with loss and despair. He faces mortality, and addiction. He brings June out to sing with him and compliments her, exposing a lighter side and the importance of family. His on stage banter is humorous and profane and shows his connection to his audience.
You learn everything there is to know about Johnny Cash during these 45 minutes, encased in these classic songs. I don't know what has happened to bring about the suckification of country music since the times when this was recorded, but my guess is Mr. Johnny Cash would gladly give his middle finger to it...
This is an essential work and thankfully it is recognized as such.
5
Apr 25 2025
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Spy Vs. Spy: The Music Of Ornette Coleman
John Zorn
I can absolutely appreciate that different types of music can connect with different people and honestly that's sort of the coolest thing about music for me - the discovery - finding what affects me and allows me to really connect with it.
When I read about people who like and appreciate this though, I try to understand what it is that they hear here that I don't. It just doesn't make sense to me. I hear a cacophony, nothing more. How anyone can listen to this and hear music, and can connect with whatever is happening here is baffling and outside of my comprehension.
This is the opposite of everything that I know and love about the music that I enjoy listening to.
1
Apr 26 2025
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The Wildest!
Louis Prima
This was a fun record to listen to, probably because it's obvious they were having fun making it. It's swinging and joyous and oh boy the trumpet playing is fantastic. I am familiar with a lot of the songs because of remakes by contemporary artists, and swing music in general is something I enjoy. I just loved the voice of Keely Smith who sang on this, I sense a YouTube rabbit hole in my future.
4
Apr 27 2025
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Screamadelica
Primal Scream
Not being at all familiar with this band or album, I wasn't sure what to expect here from a band named Primal Scream, and the unexpected is exactly what I got. Screamadelica is an audio cornucopia of an album, it's overflowing with an assortment of different offerings and song styles. I hear some Poi Dog Pondering, and Blur, and Elbow, and my wife Gina heard Talking Heads at the beginning of "Come Together"
I really liked the opener "Movin on Up" quite a bit. "Inner Flight" would fit right in on an updated house music version of Pet Sounds, and it also has an organ riff that Counting Crows seem to have borrowed for "Catapult" a few years later.
Some of it is a bit too electronica and dancey and repetitive for my tastes but I didn't find any of it unlistenable and enjoyed quite a bit of it. It's a really solid album and I am glad that it came up as my assignment today, it's not something I would ever have chosen or come across otherwise.
4
Apr 28 2025
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LP1
FKA twigs
I listened to this and I am not really sure what it is and I think I mostly hated it but I didn't skip through it and I think I might listen to it again.
3
Apr 29 2025
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Green
R.E.M.
After Murmur and Fables, Green is third in my top 3 R.E.M. albums. When it's great it's really great and even when it isn't really great, it's pretty great.
5
Apr 30 2025
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Dummy
Portishead
This did absolutely nothing for me, it's a nothing album that I played and I barely recognized that it was playing and I didn't realize when it ended. There was an occasional unpleasant scratchy dog barking like noise that would get my attention but then it would disappear again. I guess this is considered a great album but I don't get the appeal at all. I wish I had the 49 minutes this was on back so I could listen to something else.
3
May 01 2025
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Stand!
Sly & The Family Stone
What a great album. I know a ton of songs by Sly & The Family Stone but really never dug in to the actual album releases. It's classic and funky and socially conscious and just damn musically interesting. They don't make 'em like this anymore!
4
May 02 2025
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I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got
Sinead O'Connor
This is a really strong album and I am constantly amazed by her singing voice, so powerful and amazing control. I think I prefer Lion and the Cobra overall but that's more a reflection of the strength of that album rather than a failing of this one.
4
May 03 2025
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OK Computer
Radiohead
I think this is the 4th or 5th time I have tried to listen to and appreciate this album, and my efforts have failed miserably on every attempt. It isn't at all enjoyable to me and there is nothing I hear that I connect with or find interesting.
You know how there is a gene that some people have that makes cilantro taste like soap so no matter what they just don't enjoy it. I think I have a gene that makes OK Computer taste like soap...
2
May 04 2025
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Graceland
Paul Simon
I haven't listened to this album all the way through in a long time and it doesn't feel like it has aged very well. I like "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" a lot still but overall I didn't seem to enjoy this as much as I used to. It's not a terrible album but it isn't something I am likely to put on again any time soon.
3
May 05 2025
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Talk Talk Talk
The Psychedelic Furs
I like to listen to The Psychedelic Furs but, with only a few exceptions, there is a sameness to their songs that makes me not really care which song is which or remember them once I am done. This album is a good album by The Psychedelic Furs but other than "Pretty in Pink" which I heard a good deal of on the radio, I couldn't identify any of the other songs as ones on this album or one of their other albums.
3
May 06 2025
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1984
Van Halen
As far as Van Halen albums go, 1984 is not my favorite nor do I think it is their best, but it's certainly not their worst. Eddie plays his usual amazing guitar pyrotechnics and Dave is, well, Dave. There is some really good stuff here but unfortunately it suffers from extreme overexposure and I rarely ever listen to anything from it. It's actually been years since I put this on, but I don't feel tardy...
4