Apr 15 2025
Le Tigre
Le Tigre
4
Apr 16 2025
Roger the Engineer
The Yardbirds
3
Apr 17 2025
Who's Next
The Who
I mean⦠itās the Who⦠unbelievable songwriting, commanding vocals, et all. Keith Moon absolutely wails on the drums (which I love).
3
Apr 18 2025
Crime Of The Century
Supertramp
I really donāt care much for this record, but I do think āSchoolā is a cool way to kick it off.
2
Apr 21 2025
Urban Hymns
The Verve
Peaks right away with Bittersweet Symphony and devolves /immediately/ into one of the most unfocused and forgettable albums Iāve ever listened to.
1
Apr 22 2025
The Yes Album
Yes
Big, theatrical, progressive rock. Not really my vibe but a fun listen, all things considered.
3
Apr 23 2025
Never Mind The Bollocks, Hereās The Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
I really enjoyed this one (even though I thought I wouldnāt). Feels almost timeless in a way, and was obviously extremely influential to artists I listen to today.
4
Apr 24 2025
Clube Da Esquina
Milton Nascimento
Was vibing pretty hard to this while playing the Oblivion Remaster last night. Was a trip. Even though I didnāt understand anything ā the production and musicianship made this an enjoyable listen.
3
Apr 25 2025
Gentlemen
The Afghan Whigs
I tried my hardest to like this record because, on paper, itās right up my alley (90ās, āgrungeā-ey, big guitars, etc).
In reality, the valleys outweigh the peaks, and around the midpoint this record becomes a slog. The heavier songs sound like bad Smashing Pumpkins, and the more ballad-like ones are everything that people roll their eyes at when you say āthe 90s were my favourite decade for musicā.
I get that this is a cult classic and whatever⦠but for me, this record feels almost like the beginning of the unfortunate post-grunge era filled with weird ballads with super shallow lyrics and heavy songs that sound like knockoffs.
2 stars.
2
Apr 28 2025
Strangeways, Here We Come
The Smiths
I never really āgotā The Smiths and (unfortunately) that streak continues.
Johnny Marr remains a genius, all things considered (they donāt give a signature Jaguar to just anyone)⦠I just donāt really resonate with Morrisey. Iām also not super stoked on the late-80s production aesthetic, either ā and this record suffers from stage IV eightiesrecorditis.
Itās terminal.
Highlight for me was āI Started Somethingā, minus the lazy fade-out at the end.
2
Apr 29 2025
Paranoid
Black Sabbath
This record absolutely rules.
Production wise, it is a joy to listen to. Songwriting wise? Theatrical and dark and epic and⦠well, basically everything you want from a heavy metal record, no?
I really enjoyed this one, and for me there wasnāt a single moment that felt stale or drawn out ā even the 8 minute opening track (which usually I scoff at).
4
Apr 30 2025
Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo
Devo
I want to preface this by saying that I think Devo is cool.
With that said, cool albums arenāt always super palatable or listenable⦠and thatās the case here (for me).
I love how punk rock and subversive this album is and I wish I could give it a higher score butā¦I was super burned out by the second half.
3
May 02 2025
Goo
Sonic Youth
Itās tough to remain objective when you know a record from this challenge basically front to back.
My heart wants to give this one a 5, because it was the soundtrack to a very formative time in my life ā but Iāll settle on a 4.
Dirty Boots, Tunic, Mary-Christ and Kool Thing is an incredible 4-track run to start a record that shows basically all āsidesā of SY at that time. Tunic and Mary-Christ are definitely āoldā SY-vibes, and Dirty Boots and Kool Thing were the newer, Geffen-records-signed vibes. That doesnāt discount how sick those two songs are ā theyāre just⦠different.
But just when you thought the old, noisy, experimental, thrashy and abrasive SY is gone, they hit you with the back half including Mote, Mildred Pierce, Cinderellaās Big Score, etc ā as if to say āweāre still hereā.
Iām of two minds when picking my favourite track from the record. Younger me wants to say Kool Thing, and older me wants to say Disappearer (or maybe Titanium Expose). Regardless, listening to this record brings me back to a better time (and itās always a joy to spin).
Also ā happy belated birthday to Kim Gordon.
4
May 05 2025
Court And Spark
Joni Mitchell
Enjoyable enough (due to Joniās voice) but not something Iād listen to again and again. Highlight for me was Help Me ā in nice headphones itās a crazy experience.
3/5
3
May 07 2025
Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
Wu-Tang Clan
So many interludes, so little time.
I usually really like old-school, sample-driven hip hop (and Iām aware that this record has a LOT of prestige and is basically an icon of the east coast 90s scene) but it wasnāt clicking for me on first listen.
On a positive note: I really enjoyed the sample in Cash Rules Everything Around Me.
2