1001 Albums Summary

I’m very pleased with this as my first Simon and Garfunkel album. It’s a lush, pretty and witty folk album, that has aged well and shown me a side of an artist that I wasn’t aware of. Aside from some songs that I just couldn’t connect to, and the closing track which feels a little heavy handed and clunky (if somewhat effective) in its messaging in 2025, I thought this really comes together and creates a super immersive experience.

At the end of the day, this is a good singer-songwriter/rock album that is harmed by being tethered to The Beatles. Imagine is more self serious, less adventurous and less colorful than The Beatles best, and it shows that The Beatles really were a balancing act between four individually flawed men. Despite this, I did enjoy Imagine, it’s fairly consistent and hits a high streak during the run of its last 3-4 songs. Some of the political commentary on this has aged awkwardly in the way that a lot of political music of the early 70s has, but a lot of these songs do present their topics in an interesting way. Overall, not bad.

This is a super cool album I probably wouldn’t have checked out otherwise. You’ve Come A Long Way Baby kind of secretly has its fingers in a lot of different pies. The aesthetic base here is Big Beat/UK techno, but on a few levels, it delves into some really interesting spaces. You have some clear hip hop influence, as well as jungle, which all still kind of slots nicely together, however the way this album incorporates sampling has a really unique effect. Some of the sampled passages on here are in-tact enough that they can kind of be enjoyed as they would have been in their original context. This results in moments across this album that I can enjoy like (for example)a funk, psych or surf rock song, in a way that almost reminds me of plunderphonics. This is all incorporated into some super fun, groovy songs that are consistent across the project. I think I see how something like this could be seen as repetitive, but while the arcs of the songs are kind of repetitive, they transform subtly in a way that rewards close listening. Not to mention how dense and detailed this is on a moment to moment basis, so I didn’t think this was too repetitive at all. In Heaven is maybe a little annoying if you aren’t that into vox, but I think that even that song has a strong core. Ultimately, this was a really fun, exciting and rewarding listen.

I was excited to hear this, I have a history with swing dance, and I wanted to hear what a bona-fide big band swing album released in the era of hard bop, modal jazz and free jazz sounds like. I am pleased to say it sounds very good, this is effectively a perfect swing album, with incredible performances and great pacing. Most importantly, this release captures the joy of swing as an artform very nicely. I’m kind of torn on what to score this, but I’ll settle on a 4, although it’s a 5 if I’m listening to it while dancing.

While I love Nick Drake and have listened extensively to pink moon, I’ve just never had a chance to give Bryter Layter a shot. While it may be my least favorite Nick Drake album, that’s almost a completely meaningless thing to say. For anyone who was somehow unaware of Nick Drake before this, the story is that he was chronically underrated while alive, released only 3 albums, then died tragically young. To the right person (as I’ve just discovered: me) these 3 albums are about as close as anyone has ever come to creating a truly spotless discography. In a sea of English folk singer/songwriters in the ‘70s, Nick is set apart by his unique presence, his intricate fingerpicking, and most importantly, his absolutely *incredible* songwriting chops. His singing and guitar playing has a distinct chilly-ness and purity that lends his recordings a certain difficult to define quality. On Bryter Layter, in an effort to pull off all the stops, Nick is contextualized by incredibly lush backing that really emphasizes his classical and jazz influence. The compositions and arrangements are surprisingly intricate and dense, and the result is absolutely gorgeous. All the while, that subtle chill that Nick brings gives these songs a distinct tension, and for some reason, it makes me think of a windy spring day. At its best, this album’s approach gives us songs like Northern Sky that are almost supernaturally beautiful. All that being said, I do think this may be my least favorite of his 3 albums yet I still truly think I want to give a 5 on this one.

It's always been an uphill battle to get myself to listen to a Steely Dan album for whatever reason. I have no reason to be Steely Dan averse, they've done nothing to me, and I even like a lot of their bigger songs, but frankly, I'd rather just think about the insane origins of their name than actually listen to them (look it up if you're curious). Anyways, sometimes the generator wills it, and here I am. Honestly, this wasn't bad, there are some really great highlights like Rikki Don't Lose That Number, Night By Night, and Charlie Freak, but as a whole I just kinda think this was pretty good. This isn't to say that I think Steely Dan sounds generic, they definitely have their thing going on, I just that I can't see what makes this essential listening in the wide world of '70s rock. Anyways, its a matter of time before the generator conjures more Steely Dan, so we'll meet again someday.

What is most striking to me about Seventeen Seconds is how far removed it is from Three Imaginary Boys. In just one year The Cure went from a relatively normal post-punk band to a fully fledged goth rock group. I bring this up in part because of how easy it is to forget. Seventeen Seconds makes perfect sense in the context of The Cure's whole discography, especially because it's the first album in a semi-official trilogy that repeatedly doubles down on the sound here, but when considering The Cure's origins, it feels like a small miracle that the atmosphere distinctive of their other early goth albums is largely nailed down here. From start to end, Seventeen Seconds sounds mysterious, dark, foggy and strangely pretty all with The Cure's sort of X-factor holding it together. Additionally, stand-outs like Play For Today, At Night, Seventeen Seconds, and especially A Forest (one of their best songs ever) make this essential listening for anyone into The Cure. That being said, I do have a couple of nitpicks. Firstly, this may just be me, but I don't love the drum sound here, it sounds a little tinny, and I think the drums could benefit from some extra 'oomph'. I also think the sequencing and pacing is a little odd, for example, Three and The Final Sound being sequenced next to each other makes it pretty clear that they are both sort of mood pieces as opposed to full songs. Also, this album is a little back loaded, the last four songs contain most of the album's best songs. While there are some Side A stand-outs, I think the first half of this album is generally a little less memorable and impactful. Individually, these wouldn't really be an issue, but all together I have to deduct a couple of points. That being said, I still think this is a fantastic album, and if this website let me give it a 4.5 I would.

I had never heard of this band before this, which was honestly surprising when I saw how popular they are, maybe they just never really escaped the UK. Post Orgasmic Chill is largely an alt metal/alt rock album, and this is kind of a genre of music that's very hit or miss to me, and that I think has a capacity to age really awkwardly. That being said, this album certainly has some flaws to me, but there's a lot it does that is super unique and interesting too. Firstly, a lot of the late '90s alt metal staples are here, quiet/loud verse chorus structure, crunchy riffs, and some more melodic ballad tracks, but Skunk Anansie also brings some distinct UK flair, there are songs here where they seemingly incorporate UK techno and trip hop influences and they actually meld really well into this sound when they show up. I kind of wish these influences pop up more because of how well they work, but I'll take what's here. I'm also a fan of the performances here, everyone sounds great, but the real stand-out star in this band is their vocalist, Skin. She is an incredibly talented singer and a really compelling figure, and has a lot of really interesting lyrics across this album about her intersectional experiences as a Black, Queer woman in living the UK. Her presence on songs is unique and genuinely exciting, and she keeps me invested during moments where this album almost loses me. Speaking of which, I did say I think this album has some flaws: Firstly, the production on this is *very* clean, and while it gives a lot of these songs a kind of arena rock feel, I think the heavier songs on here could have benefitted from a little bit of a dirtier sound, even though these songs themselves are good. Second, this album has quite a few more melodic, ballad-y tracks that I alluded to earlier, and on their own, they're all at least decent to great, if occasionally carried by Skin. A bigger problem is that a lot of them are bunched up near the end of the tracklist, and when several are put next to each other in a row they can kind of run into each other. There are a good few I kind of can't keep separate in my head, and I honestly think that one (*maybe* two) of the weaker ones could be cut. That being said, it certainly doesn't ruin the album, and I can see the justification for putting this on a list like this. I am glad I heard it, and there are some tracks I can see myself going back to.

As most of my Yeah Yeah Yeahs experiences have been with Fever To Tell, this one took me a minute to adjust to. This is effectively an electro-pop album with sort of a punk-y tone, and I think it more or less works. That being said, I can't fully divorce It's Blitz! from what I was wanting from a Yeah Yeah Yeahs album, so part of me certainly wishes this had some more teeth. Despite this, what is here is catchy, groovy and focused, and I did enjoy my time with it.

Todd Rundgren is a name I probably could've pulled out of a hat before this, but I don't think I had heard a single song of his, and didn't even *really* know what his thing is. As I queued up Something/Anything (after some very brief cursory research) I was tentatively excited about the kind of art pop aspect, and at least a little scared of the 90 minutes and 25 songs long aspect. I am pleased to announce that, even for the length, this one was well worth my time. Before I dive into what this actually sounds like, I did a little more reading while listening and it helped contextualize this a little bit. Firstly, in modern publications, it seems to be required that I mention the influence of Ritilin on this album, which Rundgren claims is how we ended up with a 90 minute, 25 song long album in the first place. Additionally, Todd recorded everything on the first 3 sides himself without session musicians, so in some circles this is sort of hailed as a DIY adjacent achievement. Finally getting to the music, there's a very particular structure to Something/Anything that Todd lays out in the liner notes. The 4 sides of this album (as it would be experienced on vinyl) are all loosely themed and all veer into some different ideas. This is laid out mostly in the sides' titles, which, after listening, I think I can approximately lay out. Side A is mostly more conventional '70s pop songs. Side B is more of an art pop sound, embracing some strange, psychedelic sounds and odd structures. Side C is a little looser, but it seems to have a sort of jam slant, and side D is a self-contained mini rock opera with a rawer, live studio sound and a full band. In this framework, a lot of ground ends up covered. Throughout this thing, you get pop, blues rock, psychedelic, R&B, an occasional smattering of avant-garde, and some stuff I'm sure I missed. The fact that this all sounds more or less natural on here (if not necessarily cohesive) goes to show the interesting place that the pop world was in at the time. And if you take this lens further, you can kind of see this as the world of early '70s popular music in a microcosm. Given this all, I am amazed at how good a most of these songs are. Through the (again) 90 minute runtime, this album doesn't ever really lose me. In fact, of these 25 songs, I can probably count the misses on one hand and have a spare finger or two. While I probably can't give it a 5 (yet at least) the ambition of this project, coupled with its variety and incredible consistency has won me over, and I am very glad to have discovered this.

It's a question as old as Hotel California itself: What *is* Hotel California? Is it purgatory? Is it addiction? If you ask me, I'd say it's a 1976 studio LP by American rock band Eagles. With that out of the way, I can't say this was truly terrible, I just really don't care about Eagles. I mean, to list some positives, the title track is really great, yes its kind of played out, but it really is sort of an all-timer. Evocative lyrics and a hell of a guitar solo seal the deal, but I don't have to tell you this, you have definitely heard this song. While I don't agree with the seemingly extremely common belief that this is the only good song on the album, I think the gap between it and second place, Victim of Love, is noteworthy. Victim of Love is a pretty good rock song, it's catchy and driving and whatnot, it's just no Hotel California. Aside from this, Pretty Maids All in a Row is a pretty decent ballad, but the rest of the album just doesn't really do it for me. Eagles hit a kind of perfect commercial rock sweet-spot on this, as far as generating hits goes, but it's just not a formula that I think results in a particularly interesting album.

It turns out that this sort of easy listening music is not really my thing. Maybe its just this album, since there are some weird things with this one, but we'll get there. Firstly, I looked into Dion, and he seems to be mostly known for '50s and '60s Doo-Wop albums (I listened to some of it, this stuff is actually pretty fun), but on Born To Be With You, he slows things way down and focuses on writing heartfelt songs with some (admittedly) very nice vocals. However, this album is probably more well known for being produced by Beatles collaborator and genuine menace to society Phil Spector. While there are moments where his production *sorta* works here, he was a bizarre choice for an album like this, and it really doesn't do it for me. Most notably are songs where, to my ear, it really feels like Phil decides to assert himself, (He's Got) The Whole World In His Hands stands out in particular. It really feels like he just kinda brickwalled it, and while the result is interesting, almost psychedelic, it just is not what this album needed. I also sort of have an issue with a lot of the songs here on a sort of construction level. For the length and slow pacing of a lot of these songs, they just aren't strong enough to carry the album. There are moments that stand out, like I mentioned earlier, I like his vocals, and I think the sax parts on this are great. I also remember a lot of the lyrics being pretty interesting. This isn't enough to carry the album though, from what I've read, it seems that Dion himself has kind of disowned it. I didn't absolutely hate this, I just don't really see myself returning to it.

I am aware of The Beastie Boys, just about everyone is, and I love just about everything I've ever heard from them. However, due to some trespass against all things good and kind, I had somehow not listened to this album from front to back before this, and I am *very* glad that the album generator spirits made me. Firstly, I'd like to start by saying that while listening to this, the revelation that no one really thinks of the Beastie Boys as "white rappers" struck me. Like, at this time, you had Vanilla Ice getting bullied constantly by the hip hop community (rightfully so, if I may add), and even when Eminem broke big, the "white rapper" shtick was something he certainly leaned into, but The Beastie Boys were able to just kind of completely stay out of these discussions (to my knowledge). I think I've decided the reason for this is that they jumped into hip-hop with an understanding of, and respect for the culture, without really changing who they were or trying to be people they weren't. And, of course, being unbelievably early to the game, and thus helping to shape the culture helped. Although, with all that said, the bow on it all is just they they were fucking *good*. I'm gonna show my hand early, this is a damn near perfect hip hop album, and if you have any interest in the genre whatsoever, you owe it to yourself to spin this one. Ill Communication sounds very distinct from hip hop at large at this time, like it really feels like the Beastie Boys kind of paved their own road into the '90s, they still kind of have an '80s thing going on in a way that hip hop at large at this time didn't, and their kind of punk origins are incorporated in some really cool ways, from their super energetic delivery, to their approach at writing some of the more rap rock songs here, and even a couple of straight punk tracks. It's not even an album that really fits into what rap rock would settle into shortly after this, Beastie Boys were really in their own lane here. The Beastie Boys' energy is genuinely infectious across Ill Communication, their intense delivery, distinctive flows, and great lyrics just completely grab me. And even though they aren't exactly the most technically gifted rappers in the world, they are witty, thoughtful, and genuinely funny, and its just a blast to hear them do their thing. I also absolutely need to talk about the production here, these songs sound groovy, and super organic. I know there are some live overdubs on here, and its obvious on the rockier songs, but it really sounds like some of the other parts are recorded as overdubs too, like I really don't know where the samples start and stop here, not to mention the incredible scratching here. This all even makes the instrumental songs exciting and interesting. Also, I am required to mention Sabotage, the biggest single here, I can almost guarantee you've heard it. Even though it may be a little overplayed, hearing it in the flow of the album totally revitalized this song for me. There is a real argument that Sabotage is the best rap rock song ever recorded, maybe its just been hitting today, but the energy is incredible, I'm ready to mosh here, now, alone, in my bedroom. I don't know what to score this, on one hand, I can't really think of any real problems I have here over the hour long runtime, but on the other, I just don't know if I want to jump straight to a perfect 5. I'm settling with a 4 for now, a very *very* high 4, but if I revisit this a couple times and I'm still this excited, I'll probably just bump it up. Edit: This has just been sticking in my head for so many reasons, to hell with it, I'm still calibrating what a 5 looks like on here, but I think this is in the club, its just cool as Hell. Honestly, the clincher here is in the details, the Q-Tip feature, the drop from Sabrosa into The Update's *insanely* good drum groove, the beat switch on Bodhisattva Vow, the Beastie Boys' chemistry, etc: it all just works. Also, quick aside "Perfect hip-hop album" may have been incorrect on my part, its almost more of a perfect alternative album in some ways. The foundation here is hip hop, but there is real crossover appeal here just with how The Beastie Boys have incorporated their very wide range of influences.

Oh wow, this was kind of a jumpscare. I Knew Sgt. Pepper was in here, I just didn't think it would come up so soon, but it seems I now find myself reviewing one of the most awarded, acclaimed, and discussed albums *ever*. I find myself wondering if it is even possible to say something original about The Beatles in 2025, let alone *this* album, although my delusions of grandeur have carried me this far, and I see no reason to pull on the reins now. Although I have some hope in my heart that I can at least get close, somehow, I have never heard this album from front to back. I've heard some songs from it, and I've heard other Beatles albums, this one has (shockingly) just escaped me. Anyways, while I get why The Beatles are so often considered the greatest band ever, they've also historically done less for me than they seem to do for others. You may say I'm something of a Beatles skeptic, and as such, this album's reputation is sort of head turning to me, and I'm very interested in seeing how I feel about it. With all that said, it turns out that Sgt. Pepper *is* very good, however it is nowhere near the top of the list of my favorite albums ever. A lot of this album's reputation is based in its historical significance, but I think the reason this has stayed so potent for modern listeners is because, if you get The Beatles' sort of pop music, this is pretty close to 13 flawless pop songs in a row. That isn't to say I think its perfect, but it is to say that there really aren't many failed ideas or executions anywhere here, and I understand how someone could think it to be perfect. The overall sound of this album is pretty much iconic, the super bright, psychedelic atmosphere, the incredibly dense arrangement, and the kind of (generally) light, fun, and bubbly Beatles songs across this are pretty much the sound of a generation or two. Songs like Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds and With A Little Help From My Friends are incredibly tight and catchy. Songs Like Fixing A Hole and Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite! are really interesting experiments with sound palette. And while this album's brightness and optimism is almost overwhelming at times, it can usually swing the pendulum back a little with some more tense passages and intricate songcraft. My favorite example of this is on When I'm Sixty Four, when we start with the pluckiest, bounciest little Paul McCartney ditty, and just before it almost loses me, it swings back with a super compelling sort of B section, and this makes the whole song just work incredibly well. That being said, there are songs here that just don't click for me. I'm not that into Getting Better, the melody just doesn't do it for me, and while I'm sure it would have been read differently at the time, I just don't buy the lyrics in 2025, knowing what we know about John Lennon. I also think Lovely Rita is just fine, and Good Morning Good Morning doesn't feel like it adds much here except for the fascinating intro. That being said, the worst song in my opinion, and the only one that I would argue may actually have anything wrong with it is Within You Without You. I love George Harrison as a songwriter, but I am just not that into his songs where he experiments with Indian music. The dense atmosphere is extremely cool, but for this song's length, I kind of think it may be a little under-developed. Although, I will say that Sgt. Pepper definitely sticks the landing. A Day In The Life is my absolute favorite song on here, its basically perfect, and ending the album with it is genius. At the end of what is so often considered The Beatles' psychedelic masterpiece, they bring the listener back to Earth with A Day In The Life, its earnest and almost sobering. After the experience of the rest of this album, The Beatles put you back into a realer world, acknowledging the sadnesses and beauties of day to day existence. Overall, I understand the reason this album is regarded the way that it is, and while it doesn't *quite* get me where it seems to get a lot of people, I do like it a lot!

I don't believe I hadn't heard of this. This is absolutely in my wheelhouse, I love strange, raw music earnestly exploring uncomfortable emotional states, and Oar fits this description to a tee. Alexander Spence came from the world of psych, and at the time, the dominant culture in this space was optimism and righteous anger and bacchanalian consumption of psychedelics. However, a figure like Spence highlights the darkness running underneath it all. His story (much like the more well known Syd Barrett's) serves as a grim reminder of the casualties of this culture, people who broke down under it all and were left to be forgotten at the fringes of society. This is why albums like Oar and other more formal outsider albums are so important, they provide a voice to their creators who may well not have one otherwise. With that being said, what does this album actually sound like? It is a fragile, occasionally haunted and surprisingly varied singer-songwriter album encompassing folk, psych, and late '60s rock music. For the reputation this album has, the songs are actually very good. If you can get into the kind of performances that are across this album, the music at the core here is well written and consistently interesting, with really compelling lyrics. Some of this stuff sounds pretty ahead of its time too, a couple of songs here sound uncannily similar to the music that Leonard Cohen would later make, and this may just be me, but some of the kind of slanted rawness here almost makes me think of the kind of thing that some lo fi indie songwriters were trying to achieve in the '90s. But honestly, the performances are what makes this come together for me, difficult as they may be. I really feel that Spence is baring his soul across this, and the cumulative result, within the context of his life, is kind of profoundly sad. I have a lot of respect for the list's inclusion of this, placing an album like this in the sort of publication that "1001 Albums..." is works towards legitimizing it in the broader music world and, ideally, will help people to see this as a worthwhile piece of art even without its context. I really love this.

The hat trick is complete, this makes three psych or psych-adjacent albums in a row, and damn me to hell, I liked all of them, spoiler alert for this review I guess. The main impression I get from Love, a band I hadn't really heard of before this, is that they *must* be (secretly) wildly important in the grand scheme of rock music. This album just has that feeling, this is some very ahead of its time early psych. The psych pop songs here are about a year ahead of their time, with Orange Skies, Que Vida!, and She Comes In colors (coming, themselves from '66) sounding straight out of the summer of love. These songs are colorful and breezy and pleasant, but they aren't the most interesting part of this album to me. That would be the more rock cuts, Stephanie Knows Who, The Castle, and *especially* Seven and Seven Is. These songs all highlight extremely forward thinking rock songwriting and aesthetics, and tie it all together with intense performances, especially Arthur Lee, who absolutely *rips* into these songs with his vocal approach. This is all best exemplified on Seven and Seven Is, an absolute proto-punk barn burner. The bottomless well of covers of this song (by artists such as Alice Cooper, Rush, Robert Plant, Deep Purple and more) go to show how much impact this song had on the development of rock music as it leaped into the '70s. Now, this is all well and good, but these songs are all on the first side of the album, the second is one song, Revelation, an 18 minute monster of a psychedelic jam epic. When half of your album's runtime is a single song, that song better be *good* and Revelation delivers. Lee's vocal approach slowly cranks itself to eleven between an onslaught of creative and compelling solos from the entire band. I don't have much else to say, its really that simple, and its awesome, never before has 18 minutes passed this quickly. This album is a lot better than I expected, I can't tell if I just like psych, or if I'm just getting really lucky.

I absolutely love Joanna Newsom's whole thing. I am more familiar with Milk Eyed Mender, but I have heard this before, and I think this album is spellbinding. Firstly, and most controversially, I love her voice. I can see it being grating, but it just works for making the music seem like its in its own self contained world. This is the Ys' strongest factor to me, it is like Newsom builds this fey kingdom and invites the listener in. This is further achieved with the instrumental palette, all harp and violin and accordion, to name a few. Not to mention the detailed, lengthy compositions and vivid lyricism. I have no complaints about Ys, and I absolutely love it.

Dookie did not invent pop punk, not even close, but was a before and after moment for the genre, and it's a perfect encapsulation of the appeal of it. If someone wanted to know what pop punk is, you could do a hell of a lot worse than just showing them Dookie. This is a record full of frustration, anxiety and suburban ennui. Songs are about getting crushing boredom, getting mad at your parents and trying to find your way in the world. Billie Joe Armstrong sounds distinct and snotty and maybe a little bit obnoxious. And the songs are perfect little blasts of pop songwriting: simple, catchy and energetic. Basically, Dookie is the perfect album to capture the attention of a wide audience of disillusioned teens. If you found this in the right place, at the right time, I can see it being an all time favorite for you. That being said, while I understand the appeal of Dookie, and I do like it more than I don't, pop punk just kind of isn't my thing, but I can understand that this is a masterpiece of the genre. Besides, I can throw it on and bob along from front to back, so I can't complain too much.

The Doors have never sat in my mind as a band that fit nicely into the musical landscape of the '60s. Often, they just kind seem to me like a good bluesy psychedelic rock band, but they have some songs where their kind of obscure mystical image seeps a little deeper into their music and they get pushed into being one of the most interesting bands of the '60s. That's kind of how this album feels to me in a nutshell, we have a good current of bluesy rock here that is occasionally put into overdrive. These songs define this album to me: Break On Through has some real momentum to it, Light My Fire is allowed to grow into something greater than its pop appeal and End of the Night sounds woozy and disorienting. Of course, The End is the centerpiece of this album. It really feels like The Doors tap into something dark and esoteric here. Jim Morrison's vocal performance is incredibly dynamic, and the song's release of its slow building intensity is one of '60s rock's defining moments, in its own strange way. Overall, while I understand the importance of this, its underlying blues rock aesthetic only does so much for me, but every once in a while something here is truly fascinating to me. Read this score as a pretty high 3.

While it's kind of interesting to hear The Stones at their earliest, and this is technically fine, the fact that its mostly a covers album kind of makes it tough for me to rate this highly. The covers are fine, if not especially transformative, and the performances are pretty good. Like, they are tight, and I like the harmonica, and that is clearly Mick Jagger, but it only does so much. The three original songs on here (two are written under a pseudonym) are kinda duds, which really doesn't help this album's case. Compared to their later works, there just isn't much of value here, and I'm not sure its position on the list is fully justified.

I've never quite settled on an opinion on dream pop, but I've heard some songs from this, and I was pretty confident I would like, but not necessarily love it. However, Cocteau Twins proved me wrong. From the start, the sound of this hooked me, Heaven Or Las Vegas sounds glassy and almost futuristic. It just has a kind of ethereal sheen that I liked a lot more than I thought. Although what I really ended up staying for here is the songs. I had a slow, creeping realization that song after song, Cocteau Twins were sticking the landing. The worst songs on here are engaging and catchy, and the best are really genre defining. The bow on the whole thing is that we end with one of the stronger songs, Frou-Frou Foxes In Midsummer Fires. One other thing I'd like to mention is that the vocals and "lyrics" here are fascinating. The vocals are *very* ethereal, to the extent that almost no lyrics are comprehensible, and in fact, the lyrics aren't published anywhere (again as far as I know). This frames Elizabeth Fraser's voice as an instrument in a way that I usually see in more extreme genres of music with less conventionally sung vocals. Hearing something like this in a context like dreampop achieves a really interesting effect. I really don't have more to say, I was shocked by how much I loved this.

Illmatic has its reputation for a reason. Honestly, the reason this is so good boils down pretty simply, this is 40 minutes of engaging, detailed storytelling over unbelievably consistent beats. I'd even say Illmatic as a whole is about as consistent an experience as they get, there's really no space for me to complain. There aren't any lazy verses, or so-so interludes, or annoying features, or throwaway cuts. Illmatic is lean, and it reflects the care and attention to detail put into it. If Illmatic sounds like it took 4 years to write, that's because it did. Nas would make other good albums, but never again anything like this. This is a one of a kind piece of perfect rap music, from front to back.

I expected to like this, and I just kind of don't. It's almost frustrating, like I can't really articulate why. I think I'm finding out that the style of blues rock that runs through this isn't really my thing. That being said, I honestly can't say its bad per say. I like a lot of the lyrics across this, and I see the appeal of these songs. Despite this, the parts of this album that appeal most to me are the little detours, the more folk or country moments mostly work for me, but that also may have something to do with the greasy Bob Dylan fingerprints that seem to be all over these songs in particular. Of the bluesy-er songs here, I will say I do like Chest Fever quite a bit, and I think the New Orleans blues passage comes out of no where, but really works. Regardless, this whole thing has moments, but it doesn't really work for me as a whole.

While the cover art did not make me expect good things, I do like Goodie Mob and Gnarls Barkley, so I expected to have at least a little fun here. Unfortunately, I just did not like this, and I think there is a reason this isn't brought up a ton any more (at least in spaces that I'm around). Like I said, I feel like I should at least be having a little fun here, and a lot of these songs aren't terrible, but there's almost *always* something bugging me about this thing, just getting in between me and enjoying this almost constantly. Firstly, the overall sound of this is *very* dated, this is not my era of music, and it isn't quite old enough or good enough that it sounds truly classic to me. This probably wouldn't be a problem if one of these songs came on in public or in a car or something, but when listening to this as a whole, it really becomes apparent how stiff and sort of awkward even some of the better beats sound. Now let's discuss CeeLo Green himself, I do not like his presence on here. It feels like his approach should be interesting, he is kind of getting into a pocket with a very sing-song-y cadence and a lot of push and pull. However, to sell some kind of soul adjacent persona, he gets like really growly in a way that's sort of hard to explain, but as a consequence his annunciation on here is awful, especially when he hits faster flows, and it all just turns to mush. Additionally, he is usually mixed *bad*, like way to low, it feels like he is competing for space in the mix with the beat most of the time, which compounds with the cadence to make his presence *super* grating. Additionally, his singing voice itself is really not that good, sometimes it sounds fine, but on a song like All Day Love Affair, he doesn't sound confident and, sometimes, especially on the first verse of evening news, I'm not even sure if he's in key. It's also worth noting that his lyrics don't do much for me, he isn't saying much that's especially interesting, and especially when he's in double time flow he even gets into a "spiritual lyrical miracle" pocket every once in a while (on I Am Selling Soul he kicks off with "I am the actual and factual supernatural sight and surrounds..."). Also, it feels kind of weird and awkward whenever he tries to get kind of sensual on here because of his allegations, it just rubs me the wrong way. Now, usually, only one of these things is bugging me at a time, but there are a couple of songs here that are, at times like *bad*. Some minor offenders include the off singing on Evening News, and the extremely obnoxious, blown out chorus on Scrap Metal. However, the worst song on here is *easily* Childz Play. I understand this is going for a particular tone, but it just isn't pulled off well, and I think it sounds *awful*. The like, toy store xylophone beat is grating and unnecessarily busy, and the effect is like jaw dropping, it's like circus music, I'm baffled. Then CeeLo comes in with mushy double-times for like the whole song, and he even hits what sounds like a Carol of the Bells interpolation in the chorus. Even more annoying, the Ludacris verse buried on this song is one of the very best verses on the entire album. He is charismatic and fun, and there's like a beautiful 30 seconds during his verse where the worst tendencies of the beat drop out and its like the only part of the album that I can just enjoy. Speaking of Ludacris, the other features on here are *all* better than CeeLo Green, with the notable exception of Timbaland, who starts his verse with "Here comes Timbaland, I'm also from the South" which is one of the most clunky, inelegant ways anyone could ever start a verse. This album's final crime is the 75 minute runtime, which is not warranted, especially after you realize that there are really only like two main types of songs here. Like I said, most of these songs aren't independently terrible, but as a whole, there is almost nothing here that I can just sit back and enjoy. While I am calibrating the lower end of my scale, I found this a *lot* less enjoyable than the 2s I've been giving, I think this may really get a 1 from me.

I am very excited about this, Black Sabbath is one of those bands that just lives in my DNA. And while I can play Paranoid and Master of Reality in my head if I think hard enough, its been a minute since I've given Vol. 4 a spin front to back. Vol. 4 is smack in the middle of Sabbath's classic era, and sort of feels like a conclusion to the first arc of their career, it just feels like a conclusion to their artistic evolution at the time. That being said, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and Sabotage are also both excellent, just more essential for Sabbath converts than a general audience. Anyways, to provide some context, I would like to quickly trace Sabbath's career up to this point. The Self titled is the iconic birth of heavy metal, with a foot still sort of in the '60s, but the Pandora's box has been opened. Paranoid is a galvanization and expansion of the metal sound, and an absolute classic, it served as something of a launch pad for Sabbath's contemporaries including (to my ears) the New Wave of British Heavy Metal that was coming over the horizon. On Master of Reality, Sabbath rocket past just about everything else happening at the time, this is plodding, thick and *heavy* and is more or less the formal birth of doom metal, a genre whose existence would finally catch up to this in the late '70s and early '80s. And finally, we have Vol. 4, on which Sabbath both once more double down and make some of their heaviest songs yet, and radically expand their sound. At this time, Black Sabbath were a *fantastic* band, the rhythm section is in perfect lockstep, Geezer Butler anchors this music and Bill Ward can throw fills with the best of them. Not to mention Tony Iommi's fantastic guitar work and truly iconic riffs. Ozzy Osbourne sits atop all of this, and establishes himself as one of the greatest front-men of all time with his charisma and distinct wailing. This is all on display on Vol. 4. The compositions here are among Sabbath's most intricate, these songs twist and turn through plodding chugs and spidery runs and on Supernaut, even an unbelievably groovy rhythm break. The lyrics here are also shockingly good, where previous Sabbath albums had very literal, often narrative lyrics, here Ozzy looks more inward, writing compelling songs about addiction and psychological torment. Some of the best songs here are among Sabbath's best ever, songs like Snowblind, Under The Sun, Cornucopia and Supernaut. These are all exciting, blazing and again *heavy* tracks even today. Some of the shorter songs, like Tomorrow's Dreams and St. Vitus Dance have been consistently growing on me as well. Most interestingly, even the more experimental songs here pretty much all work. Laguna Sunrise is a beautiful and lush instrumental piece, and FX seems kind of inessential, but I think it is vital as a transition between Changes and Supernaut. Speaking of Changes, it is truly fascinating, it is a bona fide ballad, and it is actually really good. I will say, that it feels a little odd tonally, but the more I listen to this album, the more everything seems to slot together. I don't want to be hyperbolic, but I *love* Black Sabbath, and this is a super exciting listen, with many of their best songs ever. Any complaint I have almost seems to work as a "more than the sum of its parts" thing, this whole album is just spectacular.

After an onslaught of albums that I feel very strongly about, it's almost nice to get something that I find vaguely pleasant. There is a theatricality to these songs that I don't totally gel with, and the sound feels fairly consistent from front to back. So, consequentially, this album is kind of "in one ear, out the other" but while its on, I think it's fairly enjoyable. Laura Nyro is obviously a fantastic singer, and the performances and arrangements are clearly detailed, regardless of how I feel about them. My favorite tracks here are ones that play with a different sound palette, like December's Boudoir, they just kind of stand out. Overall, this is an enjoyable album!

God, between this and getting Sabbath a couple days back, I'm getting a lot of albums that I have some history with. I was kind of raised in metal, so to me this is an absolute classic (but not quite my favorite Maiden, that's probably Powerslave). To me, this is kind of archetypal "Heavy Metal" so much so that I almost can't put the sound of this into words, its just metal to me, but I'll try. Basically the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM )is *one of* the earliest genres of metal that very specifically held itself separate from hard rock in a post Sabbath world (note that while Sabbath was *very* important to this movement, this sounds totally different from Sabbath, whose best music often slots a little neater into Doom Metal which would get more established later). Iron Maiden formed in 1975, when the genre was still kind of being hammered down, but their first album got released in 1980, when everything was a little more established. Maiden's sound kind of lands between more melodic metal at the time, and what was thought of more as speed metal. Maiden operates at an energetic gallop, but they never give up a catchy chorus as a consequence of it. Some of the things that distinguished Iron Maiden from their peers was *a little* prog influence, which mostly showed in their song structures, riff writing, and later, high concepts. Additionally, Maiden had two lead guitarists at this time, which allowed them to play with guitar harmonies. As a consequence, the solos on this are *awesome* with Dave Murray and Adrian Smith playing the aforementioned harmonies at some times, and trading dueling passages at others, the effect is electric. Honestly, the whole band is super tight, Steve Harris' bass work is mixed high, and is very distinct and enjoyable, and Clive Burr may not be Maiden's most iconic drummer, but he holds down the fort on this album. I also have to mention Bruce Dickinson, he's a super charismatic frontman with a very distinct and powerful voice. The songs on here are consistently energetic and exciting, and while the A Side here is great in its own right, the B Side here has some classics, The Number of The Beast, Run to the Hills, and Hallowed Be Thy Name are all iconic Maiden songs. Some lines on Run to the Hills have aged a *little* awkwardly, but overall *I* think it has aged a lot better than I think something like this could have, especially because, at the end of the day, it's Maiden's earnest attempt at making a song calling out British Colonialism. Anyways, the song is driven by an iconic galloping lead riff, catchy melodies, and a soaring chorus. Number of the Beast is a wonderful blast of hokey Satanism, conjuring grim rituals and tall shadows, and also it just absolutely rips. And Hallowed Be Thy Name is Maiden's grandest statement here in its lengthy, multi-phased structure and lyrics about a death row inmate in grim denial. It is filled with incredible passages, and epic riffs and is one of Maiden's greatest songs ever. The rest of the tracks here may not consistently reach these highs, but they are pretty great songs in their own right. I will say I've seen people complaining about the lyrics here, but they are good enough to yell along with at a show, and I think that might be what really matters here. Overall this is just cool, Maiden has an iconic metal sound, and they consistently deliver great songs, its a blast.

This was a major blind-spot of mine, and I'm glad I got this. I am honestly more familiar with Debbie Harry's work in weird movies (Rock & Rule, Videodrome) than in Blondie, which is at least a little funny, but I think also emphasizes how she was a figure who could really transcend scene, connecting pop charts with the punk world with the arthouse scene. This is reflected in this album's sound, Parallel Lines was very much an influence on the way that new wave would sound in the '80s. This is a combination of immediate pop songwriting, punk attitude and credibility, and an aesthetic that is a careful mix of rock, and the kitchen sink. Honestly, a lot of ground is covered here, the two songs I knew from here (One Way Or Another and Heart of Glass) sound like they could have been by different bands. I was really surprised at just how easily this hooked me, Hanging on the Telephone is a good-ass song, and I know it isn't an original (it is a cover of a song by The Nerves, a band which released almost nothing during their very brief existence) but Blondie really sell it here, I love the jittery little synth lines. Moving onto One Way Or Another, I viewed this song as overplayed, but it sold me in the full album context, in large part due to the instrumental bridge, which I'm pretty sure is usually cut from the radio, but it's like the best part of the song. Listening to this, I was waiting for a song to really lose me, but it never really happened, everything on here is at least good, and even better, these songs are all catchy, and distinct. Other favorites of mine are Fade Away and Radiate, 11:59, Will Anything Happen, and of course, Heart of Glass. Heart of Glass is kind of a weird song to be this album's biggest hit, but it is *really* good, there's something kind of futuristic and crystalline about it, and Debbie Harry's idiosyncratic singing absolutely sells it. Even the worst songs here are pretty good, Sunday Girl is not a bad song, its just a little less interesting than this album's best in my opinion, and the Buddy Holly cover, I'm Gonna Love You Too works in the context of the album, but I could see myself skipping it if it just sort of came on. Realistically, I'd like to give this a 4.5, its really fantastic, alas, I have to choose. I'm not sure if this is yet in my pantheon of 5s, and if you must have an official reason, I'd say its because Hanging On The Telephone, like a top three song here isn't original, which compounds with some of the songs I'm less into here. Despite this, I'd like to emphasize again that this is like *really* good, and it honestly caught me off guard.

It's too bad that Tical is a victim of circumstance. As has been said many times, Method Man was sort of the star who broke out after the release of Wu Tang classic 36 chambers, and this album was very hotly anticipated. Unfortunately, being the first Wu Tang solo album after 36 Chambers meant being very directly compared to it, and it would have been nearly impossible for Tical to meet this astronomical expectation. Additionally, the year after (1995) saw the release of Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx *and* Liquid Swords: By Wu Tang members O.D.B., Raekwon, and GZA respectively. Liquid Swords and Cuban Linx are often considered among the best rap albums of all time, and in comparison, Tical was a little raw, a little weird and a little rough around the edges. But it doesn't even get the underdog crowd, since O.D.B.'s "Return..." is *much* rawer, *much* weirder, and *much* rougher around the edges, making it the cult classic. This leaves Tical as a middle child: a really great album in a run of all-timers. That being said, this *is* a really great album. Tical achieves a very consistent tone: the beats, the lyrics and the delivery all serve the purpose of making a consistently eerie, gritty vibe that just permeates this album. And this is one of Tical's greatest strengths and weaknesses, the consistency of tone makes this a really absorbing, atmospheric listen, but it also makes some of these tracks run together a little, especially because a lot of the deep cuts here are a little light on hooks, which I don't really consider an intrinsically bad thing, and it does serve the album's overall tone, but it does mean I have a hard time keeping some of these songs straight in my mind. That being said, Method Man is a compelling character across this, and his lyrics show a level of craftsmanship and care that I would expect of Wu Tang at this time, and I do have some stand out songs. All I Need incorporates some romance into the album without sacrificing the tone. Meth Vs. Chef has some great dueling verses with the Raekwon feature. Release Yo' Delf features an I Will Survive interpolation that steadily grew on me, and I now think its an endearing, catchy, and unique addition here. Mr. Sandman is a classic Wu Tang posse cut. And while the Method Man remix at the end here is just a remix of the 36 Chambers song, it *is* still hard to complain about. Overall, even though this is one of the less interesting projects in the classic Wu Tang run, it is still a consistently great rap project that shows a lot of Method Man's character in a very atmospheric, tonally consistent context.

I would like to preface: I am an absolute noise fiend. I love thoughtful lyrics and beautiful arrangements and potent songwriting as much as anyone in kinder society. However, among the quickest ways to my heart of hearts is total sonic obliteration, and given this album's reputation I was ready to dish out the cut and dry 5: but does it truly earn it? We shall see. While artists had been experimenting with noise elements and pop songwriting prior to this, Psychocandy is, in the eyes of many, the archetypal noise pop album. The Jesus And Mary Chain push a vaguely goth-y vibe and simple, theoretically sugary post punk songs into uncharted territory by really overdriving the aesthetic here. This album has, more or less, two types of songs: firstly, songs like the standout opener Just Like Honey which harness unprecedented, "recorded in a cave" reverb into a dark and super dreamlike atmosphere. This content on the album was a large influence on the development of later genres like shoegaze. The other type of song here is where the album earns the "noise" descriptor. These moments, like The Living End and In A Hole get a little punkier, and drive the aesthetic much further. Here, the guitars sound like an explosion in a sheet metal factory as the band attempts to wrangle the searing feedback into the approximate shape of catchy riffs. Overall, these two facets of the album's sound work in a very complementary way, and I love the result. Everything just sounds huge and powerful and a little bit dangerous, like I can't emphasize enough just how much I like the sound of this thing. Unfortunately, there are some things going on here that didn't quite click with me. Firstly, the vocals on here are *extremely* deadpan, and its kind of hit or miss for me, there are songs where it works and songs where it doesn't. I will also say that the songwriting on here isn't spectacular. Without the album's aesthetic, I don't think these compositions could keep this from running out of steam. That being said, the aesthetic *is* here, and besides, these songs very rarely run longer than 3 minutes, so it isn't like you have a ton of time to get bored. Overall, I don't think this is the 5 that I was ready to hand out, but it is *really* good. The sound of this is still distinct and super cool, and the songs are a great vessel for delivering the experience of this album's sound to you. I like this a lot!

I'm always at least a little scared when I get a real canon classic on here. It always comes with a kind of difficult game of balancing influence and storied circumstances and any of the other proceedings with the inclinations of one's personal taste. I think I've settled on a kind of healthy skepticism that at least lets me take a step back to decide if I even like these albums, because the truth of the matter is that almost no one will truly *love* all of them. And Are You Experienced is about as canon as classics get. This is often cited as, perhaps, the single biggest turning point in rock history, and Hendrix may be cited as the greatest ever guitarist more often than any other single person. And it helps that he kind of invented the "guitar hero" persona, his whole aesthetic and performance style was striking and extremely bold. With that being said, *damn* this is good. Is Hendrix the greatest guitarist ever? I honestly don't know. Detractors may mention more technically proficient guitarists, and on the other end of the scale, you have people talking about Hendrix like some kind of wizard without saying anything insightful about his playing. Honestly, its gotten to the point where, before listening to this, I couldn't have really told you what his playing sounds like, the myth has just escaped the music that much. The thing with Hendrix is that he kind of re-invented the guitar, and how it could be used in popular music. Since starting this list, I've heard quite a few '60s albums, and it has put into perspective just how much Hendrix was in his own league. In one word, I'd say his playing is "organic", this album seems to work similarly to jazz in a lot of ways. A lot of these songs have a kind of baseline riff or motif that is established, and that Hendrix and the rest of the band seem to use as an anchor, but they often kind of play it loose. If you really focus, especially on Hendrix's guitar and Mitch Mitchell's *ultra* underrated drumming, the moment to moment shapes of their instrumental lines are really hard to make out. Everyone here has an ebb and flow, and Hendrix's performance is emphasized by his equally revolutionary fuzz guitar tone. As a result, Hendrix sounds bold, exciting and dynamic, even today, and that carries into the album as a whole. The sound across Are You Experienced borrows a lot from blues rock, soul, and psych without ever really *completely* fitting into any one of them. The only genre that really feels right is "rock", just general "rock", in part because of just how archetypal the sound here is. Additionally, this has some *classics* on it; Purple Haze, Hey Joe, The Wind Cries Mary, Fire, Foxey Lady, and we've already hit nearly half of the tracklist. Everything else here is just as good, Manic Depression is a soulful, bluesy rock song with some great lyrics. Third Stone From The Sun is an engaging jam. Are You Experienced is a fascinating closer, taking a lot of very bold psychedelic elements and blending them seamlessly with the album's sound. Yeah, this one deserves the praise, it's just got everything: iconic songs, exciting performances, *wide* influence. I've got to give this one its flowers.

Deep Purple is a band that constantly reinvented themselves with varying levels of success. Deep Purple In Rock is the start of Deep Purple Mk2, the most acclaimed and arguably best era. Here, Deep Purple makes the leap from quality psych act to iconic early metal band with remarkable grace. They get a lot right here, thick guitar tone, exciting solos, wailing vocals, this is truly an underrated piece of classical metal canon that probably should be mentioned with bands like Black Sabbath. I will say, the lyrics here are a little silly and some of these songs don’t quite earn their length, but this is still a really great album. The songs have some great parts: great melodies, great solos from everyone, by the end I was even sold on the synth organ. I honestly don’t have a ton to say, it’s pretty great. I’ll give this a very high 3. Edit: I think I may have scored this a little how for how generally positive I feel about it. Besides, I think the performances, solos, and guitar tone here justify a low 4 soundly enough.

Here we go, my first Britpop album from the list. I've gotta say it isn't really a genre I'm especially interested in, which isn't to say I haven't enjoyed anything in the ballpark. I can get into some of the classic bands that have transcended the genre, most notably Blur and The Stone Roses. However, what we have here seems to be a real deep cut, I was kind of taken aback when I saw that this band only has 23,000 listeners, initially because that is *pretty* underground. But after my listen of this, I'm more surprised that this band doesn't have more, I think a lot of people would be pretty into this. That being said, I only sort of liked it. To my ears, this album is one with a couple of great songs, a couple good ones, and everything else is sort of just fine to me. The opening hat trick of Natalie's Party, Comedy, and Pull together is pretty good. All of these songs are at least good, with Pull Together being pretty great in my mind. These three songs are all catchy and well written, and Pull Together has a subtle melancholy and some faint electronic elements that push it above and beyond for me. Overall, this is a strong enough start to the album, all things considered, but it kind of loses its footing pretty quickly for me. It takes until Streets of Kenny and its kind of baroque, shanty-esque feel to even get remotely as interesting as this opening salvo again, and even then, I don't know if I think it quite reaches the heights of those first three songs. Then we have another run of songs that don't do it for me, before ending on a high note with what may be, in my eyes, the album's best, Daniella. After some of the lower moments on this album, which I think somewhat often gets a little too twee for me at times, Daniella is a refreshing joy. It is stripped back and earnest, and stands out here as an especially well-written folk/singer-songwriter song that I could see entering my regular rotation. Also, I'd like to note that even though I think this project is a little uneven, the palette of it is overall pretty interesting. Acoustic guitar, violin and the vocal stylings all contribute to a sort of baroque atmosphere overall, which, as I mentioned earlier, occasionally shifts into kind of a shanty-like space. Additionally, the electronics on this are usually welcome. There may be too many good songs for me to go a 2 here, and I'm also not sure that the lows are low enough, so I'm gonna settle on a pretty low 3. This was fine for me, if pretty uneven, but your mileage may vary.

This is some great stuff! I wouldn't say this is Sly's masterpiece, that's *probably* There's a Riot Goin' On, but this is a really excellent listen regardless. This is a really great soul and funk album that captures a lot of the tension of this era. Stand! has its fair share of both optimistic and pessimistic moments, reflecting the uncertainty of the times, as the hippy movement started collapsing and the Civil Rights movement was embroiled in a bitter fight. This album doesn't mince words, Sly says what he means. The 2nd track here, whose title I do not feel is for me to reproduce, is a really bold example of this. There aren't a lot of different lines here, but there doesn't need to be. The song's confrontational simplicity serves its purpose, and conveys Sly's righteous anger over a driving funk rhythm. But on the other hand, this album's biggest hit, Everyday People is an empathetic call for unity and understanding that truly seems to believe in a better future. This all balances out, the optimism here isn't blind, and the pessimism isn't nihilistic. The cumulative effect is an album the feels real and honest, with a message driven home by its energetic performances and great songs. The Soul songs here are impassioned, and the funk songs powerful. I will say, I like the nearly 14 minute jam, Sex Machine, but its probably not making it into my rotation, and I think it harms the pacing a little bit. That being said, This is still pretty awesome from start to end.

Hmm, so the funny thing about this is I think that Radiohead is overdiscussed, overrated, and at least a little funny to jeer at, but you can see my score for this as plain as day. Overrated is relative, there are two Radiohead albums that I think are effectively perfect (the other is Ok Computer), but there seem to be a *lot* of people out there on the internet trying to convince me there more. Also, I will say that while I absolutely love Kid A and Ok Computer, I can't say that I *quite* love them equally. I think the last thing I'll say on this is that, in a nutshell, if you have more than one Radiohead album on your top 20 of all time, you should *probably* listen to more music. Anyways, that's enough of antagonizing people over the internet today, let's discuss the album. Firstly, you've heard the narrative "greatest album ever" "greatest left turn in music history", and so on and so forth. In short, a lot of people *really* like this album, and I am one of them. Kid A just does such a fantastic job of building a world and immersing you in it. Radiohead's further incorporation of electronics into Ok Computer's sound mutates this album into something really fascinating. The tone here is eerie and cold and apocalyptic, and it suits the themes here of irreversible environmental annihilation, anxiety attacks, and other such ideas. This album really sounds like its cover art, and it nails the tone immediately. If Everything In Its Right Place sounds like the surface of the moon, then the following title track could be sung by its denizens. The National Anthem then opens up the sound palette a little without sacrificing any immersion. This song is anchored by an incredible bassline, then slowly devoured by the brass section. How To Disappear Completely is an all-timer, a rare and bitterly sad moment of raw humanity on this project. And it never really lets up. Other highlights include the absolutely beautiful Motion Picture Soundtrack, and Idioteque, which may be the album's absolute best song. Idioteque combines a jittery, disorienting, evolving loop with Thom's vocals which ride on a razor's edge between being subdued and manic. The result is genuinely scary in a kind of way, if you are of a certain mind about it. Anyways, there isn't much on here that I can really consider a low point. A couple tracks are a little lower key, but they suit their purpose. I'm gonna say something controversial, these Radiohead guys may just be pretty good at making music.

I like jazz quite a bit, which is why it's weird to me that I kind of have a hard time writing about it. What I love about the genre is often some nebulous interplay of performances, virtuoso ability, and vibes, so bear with me here. Anyways, I liked At Mister Kelly's a lot. This is a vocal jazz live album by Sarah Vaughan, and the fact that it is live is very important, I'd go as far as to say that this may be in the conversation about all time great live albums. This feels exactly as it should: intimate and warm, with little things like the introduction and crowd noises and recording quirks that really put you in this little jazz club while you listen through this. Firstly, as one might expect, Sarah Vaughan is the star here. She is a fantastically talented vocalist, and her voice is beautiful to boot. She is confident and charismatic on the mic; she has great annunciation and a distinct voice as well. She hits incredible vocal runs, and can express a wide range of emotions too. She even flubs with grace and humor, cushioning the audience with a little humor on How High The Moon and Willow Weep For Me. Her backing band is incredible as well. There is a pianist, a drummer and a stand-up bassist here and they are incredible musicians. The band is always locked in and tastefully improvising, giving Vaughan the space she needs while simultaneously making themselves known through their performances. There is serious talent in this much restraint. The only thing holding this album back is that these are pretty much all jazz standards instead of originals. However, that's not as much of a problem in jazz where interpretation and improvisation are so much of the genre's DNA. Ultimately this is great, it's sweet, and cozy and displays some real ability from everyone.

There is a weird sort of magic to early synthesizer music. It requires something special to be determined to make truly great music with technology that feels, now, so limited. After looking into how this was made, it seems like a small miracle that it exists at all. There is an interview with the band where a member recounts taking 11 days to record approximately 6 minutes of music. Although, conversely, the meticulousness required to make something like this at the time results in an early ambient album that feels incredibly detailed, and lovingly assembled. I also think that the abstractness of this type of electronic music actually aids in its aging, Phaedra almost seems to exist out of time if you are in the right headspace while listening to it. The music on here is *intrinsically* synthesizer music, it couldn't really have been made the same way on anything else. This is an album shaped by rhythms and arpeggios and arguably most importantly, texture. And with these elements, Tangerine Dream conjures vast expanses: The sky, the sea, and whatever lies beyond. Also, for how abstract this is, it is remarkably accessible (in my opinion). This is valuable as one of the most important albums, by one of the most important electronic bands of all time, but it is also a stellar example of the capabilities of early electronic music technology and the possibilities for ambient as a genre. Wonderful.

Rest In Peace Brian Wilson. If you've forgotten where the narrative of Brian Wilson as a genius comes from, this album should remind you of everything you need to know. It's funny, for one of the most acclaimed albums of all time, Pet Sounds is still kind of an underdog, largely because it seems to be compared to Sergeant Pepper, possibly more than any other single album (not by the Beatles). It kind of makes sense, both are ambitious, intricate and daring pop albums, but honestly, at the end of the day I may prefer Pet Sounds. One of the biggest things Pet Sounds has over Sergeant Pepper for me is the incredibly unique tone. Pepper oozed flower power optimism, but Pet Sounds was different. The production and instrumental palette has a bittersweet, dreamlike quality: the songs expanded with accordion, violin, toms, and vibrant flashes of psychedelia. And the lyrics here are, honestly, deeply sad. These songs are about alienation, longing, regret, and anxiety. The result is a very complex, yet understated emotional palette. And, of course, none of this would work if not for the fantastic songs. The Beach Boys' distinct, beautiful harmonies sit atop songs which pioneered techniques like complex chord progressions, moment-to-moment flourishes, dense arranging and more for the world of popular music. These songs are all pretty much, in one way or another, perfect '60s pop tunes, but I can list some stand-outs. Wouldn't it be nice is a mega hit and exemplifies everything great about this album. The song is built around an unbelievably catchy accordion line, the vocal melodies are perfect pop music, and the jubilance of the song's aesthetics are counter-balanced by the subtle sadness of the lyrics. Don't Talk is one of the album's sweetest moments. God Only Knows makes the genius move of starting, as a love song, with "I may not always love you", which as was bold and frank and subversive as any of this album's other greatest moments. I'd also like to shout out Sloop John B, I Just Wasn't Made For These Times, and Caroline, No for bringing some *incredibly* honest, vulnerable sadness. This has its reputation as a beautiful, intricate, and boundary-pushing pop album for a reason, and it has aged with remarkable grace. In light of Wilson's passing, I may be feeling a tad generous, but I think I do stand by this as a 5.

While I like folk music a lot, this didn't do a ton for me. To say some positives, the lyrics have an interesting spirituality to them, and I like Yusufs' (Cat Stevens') voice. Additionally, these songs aren't bad, but there are only a few I can really say I like a lot, my favorites being Hard Headed Woman, Wild World, and Father And Son. There are moments of songwriting genius across this, but it just doesn't really do it for me. Frankly, for folk songwriting of this era, some of this is pushed a little too pop for me, and I prefer a rawer take on this genre in general. Like I said, not really bad though, and I can imagine a lot of people would be really into this. I'm kind of between a 2 and a 3, honestly, this would probably be, most honestly like an exact 5/10, but I had to choose. Anyways, still give this a listen, I think this is for a lot of people. Edit: Thought about this a little more, 2 is probably a little harsh.

While I am deciding that I am not that into late ‘60s and early ‘70s blues rock, but there is something here. A lot of people claim this has proto-punk energy, but I’d rather say this is sort of garage rock. Anyways, this does have some real energy that propels it along, and I like it well enough! I don’t have a ton to say about this honestly, it’s alright!

Talking Heads had a very interesting evolution during their existence, but I am glad to say they were still fully-formed and confident and exciting on their debut here. While I do believe that the next several Talking Heads albums are generally more interesting than the material here, these are still great songs, and also impressively, all of the weird little nooks and crannies in what would become Talking Heads' sound are pretty much all here, just a little bit more subdued. We see Talking Heads here exploring the elements of funk, angular post punk, and futuristic textures here, but just to a lesser extent, and often in a different way than they would appear later. An interesting consequence of this is that pretty much every other Talking Heads album sounds more like each other than this, so it kind of feels like a unique treat in their discography. Some of the little experiments here are totally unlike anything that would appear later, like the steel drums on Uh-Oh, Love Comes to Town. Also, I must mention, that David Byrne is as fascinating and idiosyncratic as he ever would be here. His voice is not exactly deadpan, but it is more spoken than sung most of the time, and he is kind of riding a line between nervous and manic in a way that captures the really interesting energy that he is known for. The lyrics also have all the Byrne-isms that we know and love, if you don't know what I'm talking about, just read some, it'll explain better than I can. A lot of the themes here are about anxiety and alienation and neuroticism, but the images are obsessed with objects and buildings and business-men, and the rules of English grammar are largely adhered to. Anyways, there is a fair share of highlights here. The jerky, click-y Who Is It? is a sign of things to come. Uh-Oh, Love Comes To Town is groovy in a way the band would never really be again. The Book I Read and Don't Worry About The Government are both great Talking Heads deep cuts with some of the best lyrics on here. And lastly, Psycho Killer wasn't a hit at the time, but any song this good is bound to find its audience. Ultimately, even though Talking Heads would grow substantially after Talking Heads 77, this is still pretty great at a lot of its moments. There are some tracks that I don't click with, but I am very pleased with this as a whole.

I will say, I have more than a little skepticism towards covers albums, but this is really good. On Stardust, Willie Nelson plays stripped back, intimate interpretations of American pop standards, and he does a damn good job at it. These interpretations sound tender, heartfelt and lovingly assembled, a far cry from the reputation of the covers album as nothing more than a cash grab or bait for discography completionists. Nelson's band sounds great, proving themselves while giving him room to breathe and take center stage. And good thing too, because Willie Nelson is a really strong presence here. His guitar playing is pretty and crisp and understated, and his melodic gruffness grants this project some gravitas. I think the best run here is from Stardust to Blue Skies, with Blue Skies as my personal favorite song from the whole project. There are some lulls though, I don't know if the strength of this opening run is matched at any other point in the project. Also, while Unchained Melody and September Song are very good, they are also among the lowest energy songs on the album, and sequencing them together causes some pacing problems for me. For as hard a sell as "Willie Nelson's classic pop covers album" is, this really delivers, and I liked it quite a lot, despite some unevenness here and there. I'm gonna settle at a high 3, but I'd also like to give some unofficial bonus points to the fantastic album art.

N.E.R.D does some decent work here. N.E.R.D is probably most well known as Pharrell's old band, and they are a neat combination of hip hop, rock and RnB. The more "Pharrell-y" songs on here show a lot of promise, and are generally pretty good. However, the production choices, and some of the songwriting in general sounds kind of dated, especially on the more rock leaning tracks. This did kind of slowly win me over during the course of its runtime, and by the end I was having fun, but I don't think I'll really revisit it, and even the best songs here are only fine by my taste. This is a hell of a lot better than the CeeLo Green album I had earlier with Pharrell on it, to the extent that this almost makes it make a little more sense. However, I'm still only so into this.

This is one that I'm gonna have to spend more time with. I can listen to this and very plainly see that Brilliant Corners is full of extremely intricate, emotive jazz compositions, and I can understand that Monk is considered among the greatest jazz composers/musicians ever for a damn good reason. Just listen to the title track for everything great about this in a nutshell: it's really a staggering song. However, I regret to say that I have yet to really digest and connect to these songs, but I can definitely appreciate what I'm hearing on some level. I'm gonna give this a healthy 4, because I really can't imagine giving it anything lower.

Prior to So, Peter Gabriel seemed to have one foot firmly in the art world and another firmly in the pop world. If that is the case, then on So, he seems to walk around a bit, and end up with one foot in the art-pop world and another just in the pop world. To put it differently: this is the one with the hits. Sledgehammer, In Your Eyes, Don't Give Up, and Big Time were all, on some level, a hit. However, this album is also known for achieving this without sounding like Gabriel is trying to "sell out", the songs here all feel very distinct and personal, and he keeps his art cred intact. Especially since the deep cuts here do *not* sound like they were made for the radio. Mercy Street, We Do What we're Told and This Is The Picture all sound thickly atmospheric, future-forward and mysterious. My personal favorite on here is This Is The Picture, Laurie Anderson (check her out by the way) appears and performs an incredible vocal duet with Peter Gabriel. Not to brush by the singles, they are mostly great as well. Sledgehammer, for example is iconic for a reason: funky, catchy, and just a *touch* art damaged. The only song on here that I specifically don't like is Big Time. It just sounds kind of on the nose and silly to me, but I would like to give credit where credit is due to the bass-work. I overall enjoyed this quite a bit, but I get the sense I may personally get more out of Peter Gabriel's earlier work.

Iggy and the Stooges’ legendary Raw Power is certainly aptly named. The performances, energy, and production (more on that in a minute) of Raw Power makes it both crawl towards punk, and capture rock at its most exciting and unpredictable. This is compounded by the reputation Raw Power has due to the conditions of its creation: frankly it’s a miracle this got released at all. In short, the legend goes as such: David Bowie saw fit to get Iggy Pop's next album financed and released, and a few bizarre decisions later, as Bowie tells it, he had to mix the album in a single, day long session from only three tracks (reportedly, Iggy's vocals, and the lead guitar both had their own track, and everything else was on a single track). Even with the talents of Bowie, this resulted in a mix that sounds raw and shrill, but it ended up capturing the album pretty well. It's also worth noting that in 1997, Iggy Pop was brought in to remix the album himself for a reissue, and the result is a mix wherein everything is as loud as possible, to the point of clipping, but the low end is a lot better. Consequentially, there is no definitive mix of Raw Power. Bowie's mix captures some real lightning in a bottle, but he seems to have left the bass behind, and Pop's mix fixes the bass, and has a little more impact, but it loses some of the charm of the original, and maybe more importantly, it has a dismal dynamic range, the whole album has the faders jammed as far as they'll go, and it proudly displays its digital clipping. I think there are merits to both, and I would like to go on record to say that I think there is something beautiful about the fact that after 25 years of reflection, hindsight, and experience in the professional recording industry Iggy Pop still seems to think that the best way to experience this is as loudly as physically possible, at all times, without relief. To discuss the music on here, it's sick as hell. Basically, this is just shy of 35 minutes worth of rock music threatening to fly off the handle at all times. There are two slower songs, but I wouldn't say they are filler, they're honestly pretty good, so this thing feels lean, not really a wasted minute. The rhythm section turns into a wall of noise, Pop shouts incoherently, and the guitar solos sputter inarticulately. It feels bold and chaotic, and like I said earlier, exciting. I love this thing, and while I'm not giving it a 5 yet, I think there may be room to grow.

Well shit, this is like *really* good. I don’t have an incredible history with Britpop, I like some of the classics, but the genre at large doesn’t really do it for me, but Different Class by Pull is an extremely well written pop album with a unique aesthetic and great execution that stands head and shoulders above the genre at large in my eyes. This is full of flourishes from the rave scene, orchestral arrangements and there really isn’t a bad song here. We start off strong with Mis-Shapes, a song where Pulp’s incredible talent for chorus writing becomes immediately apparent. Before mentioning other highlights here, I would also like to mention the lyrics here, there is a fascinating combination of class consciousness and horniness in a way I’m really not sure I’ve heard anywhere else. The album as a whole paints an honest and pretty grimy portrait of England at the time, full of class conflict and ennui. I bring this up because the second song here is Pencil Skirt, which is an almost transgressive view of cheating that feels gross in a pretty interesting way. The next song is a pretty staggering highlight: Common People is about class consciousness by way of romantic flings, touching on themes of upper-class disconnect and the fetishization of the working class. This kind of romantic wistful pop song transforms in a really interesting way, with the narrator becoming increasingly angry with the class tourist woman chasing him, and the almost imperceptible build here is glorious. I Spy is another personal favorite, with the post punk vibes and whispery vocals, it’s just sonically fantastic. Other highlights include Live Bed Show, Sorted For E’s & Wizz, FEELINGCALLEDLOVE, and Monday Morning: really we have most of the album here. I stand by there not being a bad song here, but some just don’t do quite as much for me, Underwear and Something Changed in particular. Despite this, this still may be my favorite Britpop album, and if you’re skeptical of the genre you owe it to yourself to at least give this a shot. This is a pretty high 4.

When I say that I remain skeptical of Brit-pop, albums like this are why. (What's The Story) Morning Glory is one of the most acclaimed albums in the Brit-Pop space, one of the best selling as well, and it's an absolute hit parade too. However, I just don't really like this album. Oasis' game here seems to be simple, elegant pop song writing, with a massive chorus on every song. For me, the problem here is that by swinging for the fences every time, Oasis often misses. A lot of these songs seem engineered to be the most effective arena rock songs possible, but it feels like Oasis doesn't earn a lot of these choruses. On the other couple of Britpop albums I've heard through this project, there were always some surprising little detours to expand their sound, but there really isn't much that surprised me here at all. I'd like to note that this approach to songwriting isn't intrinsically bad for me, but there really isn't anything about Oasis that sells me on it here. There isn't anything exceptional to me about the singing here, or the playing for that matter. There isn't much of an exciting rock edge here, but Oasis also doesn't sell me on the melodicism here. There weren't really any lyrics that stand out to me, and I don't really find the Gallaghers to be compelling figures either. There just isn't anything I find really interesting about Oasis' sound to sell these huge songs. I will say, there are a couple of songs that help out quite a bit here, but first I would like to briefly acknowledge Wonderwall. Wonderwall is kind of a fine song at the end of the day, but it may be in the running for the most played out singular song on the entire list. If not for this list, I could have probably gone the rest of my life without intentionally listening to this song. With that out of the way, let's discuss some positives. Hello and Morning Glory are both songs with some fun, driving energy and end up pretty decent and help give the project some momentum. Don't Look Back In Anger is one of the only choruses here that I really buy into, it kinda hits. Also, Champagne Supernova highlights one of the merits to this songwriting style. Despite being 7 minutes long, it feels as brisk as anything else here as it builds from chorus to chorus, it helps that this song has some of the best melodies here. However these songs can only help so much, and I still feel that a 2 is appropriate here.

Doggystyle is an undisputed classic hip hop album by Snoop Dogg, and it is very possibly Snoop's only undisputed classic. However, you would be hard-pressed to find someone who appreciates hip hop as an artform who would deny Snoop this one. After Dr. Dre's The Chronic proved that G-Funk, and the West Coast hip hop world at large had a real chance in the mainstream, and Doggystyle followed up on the potential. Produced in full by Dre, and featuring a West Coast who's who feature list, Doggystyle saw Snoop become fully realized as one of the most endearing (and enduring) personalities in hip hop. Snoop's flow is unbelievably smooth, and he harnesses an effortless "cool" that aided a lot in acclimating a more general audience to West Coast hip hop. Also helpful are Dre's beats here, which up the fun factor present on his debut. The basslines are *fat*, the sawtooth synths are sugary and iconic, and the bounce on this project is non-stop. Regardless of if the West Coast is your thing, this is still one of the best collections of beats *ever*. Gin and Juice is a generation defining ultra-hit, The Shiznit's bassline is incredible, and on songs like Murder Was The Case and Serial Killa, Dre even conjures some sinister tones. Of note is also Lodi Dodi, one of hip hop's only real covers. Snoop pays his respects to Slick Rick, and Dre's beat sounds right at home under Rick's verses. It's also worth noting that while this album, in the eyes of many, marks the early signs of the hip hop mainstream moving away from lyricism, the lyrics here absolutely are worth discussing. Snoop paints such a vivid picture of LA at this time, and the people and places that comprise it. While talking about lyrics, I would like to mention that this album often finds itself at the center of conversations about misogyny in hip hop, and while I do not think these conversations are often started in good faith, I do think there is a real discussion that can happen here. From what I have read of other reviews of this album on this website, there seems to be a lot of pearl-clutching about hip hop, while the equally grave crimes against women committed by the music industry at large seem to frequently go unpunished. It just sort of feels like a double standard, and I don't think it really gets to the core of the systemic misogyny that does exist within hip hop culture and within the music industry at large. All that being said, some of the lines about women here are *crazy*. There is a particularly high density of shockers on Ain't No Fun. I think some of these lines may well be indicative of problematic attitudes towards women that some of the artists here may have held, and I think artists should be held accountable for this, but acting like this is a problem that starts and stops with Snoop Dogg just isn't helpful. Despite this, I think this album can still be held as a classic. As I mentioned, this album paints a picture of the world it was created in, and Snoop Dogg shows us the good, bad and ugly of this world, whether he knows it or not. It is always responsible to have a critical relationship with art, and one should be able to acknowledge the greatness of a piece while acknowledging how the good and bad of the personalities that created it shaped and the art itself, instead of holding them as wholly separate entities. Anyways, at the end of the day, I do think these lyrics detract somewhat from my enjoyment of this album. There are also a couple of other minor complaints I have, mostly that I am not huge on the skits here. Despite all of that, I do still consider this a classic and regard this very highly. This is a ton of fun, it also sounds great in the summer, and it's a real piece of hip hop culture. Great stuff!

It really feels like Stevie Wonder's very best is music that no one dislikes. In particular, his work from 1972 to 1976 is solid gold, and Fulfillingness' First Finale lands in the middle of this run. I will say, this has a hard time living up to its surrounding albums, but given the incredibly high quality ceiling here, that isn't exactly a damning accusation. This is still an excellent album full of really great songs, many on the same level as Wonder's best. The sound that Wonder is known for, combining soul with funk, motown, R&B and more is on full display here, and the topics discussed here are focused and consistently interesting. These songs are about love, religion, spirituality, hope and the occasional jab at Richard Nixon. There really isn't a bad song here, but highlights include Heaven Is 10 Zillion Light Years Away, which explores Wonder's relationship with religious faith, the breezy Bird Of Beauty, and the politically minded You Haven't Done Nothin, featuring The Jackson 5. I would like to make special mention of They Won't Go When I Go, which captures a tone heard nowhere else here, and carries some real gravity. It is one of Stevie Wonder's best songs ever. I will say that I don't think I connect to every song here, but I can understand that this is fantastically constructed from front to back. There is just something joyful and transcendent that Stevie Wonder's music is often steeped in, and that X-Factor is on full display here, making this a truly valuable project.

I listen to quite a bit of extreme and bizarre music, but I must admit, this one took a couple of listens. This was Robert Wyatt's first solo album after leaving Soft Machine, and also his first after becoming paralyzed from the waist down. The process of teaching himself a new way to write, perform and record music shows here, Rock Bottom sounds nothing like any of Wyatt's prior work, and frankly, I'm not sure that I have heard another album quite like this full stop. Rock Bottom is considered part of the Canterbury Scene, just from the lineup here, but it doesn't quite fit neatly into that sound. The only other music I can think of which is enjoyed in approximately the same way is some stuff by Coil, Comus, and to a lesser extent, Kid A by Radiohead (which is often cited as being the most noteworthy album to take inspiration from Rock Bottom). What does this sound like? It has some of the attributes associated with the aforementioned Canterbury Scene, but just feels different from prog at large. These songs are ethereal and sour complex, taking more from modal/free jazz than from prog, and featuring a mix populated both with more conventional rock instruments as well as synths, drones and other alternative instrumentation. I honestly think the first two tracks here may be the most challenging, although they are both very good nonetheless. Sea Song is a particularly bizarre love song to his wife (the similarly fascinating Alfreda Benge) and Robert's understated but intentional vocals move like a fairly conventional ballad at times. However, the song as a whole sways and stretches, the chord progressions always threatening to resolve, but seemingly never quite making it there. This is executed to great effect, feeling genuinely disorienting in a way that is really interesting. A Last Straw really shows off the jazz influence, as well as the incredible talent on this album: our lineup includes Mike Oldfield, Fred Frith, Laurie Allan, Soft Machine's very own Hugh Hopper, and more. These are largely scene legends, and the chemistry here is incredible (of note is also that Pink Floyd's Nick Mason produced this). These two songs are very good, while remaining utterly subsumed into Wyatt's world. But what is really noteworthy here is that, in my eyes, the remaining four songs are effectively perfect, while *still* refusing to dial back the strangeness here. Little Red Riding Hood Hit The Road and Little Red Robin Hood Hit The Road seem to be sister songs. The former being devoured by a brass section and ending in a brief recitation of a poetry passage. The latter, closing out the album, doubles down on the poetry, as Wyatt allows Ivor Cutler and his beautiful harmonium playing to close the album out. Both are incredible songs. Between them, is, in my opinion, the album's greatest achievement: the suite of Alifib and Alifie, together forming the other gloriously weird love song to Wyatt's spouse on this album. For as abstract as these songs are, they resonate deeply with me. Alifib is a beautiful song, modality is heard at its most expressive, and we slowly build into the intensity of Alifie, which then ends with a passage by A;freda Benge (his wife) who puts a bow on everything and the cumulative statement is really beautiful. The most fascinating thing about these songs may be the lyrics: they are straight-up Dada poetry. Wyatt uses words and sounds non-representationally, just exploring them as ideas separate from the objects they are typically connected to, and it is done *very* well, sold with super dynamic delivery. I get if you don't like this, it is *truly* bizarre, especially if you don't really have any frame of reference for this at all. And even if you do, it is stubborn in the unfamiliarity of its content and execution, really resisting attempts to get into it. However, I would urge you to give it a shot, there is something really exciting and beautiful here. I don't know if this album is technically perfect, but what very few rough patches are here, I think I'm willing to overlook. This is rapidly growing on me, and I am willing to award bonus points for this quite possibly being the only album that feels and sounds like this ever recorded. It is a rare and beautiful beast, and I am willing to give it a 5.

What sticks out to me most about this is that Joan Armatrading can *sing*. She’s fantastic on here, an extremely powerful presence. Unfortunately a lot of the songwriting doesn’t stick out to me all that much, but I do like the country leaning stuff on here. Save Me is one of the best songs here, dusty and tender. I’d also like to mention Like Fire’s incredible guitar work. Join The Boys and Tall In The Saddle are also highlights here. All in all, I can put this on pretty happily, and Armatrading herself is is fantastic, but I only get so much from this as a whole.

This album is frustrating, because it’s almost pretty decent, but there are just a few things with U2’s sound that I kind of just can’t do. Either way, I’m not sure this has earned the classic status that it is often given. I will say that if you heard this when it came out, I can kind of get it. At the time, I could have seen the Edge’s signature tone and effects being atmospheric and kind of futuristic, but unfortunately, time has not been kind to The Joshua Tree, and this guitar sound is, to me, synonymous with advertising, which really is too bad. That being said, it is sorta U2’s fault, if your signature guitar effect is a delay pedal, then you can’t complain if it doesn’t sound all that exciting to future generations. Something I can more confidently blame on U2 is Bono’s performance here. Something about the way he sings makes me feel like a cat being pet backwards. His pitch isn’t always there, he tries ducking off into expressive little detours that just don’t feel right to me, and when he gets a little growly, it kind of sounds like he has something stuck in his throat. A lot of the songs here, on a writing level, are at least melodically decent, if melodramatic, but what often really makes or breaks an individual song for me is Bono. For example, on I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, he plays it pretty straight and let’s the melody speak for itself, and as such, it’s one of my favorites on here. Conversely, Bullet The Blue Sky is pretty good, until Bono starts doing his thing, and I’m immediately sucked out of an otherwise atmospheric song. I would also like to note the baffling Trip Through Your Wires, which stuns me with Bono yelping to no particular gain, and harmonica playing which feels as though it has no place on this album. Although, I did actually like the subdued approach of the last two tracks here: Exit and Mothers Of The Disappeared. They both tone it back and let the atmosphere speak instead of trying to coat then in obnoxious vocals and huge choruses. Overall, this was actually kind of interesting to me, I just didn’t like it that much. But I do think there’s value of some kind here.

Every true music curmudgeon has one mid to late ‘60s underground rock band that they claim secretly sort of invented punk before anyone else. And as quite the curmudgeon myself, mine has been The Monks for some time now. While The Monks may have been limited by the music aesthetics of the time and the technology available to American GIs in Germany in like 1966, the punk spirit is alive and well on Black Monk Time, and frankly the sound isn’t as far as you’d think. The songs are repetitive and simple and sorta pummeling in their own sort of scuzzy garage rock way. The lyrics are blunt, angry and often politically charged. And a kind of energy rarely seen in rock at this time courses through the album. Also, this is a particularly brisk ~30 minutes, well suited to the kind of stuff here. There’s some really cool drum work here too, and I was pleasantly surprised by the organ incorporation that could have only been here in 1966. This is some really unique, exciting rock music, and I’m glad the 1001 albums list gave it some love.

For much of my life, I kind of thought most Reggae sort of sounded the same, although this was, as they say, a skill issue and some time last year it finally clicked with me. That being said, I didn’t really follow up on this revelation in any meaningful way. All of this to say this is the first Reggae album I have listened to from front to back and it’s *really* good. Bob Marley is an icon and with music like this he really deserves the status. The unfortunately underrated Wailers are also fantastic, elevating these fantastic songs and Marley’s performances and Melodies into an album that earns its place among the greats. Marley is a super dynamic vocalist, and he serves as a great counterpoint to the super tight, rhythmic reggae grooves across the album. It's also refreshing to hear his lyrics in a world where Bob Marley, as a pop culture figure, has been sanitized. Songs like 400 Years, and Slave Driver are angry, intelligent and deeply political. He also has compelling lyrics about romance, religion and more on here. I'm glad the generator finally twisted my arm into checking this stuff out, I had a fantastic time.

From what (admittedly little) research I did, Hugh Masekela seems deeply important to the landscape of jazz, and this is seemingly regarded to be among his best. While I can tell this is a detailed, sophisticated piece of jazz, I'm not sure I can entirely speak this music's language. I enjoy jazz quite a bit, but my comfort zone usually hovers around the hard-bop, swing and (to an extent) free jazz world. Home Is Where The Music Is has some distance from these touchstones, and while I enjoy this while it's on, I often just don't have the ear to tell you exactly what is spectacular about it. Although, this is still a pretty great album to just sort of drift through, even if I can't take it all in. Although there are some moments here that I feel I can fully appreciate. The Drumwork in the second half of Blues For Huey is really incredible. I also love the second half of Minawa. And Ingoo Pow-Pow brings in some really interesting percussive and vocal components that really set it apart. Also, I would like to note that while Hugh Masekela's name is specifically on this, it feels more like an ensemble piece than a solo exhibition at many times (although he certainly has some fantastic flugelhorn solos on here). Overall, this is pretty great and I enjoyed it quite a bit, I don't know if I see myself coming back to it anytime soon though: maybe someday.

This is pretty interesting, but kind of inessential. Doves kind of set themselves apart from other similar indie acts by really embracing their house roots and by accentuating the late night "moodiness" that so many people reference in regards to Lost Souls. This results in a couple of really good songs: I like Sea Song, Lost Souls, The Man Who Told Everything, and some other moments dotted around quite a bit. However, sometimes this album feels a little style over substance, and the very singular atmosphere makes some of these songs run into each other. Although, this at least makes Lost Souls work well as "vibes" music. Despite this, I am not sure I can really see myself returning to this one, I kind of wish it took the "moodiness" further, we are kind of sitting in a weird middle space with Doves as they are. Sometimes they don't push their ideas dark enough, sometimes they don't have enough songwriting chops to counterbalance the darkness that is here. Although I did enjoy this while it was on, I just kind of find it vaguely pleasant most of the time. This score should be read as a low 3.

I'm the wrong kind of gay for this, George Michael doesn't exactly have a lot for the sapphics. I'd probably be able to tag along for the ride, but the '80s are also one of my least favorite decades for mainstream pop music, and this is an album that features a lot of the production attributes that usually drive me away from this era. Everything has that sort of cheesy sheen that a lot of '80s pop music seems to. And the songs are kind of campy, but not in a way I really resonate with. The result is that these are catchy, well written songs, and George Michael is a strong presence, but I just don't really like much of what is here. The Title Track sort of grew on me, Hard Day is sorta funky, and I like Hand To Mouth. Although, I really don't see myself returning to any of the songs here. Although I would like to make a special mention of I Want Your Sex (Pts. 1 & 2), which I can't say I love, but it is genuinely fascinating. This is a 9 minute epic about, you guessed it: sex, which features a little break where we get lyrics like "sex is natural, sex is fun, sex is best when it's one on one" which sort of makes me feel like I'm in some bizarre sex education class in high school or something. I understand that this would have seemed a little more daring at the time, but now it is just sort of bizarre and quaint. It baffles me that this is a song on an album that sold 25 *Million* copies. Anyways, as much as I don't really like this album, I can't really feel any negativity towards it. It's just sort of having a good time, and who would I be to stop it. Plus, I'd like to give some bonus points to George Michael for making such an unrepentantly gay and horny album for the mainstream in 1987, I have nothing but respect, even if I can't entirely resonate here.

Mark E Smith is a fascinating individual and one of the most difficult men to ever pick up a guitar. His contempt for his bandmates, contemporaries, and audience is pretty apparent in most everything he did, said, and made. This band has had 66 members during its lifespan for a reason. Although, people attempted to put up with him for a reason: the man was kind of, sort of a genius in his own weird way. Live At The Witch Trials is an extremely interesting debut. The Fall can be lumped in with the other post-punk bands at the time, but no one did it like this. This isn't to say that The Fall was far ahead of the rest of the scene, but they were kind of a singular, inimitable thing. For a band that really isn't *that* aesthetically extreme, there is something disproportionately alienating and caustic about The Fall's music. I think a lot of it may be that it seems like Smith had very little interest in keeping the band's energy from hurtling off the tracks, especially for how intricate some of these songs come across as. It kind of feels like everyone is pulling in a different direction, but the forces all balance out. And on top of all of it, Mark E Smith is *ranting*, it almost feels like he's trying as hard as possible to keep everyone from settling into a groove. And as a result of all this, The Fall's sound feels chaotic and nervous. I will also say that The Fall is really not for everyone, and they really don't seem to care that a not-insignificant portion of the population is left in the dust here. Despite that, I would really urge everyone to give this one a shot, it probably isn't The Fall's best, but it is *very* good, and is honestly probably one of their most accessible. It's really the kind of thing you struggle to find anywhere else.

2112 is a truly great album that I usually kind of need to be dragged into, kicking and screaming. I do like Rush, but my forebrain often forgets this fact. Also, Rush makes the kind of prog that I rarely feel the need to listen to. Despite this, I do think they make really great, incredibly intricate music. And by some metric, 2112's title track may be the greatest, most intricate song Rush ever recorded. Side B of 2112 is worth discussing, but we are really here for said title track. 2112 is one of the most important longform concept pieces in rock history. It is a 20 minute dystopian epic comprising the entirety of side A, and frankly, it has been discussed to *death* so I may try to keep this brief. 2112 tells the story of someone in a dystopian future finding a guitar, immediately mastering it, getting it destroyed by the high priest collective, then possibly dying by their own hand. I think it's a reasonably compelling narrative, but I do have complaints. Generally, I think Rush's lyrics are a little weak, usually nothing *terrible* just very, very literal, and that usually isn't a problem. However, this is a 20 minute long sci-fi narrative, and some real cheese seeps into some of it, but your mileage may vary. Also, we have quite a bit of Randian influence here, which is rarely good, but Rush manages to harness it in a way that isn't immediately distracting. Lyrics aside, the composition here could probably convey the story as an instrumental, which speaks to just how good Rush are at composing: it's very impressive, and the whole affair is consistently engaging and shockingly brisk. Let's now discuss side B. These are 5 disconnected rock songs that are all at least good. More great song writing, and very literal lyrics abound (really only distracting on A Passage To Bangkok and The Twilight Zone). A Passage To Bangkok is one of the best here (if you can overlook a *little* exoticism), but they did decide, for some reason, to interrupt the otherwise great song, not once, but twice, with the "Asian Music" sting, which kind of grinds everything to a halt and jumpscares me, as a modern listener. The Twilight Zone is another musical highlight here. But again, none of the songs are bad. Like I said, I do have some complaints with 2112, but I do still think it's great. Just the fact that they were able to execute something so ambitious and epic as well as they were deserves accolades. But more importantly, the album still has great songs, it isn't just a writing exercise, honestly this rocks pretty hard, which is kind of Rush's magic spell. Again, it's not always one I'm in the mood for, but I'm down for a spin of 2112 now and then.

Boston is kind of a fascinating case study to me. They are a band who was led, in part, by Tom Scholz, who was an absolute studio wizard who invented all sorts of pioneering recording techniques and home studio devices, however, what they used all this innovation for just doesn't feel like especially interesting music. Boston just kind of sounds like the cleanest, catchiest, most accessible arena rock possible, like this really feels like archetypal "dad rock" to me. And honestly, that audio engineering skill clearly went somewhere, this album does sound really good. Making an album sound this immaculately, spotlessly clean is no small feat, and even though I don't really like Boston, it's hard to argue that the work didn't pay off. Just about every song here was a hit on some level. A lot of them still get airplay on local classic rock stations across America (and beyond) to this day. And the songs are also there, like yeah, everything here kinda, sorta sounds the same, but every song does hit real arena rock highs. Depending on where you live, you would be hard pressed to find someone who hasn't heard More Than A Feeling, it's just unbelievably catchy. Honestly, if you're into this, more power to you, because you are probably having more fun than me, just in general.

It's interesting to hear the first album from a band that would become very popular. Sometimes it's the only opportunity to hear them before they are forced to contend with the weighty expectations of celebrity culture. Kings of Leon are a band that, anymore, I can only really think of as offensively inoffensive. Like it feels like they are as "just fine" as any band could be, and the big question I had going into this was if they were any more interesting on their debut. At this time, Kings of Leon kind of seem to sit in with the other kind of indie/garage rock bands of this time, but with a little more of a Southern Swamp Rock sound. Unfortunately, even here, I don't think they could really keep up with their contemporaries. They aren't as powerful and scuzzy as The White Stripes were, they didn't have the energy of something punkier like Yeah Yeah Yeahs at this time. And they didn't have the melodic sensibilities or performance of The Strokes, who they sound most similar to otherwise (they kind of both have the same "dry" sound that I wish I could put a finger on). Their sound is also just a little more "generic 2000s rock" than any of the former bands. I would like to mention the vocals here though. Caleb Followill digs in pretty hard on his delivery, and there are some standout moments, but his performances still somehow feel too restrained and never quite connect all the dots. This isn't bad per say, but like their later music, it just isn't interesting (let alone essential) in the landscape of rock they existed in.

This is the first Velvet Underground album without John Cale, and for better or worse (depending on who you ask) his absence is felt. Without his shrieking weaponization of the cello, The Velvet Underground's sound feels a little less "punky proto noise rock" and a little more "art pop/rock classic", and this has resulted in this album being one of The Velvet Underground's most accessible, with noteworthy results. This self-titled is kind of a perennial favorite, mostly for those who (understandably) couldn't get into White Light / White Heat. And, while they did dial it back here a little, a lot of the best songs here still show some echoes of their avant-garde roots. On What Goes On, Jesus, Some Kinda Love, and I'm Set Free, a lot of the drone-y minimalism of the band's older stuff still appears in a more tamed form. And, while I don't know if it's one of the band's more successful avant pieces, The Murder Mystery is pretty cool, if slightly long winded. But there are also moments here that very successfully capture more conventional songwriting. Pale Blue Eyes is a wildly successful, very tender love song. After Hours is vulnerable and sparse. And, say what you will about Lou Reed's personality, with its ups and downs, but Candy Says is an incredibly empathetic, very sweet song aiming to capture the experience of transness in a way that I truly appreciate. Unfortunately, there are some songs that don't fully sell me here. I think side 2 is generally the weaker one here. I don't really like Beginning To See The Light, That's The Story Of My Life's kind of country feel doesn't really fully sell me, and as interesting as it is, The Murder Mystery is an overlong mixed bag. Ultimately, there's a lot of good here, and while the second half is a little spotty, I think The Velvet Underground's first venture into more accessible music was very successful. This is justifiable as an essential, and I am glad I heard it.

This checks a lot of *very* specific boxes that I am looking for in indie folk. The low fidelity production, the unique vocals, the kind of esoteric woodsy vibe, the poetic lyrics. I am also a huge fan of how this album plays it musically loose, it sounds organic without feeling sloppy to me. Basically, this is one that kind of feels like it was tailored to my tastes a little. I will say that while I like every song here, I am not confident that there is anything truly amazing enough from a songwriting perspective to give this the lauded 5, but songs like The Body Breaks, Poughkeepsie, Fall, Insect Eyes, and Autumn's Child really try.

There was a time when this album was chronically overrated in online music spaces, and while I never really dug into it, a part of me is kind of resistant to wanting to listen to Arcade Fire, in part because of this. The whole situation with Win Butler a couple of years ago also doesn't particularly make me want to listen to Arcade Fire. Now that this album has a couple mental shrouds for me, I'm curious if I can enjoy it. It turns out that I can, I still hold that at its critical peak this album was pretty overrated, but this is still a standout indie project. I've seen Side A called the neighborhood suite, and I think it's where this project is at its strongest. These songs have a strong conceptual throughline, some neat baroque instrumentation, and strong, varied songwriting. Tunnels builds in a really dynamic way that kicks things off very well. Laika has great melodies, and really neat jangly textures with the xylophone and the accordion. I'd also like to highlight Power Out, which has a stand out electronic pulse, and kind of makes me think of a mid-late era Modest Mouse song, which in this instance, is a good thing. Side B feels a bit more disjointed, but it still has really strong songs. The run from Wake Up to Rebellion (Lies) in particular stands out to me. Wake Up in particular is ultra catchy. This is an album that incorporates a lot of the early 2000s indie-isms really well while maintaining a super accessible sound, and I think it paid off, Arcade Fire is huge now. I think pretty much every song on here pulls its own weight, and I can see myself returning to some of these songs in the future, even if the whole album may not make it into my regular rotation.

For as good as they were at it, the first 4 White Stripes albums had a pretty simple thing going on. Their powerful, scuzzy and loud interpretation of blues rock simply rocked *hard* (and their impeccable eye for aesthetic didn't hurt). As such, Get Behind Me Satan feels like a very intentional series of left turns and odd tangents. We kick off with Blue Orchid which very much feels like a normal White Stripes song, and a particularly good one too. It is catchy, groovy and heavier than you'd think, and starting here feels like a very intentional play to lull the listener into a sense of security. Immediately afterwards, we get The Nurse, which is *very* far removed from a normal White Stripes song, maybe more-so than anything else here. This song is built around a marimba part which is occasionally punctuated with a noise freak-out, and I think it's awesome. My Doorbell jerks us once more, into a piano and percussion led song with some incredibly catchy vocal melodies. With these songs, we experience most of the territory Get Behind Me Satan Takes us to. And this was probably a good idea, by defining a ball field to play in with these new textures, The White Stripes still give us a really cohesive sounding album. Not to say there aren't surprises from here on out. Little Ghost is pure, earnest Americana executed without an ounce of cheese and it's a highlight here. White Moon and I'm Lonely (But I Ain't That Lonely Yet are pleasant, well written piano ballads. Also, there *are* some more conventional White Stripes songs here: Instinct Blues, along with Red Rain, and the aforementioned Blue Orchid are all highlights. The scarcity of this sort of song here makes me think they made sure that any they attempted hit. And these three songs *hit* especially surrounded by chiller sounding material. I think these songs along with a lot of material here honestly, are really held together by Meg. Her thundering stomp really gives this album some impact. I think every song here is pretty great, and aside from some minor nitpicks and maybe a song or two I could have done without, there really isn't much for me to complain about here, and I could see myself spinning this again. The White Stripes played around a little here, but I think they really stuck the landing.

Every time I check out The Stones part of me is convinced that I'll finally have some kind of revelation and see what so many others seem to see in them. The only major success I've had thus far is figuring out that Gimme Shelter and Paint It Black are really fucking good (and there are a couple of other Stones songs I go back to as well). Although, going into this, I was feeling pretty good, this album *is* held in extremely high regard, and I could only imagine there must be something here. And in short, there are things about Exile On Main Street that I like, but this is largely an hour plus of music I don't feel very strongly about. Firstly, I'd like to say I think I get what The Stones were going for here, this very much feels like a "sum of it's parts album", but it just never really came together for me. I do like the overall production aesthetic here, there's plenty of rock and roll grit, and I think everyone is doing what they need to do to achieve the sound. I'd like to single out Mick Jagger's vocals in particular, for being a kind of loose and mushy that makes it seem like he's using his voice more like an instrument than anything. I think this all works best on songs like the opener, Rocks Off, which is probably my favorite here. They really sell their particular rock sound, and there are some really great lines here, "The sunshine bores the daylights out of me" hits in particular. However, nothing else here quite reaches this high again, although there are some other songs I like: Ventilator Blues and All Down The Line, among others are also pretty good. Although my biggest issue I think is that I just don't really like The Stones' brand of blues rock. I think my problem may be that while I have no doubt The Stones truly love the (predominantly black) art that they are inspired by, their mode of appreciation seems to be to attempt to clone it so exactly that their whole shtick feels way more put on (to me at least) than I think it would have otherwise. I actually think it may be more distracting here than on some of their other stuff I have heard, like it really feels like they want me to think they're from New Orleans or something. Anyways, aside from this, I do have some other more tangible complaints about this album. It feels like they're trying to do the "song fragments that create a coherent work" thing, but some of these "fragments" are like 3 minutes long so they just feel like underdeveloped songs. I Want To See His Face has a cool sound, but it may be the most egregious example of this I can think of here. It also feels like The Stones don't know how to end a song. A trick they pull out again and again is repeating a couple bars of music and maybe a single line for slightly longer than you want, then abruptly stopping. It happens quite a bit, and feels really awkward to me. Like I said, there is some stuff I appreciate here, I like a couple of songs, I like the production quality, it just doesn't come together for me. I did at least add a couple of songs to "The List of Rolling Stones Songs I Like" so I got a little out of this. But I really can't tell if I'm closer or farther from figuring The Stones out, maybe it'll happen someday, maybe it won't, we'll see.

Fishscale is nearly 15 years away from Wu Tang's golden years, and while I don't think this is essential from front to back, Ghostface Killah does prove that he sort of still has it. He has super dynamic flows, and really engaging story-telling across Fishscale. And the beats here have a lot of variety, with a few incredible selections, and a few that don't do it as much for me, but I think that the beats are much better than they aren't. While talking about the overall aesthetic here, this album is stuck in a weird place, in some ways it's stuck in the '90s, but there are some 2000s-isms, like a lot of the beats. The best instrumental showing here may be from J Dilla, who produced Whip You With A Strap. Ghostface is also in incredible form on this song, he pulls off vulnerability very well. Some of my other favorite beats here are on Shakey Dog, R.A.G.U., Dogs of War, and the end of Barbershop. These are also songs where Ghostface is pretty incredible too. I'd also like to mention 9 Milli Bros, which features a rare (and exciting) Wu Tang reunion. We also have a rare and similarly exciting Biggie feature on album closer Three Bricks. The biggest problem I have here is just the consistency. This album is over an hour long, and it isn't really a slog or anything, but it is certainly a little bloated. Some songs here are kinda whatever to me, and a lot of the skits don't do all that much for me. But the core is here, and Ghostface Killah makes himself heard, he's (more or less) still got it, we we get a pretty great album out of it.

Bob Mould is most well known for creating some of the most daring, unique punk of the '80s, so I have to say I'm pretty disappointed with Sugar. Despite being very commercially successful (relative to his previous releases) Sugar is just kind of a largely toothless alt rock band on Copper Blue. While I like a lot of early '90s rock, informed by grunge and punk and '80s alternative, alt rock was admittedly kind of oversaturated at this time. The success of Nirvana, Pixies, Smashing Pumpkins, and many many more gave us a resultant B-cast of similar underground bands. Some are interesting and worth excavating today, but many are just not worth it. Sugar is definitely the latter for me, they just lack the intensity, slick songwriting, personality, and uniqueness of the bands who pulled it off. The first song here, The Act We Act is the only song here I really like. The riff is crunchy, there's a good solo, and the melodies and chorus are pretty good. But even here, this song isn't giving me anything I can't get better from someone else, there's just nothing setting it apart. After this, Copper Blue just can't get its footing. Changes and Man On The Moon try their best, and end up alright, but similarly, I can get this in better form elsewhere. A Good Life kind of sounds like a Pixies song, but the chorus is pretty grating. Hoover Dam goes for something a little psyche-y at first, but I just don't like the melodies. Fortune Teller goes for something punk-y but doesn't sell it (to me at least). And there doesn't seem to be much else here that feels like I have a ton to talk about. We just have some more alt rock songs I don't really like. After some consideration, I think I may be tempted to give this a 1. It isn't awful, but I just don't really enjoy much here. I don't like the songs, the performances feel kind of non-descript. And perhaps most damningly, I feel that Mould is capable of better. Maybe this would have been fine in a world where this was just the zeitgeist, but as a member of Hüsker Dü, Mould made music that stands today (and I would like to urge you to check this music out), and Sugar is so trapped in its time that I really don't get anything from it as a modern listener. Besides, if you dig, there are *tons* of more interesting underground alt rock bands from this time: Lungfish, Silkworm, Arcwelder, Love Battery and Morphine to name a few. If you don't mind a little grunge: Paw, Skinyard, Mad Season, and Tad are also worth checking out. Point is that it isn't exactly a scene I am in want of. For how little I get out of this and how much talent went into it, I feel that I may give Copper Blue the 1: sorry Bob Mould, it isn't anything personal. Edit: Okay, after calibrating my sensors on a couple of *real* 1/5s recently, I gave this another listen and I feel a little more positively about it. I still don't love this, and I think my original points still stand (just to a lesser degree of intensity) but even if I don't love most of these songs, there is enough personality to the performances and these songs have just enough positives to their writing that I have decided to give Sugar an additional star. Sorry Bob Mould!!

This is the easiest 5 I've given yet, and I'm not sure that there's an easier one on the list. I do believe that the classics need to be interrogated a little bit before being handed the perfect score, but I've danced that dance with The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars (as it is christened in full) long ago and all that's left for me to do is gush about it for as long as I deem necessary. Ziggy Stardust has earned its reputation in so many ways. The songs are all *at least* great, and most are much better even than that. The concept is innovative and transformed how the idea of "persona" can be handled in a rock context. The performances are legendary, Bowie brings this album to life in a way that no one else could have. Additionally, this is almost certainly the greatest glam rock album ever recorded. Bowie pushed the gaudiness of the genre into genuine grandiosity by mastering an alchemical process which seemingly converts style directly into substance in a way that has not been equaled by any other album prior to, or since the release of Ziggy Stardust. During the first four songs here, from 5 Years through Starman, this is quite possibly the best album ever recorded, and the "drop off" after this point only exists in relative terms (everything else is still great, and the last three tracks just about reach the same highs again). 5 Years is just incredible: Only Bowie could have so successfully captured the weight and existential vastness of the realization of the inevitable, premature end of everything through the medium of a glam rock song. It's really sold by Bowie's vocal performance on the song, which is among the best ever. Soul Love took some time to grow on me, but the smoothness, grooviness and subtle beauty of it is nearly as good. Moonage Daydream is pure Bowie, big and catchy and kind of quirky. And Starman is in the competition for best song here. It is truly quintessential glam. The song's writing serves its hugeness, and there is something subtly sour about it that just makes it sound so bold and interesting. It Ain't Easy is technically the closest we have to a low point here, but like I said, it's all relative, it is still a really great rock song, with just a little more blues influence that feels slightly distinct from everything else here. It is also a cover of a Ron Davies song, which explains why it feels a little different from most of the content here. But it isn't really distracting, Bowie makes it his own here, and frankly, it would be a highlight on most any other album. The pattern continues from here, every song is truly essential and completely distinct. I don't want to just review this track by track, but it is hard not to when everything is *this* good. Lady Stardust is rich and beautiful, Star is a fantastic, driving, piano centric rock song, and Hang On To Yourself pulls from somewhere almost a little punky. After this, the album is just solid gold again. Ziggy Stardust is the closest we have to a title track (I don't think a song toting the album's full name would get quite the airplay) and it is effectively the theme song for Bowie's titular character here. The writing is incredible, it's damn near a character study contained within an album that already has such a strong sense of concept. This is as natural a point I can find to discuss the lyrics across this album, which are consistently fantastic. Bowie has such a strong, consistent voice in his writing, and every song has real stand-out lines. As we close the album out we get Suffragette City, which may be the most fun song here, in the right setting I think the chorus could compel spontaneous dance. And we stick the landing at the end, Rock 'n' Roll Suicide is one of the best album closers of all time. It carries immense gravity, and very neatly ties up all the ideas on the album in a bold way that isn't afraid to explore the subtle sadness of the ideas at the core of Ziggy Stardust, while leaving room for hope and joy at the very end. In a world where I think the idea of a "perfect album" has lost a lot of its meaning and power, Ziggy Stardust is very nearly *truly* perfect. It is nearly perfect as a whole, as a collection of songs, and even on a moment to moment basis. David Bowie was truly one of a kind, and he pulls off a truly generational achievement here.

Going into this, I didn't know how to approach reviewing a Kanye album in the present day. His political and social "extracurriculars" as of late are inexcusable and unignorable, and to me his embrace of fascist ideology and imagery casts an *awfully* dark shadow over his discography. I like quite a bit of Kanye's music, but anymore I just don't really want to hear it. That being said, I don't think "art vs artist" conversations are especially helpful, art is shaped by the good and bad of a person, and I think people need to embrace analyzing great art by bad people by confronting how the bad in a person effects the art we love. That being said, I do like this album, and I do plan on reviewing it by its own merits with regards to Kanye as an individual. Besides, my capacity for harm here is pretty limited, anyone still enthusiastically on the Kanye train at this point is pretty much conclusively too far gone, and no one willing to hold him accountable will put that notion aside because I (an individual with no meaningful platform) said that My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is good. And as I said, it *is* good, granted I also think it is sorta overrated, but listening through this, there is a lot to love. The first thing to remember about My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is that it was created with the intent of being good enough and extravagant enough to win back a public that soured on Kanye after the fated Taylor Swift VMAs incident. And, considering this, I think it was really smart for Kanye to take, what I think of as a director's role here. He does appear on pretty much every song here, but to be honest, Kanye's writing and rapping leaves something to be desired at times. He has all the Kanye-isms, but that is a *very* "your mileage may vary" thing, and it hinges a lot on how invested you are in Kanye (personally I'm not *that* invested, and I can't see that really changing any time soon). This feels like the first album where he is really embracing the "asshole who is kind of relatable at the end of the day" thing, and while we have quotables here and unique flows, it isn't a schtick I really buy into. Frankly I'd rather have the Yeezus "I'm just an asshole and I think you should all hate me" thing at this point. In fact, in the presence of features, Kanye is very rarely the best verse on his own songs here. But where Kanye really succeeds on MBDTF is in curation, artistic vision, and production. He pretty much formed a camp of artists, rappers, singers and producers to orchestrate the creation of this thing. Consequently, every song has like 4 features and 15 producers and writers, but the album still very much feels like Kanye's. So in a lot of these songs, Kanye isn't necessarily a strong vocal presence, but he is still felt very strongly. It allows the listener to disconnect the album a little bit from Kanye, while still allowing him to retain all of his creative control. And the results are pretty great, this album really feels like a blockbuster, the sound is rich and maximalistic, and Kanye successfully bridges the pop and rap sound in a way that ended up extremely influential on the development of mainstream pop and rap thoughout the 2010s. We leap straight in, Dark Fantasy is rich and grand and catchy, it is an effective mission statement for the album as a whole. Shortly afterwards, we get a few really incredible "pop" Kanye tracks, POWER and All Of The Lights are pretty much unimpeachable. They are both incredibly detailed, incorporating all kinds of sounds and collaborators from Kanye's pool. POWER seems almost tailor-made to be played in Gatorade commercials, but in a way that isn't obnoxious. All of The Lights is similarly driving in a glitzier way, with big horns and *surprisingly* dense drumwork. We then get, perhaps the most iconic more pure "rap" tracks from the project in Monster and So Appalled. Both songs have incredible production, and strong verses, tons of quotables and great, distinct flows from their many *many* features. After Devil In A New Dress, we get Runaway, which I see frequently cited as the greatest achievement here. Honestly, I do think Runaway is a little overrated. It is a very interesting declaration of self awareness from Kanye, that I think he may not be capable of making at the current point in his career. However, he has some really *obnoxious* Kanye lyrics here, and the autotune solo is kind of self indulgent. On some level, I do at least sort of like every song here (or at least parts of every song), but I so have several complaints across this album. I'm not sure I'm into the vocal processing on Gorgeous, and I am not entirely sold on Devil In A New Dress. I think the verses are whatever, and it I think it's kind of overlong. Hell of A Life has a great Beat, but the lyrics are Kanye in "sex" mode and it is apparent that he just *might* have an unhealthy relationship with sex, anyways, I can see the lyrics being compelling to the right person, but again, it is awfully "your mileage may vary". The song I have the biggest problem with though is Blame Game. If only because it ends in a 2 minute, 31 second long skit that I just hate. It is too long, the implications about how Kanye views women are ugly, and I just don't think its funny. Regardless of all of this, and how I feel about Kanye and his -isms and everything, I do like this album, maybe even more than I want to. A lot of these songs are really great, and the resultant project is very strong as a coherent work, and I can appreciate that. I am officially giving this a *high* 3, it's like a 7/10. Like I said, there's a lot of good here, but realistically, there are a good few songs on here that I'm never tempted to return to, even if they're still pretty good. Besides, the real problems I do have with this album have compounded a little with the fact that I am not feeling especially generous towards Kanye for obvious reasons. But I will say, I can see the importance of this, even if I don't really get the argument that it is one of the best albums of all time.

In the present day, it feels like Cypress Hill is underdiscussed in the context of early West Coast hip hop, maybe due to their rock crossover appeal that they would eventually lean into, but their self-titled debut came out in '91, and they existed in some form since '88. This puts them on the scene at the same time, maybe a *little* later than people rightfully held highly as the progenitors of West Coast hip hop, like Ice Cube, Eazy-E, Tupac, Dr. Dre and more. Just for reference, this came out about 16 months before The Chronic. And it took some time, but by now I think this album's influence can be heard pretty widely. I don't want to say Cypress Hill invented "weed rap" but I'll say that I don't know who else would have. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if this album, on some level, inspired the direction that artists like Snoop Dogg would explore a little later. Even so, Cypress Hill sounds pretty singular. At this time, Cypress Hill was B-Real, Sen Dog, and DJ Muggs, and this line-up achieved a really interesting balancing act. DJ Muggs may be the star of the show here on some level, the palette and atmosphere of his beats were *extremely* important to this album. He made a kind of spacey, funky, almost psychedelic beats that still went pretty hard. And B-Real and Sen Dog both brought something unique to this sound. B-Real has a nasally, idiosyncratic sound, leaning into the more quirky, left-field aspects of the sound, and Sen Dog had a gruffer, more conventional delivery that helped to keep the sound of Cypress Hill sort of grounded. This combo gives us songs like Hand On The Pump, which has a weirdo vox beat, sing-song chorus and lyrics as gritty as anything else coming out of the West Coast at this time. And Cypress Hill's sound is just as bold and unique across this whole album. Pigs has kind of an offbeat, almost goofy presentation, but it's just about as strong a statement as something like Fuck Tha Police, it just has a very different presentation. This kind of exemplifies, lyrically, what is different about Cypress Hill, they rapped about a lot of the same stuff, but they did it with a left-field sense of humor, and an almost stylized sort of imagery and word play. It comes across as fun, almost playful at times. How I Could Just Kill A Man is another highlight, with its electric guitar sample, ultra-effective chorus, and beat switch. And Cypress Hill is just as effective, funky and unique through its whole runtime. Stoned Is The Way of The Walk is kind of like the group's mission statement, Psychobetabuckdown is as psych-y as they get, and Real Estate is centered on a super funky bassline, just to name a few. This is a really under-appreciated classic, and it's still a super fun listen with great rapping, a great beat selection, and a super cool aesthetic and vibe.

I wish I had a chance to give this a second listen, unfortunately it just couldn't happen today. Second Toughest In The Infants is some really detailed, texturally interesting electronic music that I got a lot out of. The compositions here are lengthy and almost trancelike, with a kind of melancholic, chilly atmosphere. The sounds are tasteful, and the way the compositions evolve is really organic and makes these songs go by pretty quickly for how long they are. For example, Juanita : Kiteless : To Dream Of Love and Banstyle/Sappy's Curry are *both* longer than 15 minutes, and they are brisk and engaging throughout, as long as you are kind of willing to be carried away by the music here. Karl Hyde's vocals fit in nicely too, with some surprisingly good melodies. The only problem I could really have with this album is just that depending on mood, this can be better background music than something to actively engage with, but it works well like that too. Underworld come through with a really cool project here, and I could see it growing on me more, I will almost certainly be coming back to this in some certain settings.

So, I meet Steely Dan again, far quicker than I anticipated as well. My last steely Dan encounter was with Pretzel Logic, an album that I think is just sort of fine. However, my general ambivalence towards Steely Dan aside, I *do* get the sense that they have something interesting for me somewhere. Let us see if it resides on Can't Buy A Thrill. We actually start really strong here, I really like Do It Again. The Latin influence here complements Steely Dan's soft rock really well. And for how immediate and catchy it is, there are some cool arrangement tricks here. The percussion here is really interesting, and the synth organ solo at the end feels sort of proggy. I will say that I don’t think any other song on here is quite as good, but there are plenty of decent tracks, and I thought Can’t Buy A Thrill was overall pretty decent. I actually liked it quite a bit more than Pretzel Logic, it just seemed to have a bit of a stronger sense of aesthetic, and I thought the songwriting was more consistent. There are actually a good few songs that stand out to me. Midnite Cruiser is some really chill, well written soft rock. Reeling’ In The Years hops along and its verses kind of make me think of The Boys Are Back In Town, which is a good thing. Fire In The Hole is as effective a Vietnam song as there ever has been, and it’s got a great piano line too. I can’t say it’s enough to push us over the vast gap between 3 and 4, but I do feel that it’s a *solid* three (as opposed to Pretzel Logic, which I waffled about a little), so we’re getting better, and my Steely Dan quest goes on.

This album really soundly embodies the kind of aesthetic that I think people are trying to tap into with '80s nostalgia stuff. It's clean, sort of futuristic, and its lineage can be traced back to new wave. The synth usage here is *very* '80s, and the sound comes together. Although what this album is most well known for is *undoubtedly* Take On Me. Just about everyone has heard this song, and it is overplayed, but it *is* good. Also, it has a pretty killer video. Everything else here is largely decent synth pop and new wave. The songs are catchy, the production is good, and if you like '80s pop, you'll love this. However, I don't really like that much '80s pop, but I still think there's something here.

On Pump, Aerosmith very successfully reinvent themselves by adding a glossy coat of late '80s glam metal paint to their classic sound, to great commercial success, I would like to add. However, I don't really love Aerosmith's classics, and I hate '80s glam metal so this album mostly just burns what relatively little goodwill I had towards Aerosmith. As far as the positives go, Janie's got a gun is alright, it's a good single, has a good bassline and probably has the most interesting lyrics of any song on here. And The Other Side has a good chorus with some harmonies that I like, but aside from these things, there isn't a lot I like here. The glam metal production takes a lot of the teeth away from Aerosmith's sound, and a lot of this album sounds really dated because of the production as well. The songs all feel very blatantly written to pull a mainstream hit, which isn't necessarily a problem on its own, but the effort feels very contrived here. The lyrics are super obnoxious, it's the hair metal thing where its hypersexual, but like in a way where to get anything out of the lyrics, it feels like you need to simultaneously take them as tongue in cheek, and seriously be willing to assume the band are sex Gods. I don't think Aerosmith really pull it off either way, a lot of these lines are just too ridiculous, like it's especially bad on Love In An Elevator, which is a song that I am *very* familiar with, and have never liked. Additionally, some of these lyrics feel kind of ugly towards women, not necessarily a dealbreaker on its own, but if the lyrics (and album at large) are already kind of annoying to me, something like this is going to be harder to ignore. I also don't think the little song intros on a lot of these tracks are really necessary, like Water Song is kind of a weird vibe to start Janie's Got A Gun with, and I don't think dulcimer stomp really belongs here at all, like it really just does *not* segue from Janie to The Other Side in any way. A few positives aside here, I think a lot of this material is annoying, I don't like most of the songwriting, I don't like the lyrics, and I don't enjoy Aerosmith in this kind of ultra clean glam metal pocket. This just really isn't for me.

I am not all that familiar with Brazil's own Bossa Nova, and in fact, this is the first Bossa Nova album I've heard from front to back. This is suiting in many ways, because this was most Americans' first Bossa album as well. By, let us say, "borrowing" the emergent fusion genre from Brazil, Stan Getz was largely responsible for kick starting the craze in the US. While it is kind of a shame that this newfound fame ultimately resulted in the genre living in the mind of most Americans under the dismissive label of "Elevator Music", I suppose the gospel spread nonetheless. And it isn't hard to see how this album captured the attention of the public. Stan Getz's take on Bossa Nova is pleasant and unchallenging, but deceptively complex on a compositional level, which is consistent with how the genre is perceived in America. I am not qualified to say whether or not this album does the genuine article justice, but I did enjoy it. Admittedly, I don't get a ton of meat here, I can mostly just put this on and enjoy the mood. However, that isn't to say there isn't anything to gain from Jazz Samba as a more active listening experience, it's just that doing so may require a more refined ear for Bossa Nova than I possess. Anyways, as I said, I did enjoy this overall.

This is theoretically a great live album, the playing is very good, the crowd is excited, and the live energy seems right, however there is just one problem that keeps me from enjoying this album. Even though all the live album trappings are correct, I just don't like *any* of these songs. It's really a shame, because Frampton and his band are clearly talented, but I just hate his songwriting. I don't usually resort to this, it feels cheap, but I truly thought this was an incredibly boring album, for pretty much its entire 78(!!!) minute runtime. This is pretty much all polished, but middle of the road rock music, and I just feel nothing while listening to it. And honestly, hearing these live recordings kind of makes me feel like I'm going crazy, like to me, every song just feels like the most milquetoast '70s rock imaginable, followed by an *improbably* thunderous crowd response every, single, time. And I guess this makes sense on some level, as this was like the best selling album ever for a little bit. But then I am forced to wonder why it sold so damn well? Like there was more interesting music out there. And Frampton playing with his Talkbox isn't enough to save this either, he does a fine job but still, it can't fix the songs. To recap, as someone who doesn't really like Peter Frampton, this does nothing for me, even though the makings of a great live album are theoretically there there just isn't the meat to support it on any level.

Rest In Peace Ozzy Osbourne. His passing feels particularly surreal, everyone's said it, but he truly seemed on some level like he couldn't die, like he's almost felt more like a mythological figure than a man at times. And, as I have already said on my Vol. 4 review (fantastic album by the way), Black Sabbath is a band that has been in DNA for as long as I remember. In fact, I was fortunate enough to see them on their 2016 final tour, and it is, to this day, a cherished memory, so this has some weight to me. I cannot overstate the importance of this album to me and to metal as a whole. And, while I know that discussions occasionally re-emerge about how Helter Skelter, or 21st Century Schizoid Man, or Sunshine Of Your Love is *really* the first metal song, but honestly, after listening to this again, it really isn't close. These are all great songs, and they were all on some level important to the development of rock as it approached metal, however I think I can say with a degree of confidence that the first strum of Black Sabbath by Black Sabbath off of Black Sabbath may be the exact moment of Heavy Metal's birth. No one was doing this: the iconic tritone riff, the thick, truly ominous atmosphere with that rain and ringing bell and everything, Ozzy's wailing, the lyrics, and the sheer *weight* of it all coming together were truly unmatched. Even the album art adds to this perfectly, it's legendary, and honestly still eerie today. And if that first note was the birth of heavy metal, then the drop into the huge, epic ascending riff in the second half of this song is the christening. If rock as a whole couldn't keep up before, now it was *certainly* left in the dust. And even though a couple tracks here kind of feel like they maybe have a pinky toe left in the '60s, especially The Wizard, and Wicked World, everything here still carries the feeling and tone set out on this first song, at least on some level, and all without a real drop in quality. I think it also helps that a lot of what I'm picking up on these songs is Sabbath's blues and jazz influence which is pretty much always in their music, so it feels pretty natural. And, additionally, at this time, Black Sabbath was an incredible band, and they really kept it up for like 6 albums. Ozzy was of course the face here, a distinct voice and presence to latch onto, and the ground zero for the metal frontman. Tony Iommi's style honestly sounds fully formed, his riffs are huge, his solos are distinct and awesome, and he locks in very well with the rhythm section. Speaking of which: Bill Ward brought a lot of the jazz here, I honestly think he may be kind of an underrated drummer, his fills are like insane here. And Geezer Butler, holding it down on bass, adds some real thickness to this sound, and is one of the most influential bass players in the genre's history for good reason. The only songs I haven't mentioned yet are the suites. Wasp/Behind The Wall of Sleep/Bassically/NIB has some of the album's greatest moments on it. Behind The Wall of sleep is classic Sabbath, but the real attraction here is bassically into NIB. Geezer Butler shines on Bassically, laying down a sick bass solo before dropping *seamlessly* into NIB, which has like the best bassline in metal. And good thing too, because the song is like 75% bassline by weight. And this album closes with A Bit Of Finger/Sleeping Village/Warning, which is also fantastic. The intro here sees Sabbath playing around with their sound palette a little, and the rest of this track can stand with the best of them. Of particular note is the guitar solo, which lets Iommi just tear it up for an extended period of time, and it really showcases his unique talents as a guitarist. This is just fantastic, and frankly it's incredible that this manages to be this good while writing the rulebook for heavy metal. This album truly stands alone among music at the time, and it shows why we are still talking about Sabbath today. RIP Ozzy, you will be missed.

This has been on my "to listen" list for a while now, and I'm glad this made me get around to it. Tortoise are an instrumental post rock group, featuring members of a variety of bands, covering a lot of ground (most notably to me, David Pajo of Slint is here). In short, this is fantastic, Millions Now Living Will Never Die is a particularly engaging post rock album with sort of indie sensibilities. And they play in a very particular palette, with traditional rock instruments, as well as vibraphones, marimbas, more bass guitars than can be typically expected, and all sort of interesting electronics. A lot is incorporated, and the result is honestly kind of otherworldly, there is some psych, space rock, ambient, glitch, and even a little hip hop influence here and there. In an awfully bold move, the first song here is Djed, a sprawling, 20 minute long epic. It has a really interesting way of progressing, where glitches tear the instrumental swells apart, and abstract synth drones serve as the rhythmic center of new swells. It is a remarkably brisk, engaging 20 minutes with some really intense and beautiful moments. And the rest of this album is no afterthought. Glass Museum is ethereal and gorgeous, The Taut And Tame taps into some really abstract, driving rhythms, and Along The Banks of Rivers taps into something intense, and western-esque: all are incredible tracks. The two shorter tracks here are also pretty great, not the showpieces that everything else is, but still great. On an instrumental album like this, it makes sense that these littler tracks would still be detailed and engaging. For what it is, this is pretty much perfect, I loved it from start to end, and intend to put it in my regular rotation.

As far as art pop goes, Bjork really is a generational talent, and that shines through on this incredibly well formed "Debut" (she *did* have quite a bit of recording experience prior to this, but Debut is still very impressive). What most people know Bjork for is being "weird" and I can tell what they are picking up on, but honestly, I don't think "weird" is how I would describe it. It is more that she has a way of building a really vivid world in her music, but honestly, a lot of the components are pretty familiar. Like here on Debut, if you've listened to some '90s electronic (house in particular), and trip hop, you can see a lot of the components here on songs like Human Behavior, Crying, Venus As A Boy, Violently Happy and more. Although the components are used differently, a lot of this album is like hearing these genres filter into a dream, it's more ethereal and impressionistic. And honestly, a lot of this is helped by Bjork's vocal presence. She Is easily one of the most distinct vocal presences in all of popular music. Some of the most interesting moments here are on songs like Aeroplane, The Anchor Song, and Like Someone In Love, where all of the ties to the physical world through electronic and trip hop are severed and it feels like you are just floating through the void with Bjork and some *extremely* minimal instrumentation. The Anchor Song does feature some percussion, but Like Someone In Love and The Anchor Song are just backed, respectively by a harp, and a couple of brass instruments, and the effect is extremely stark and bold. I will say that while Debut is really wonderful, I do think Bjork has gone on to make greater, and more daring albums. However, if you haven't heard any Bjork, this may be the absolute best way in.

On Arc Of A Diver, Steve Winwood has achieved something that I guess I just assumed impossible: he has created "advanced listening" level yacht rock. This is a genre designed to deliver cheesy rock music to upper middle-class vacationers (as far as I'm aware), so it honestly felt like everything was always laid bare. However, the aggressive square wave synths, *deeply* '80s production and like 6 minute long songs kind of turns this into an acquired taste. Frankly I'm not that into this, but it's trying *very* hard, like a dog that someone trained to do a backflip. And I'm trying to figure out if it's endearing in the same way. I will say there was something about the first two tracks that I kind of liked, even though they definitely are cheesy and clunky and a little overlong, it seemed like maybe there was something here, and I could kind of see the vision. The little production inelegancies on these songs kind of come together to make them feel intentionally stylized, and the melodies are just good enough that they end up decent. However, this very quickly became a *slog*, I don't really like the rest of these songs, and on top of it, these are pretty much all like 6+ minute yacht rock tracks, so even though this is a theoretically brisk 40 minutes, it really does feel like time prison. Second-Hand Woman just isn't there in the way that While You See A Chance and Arc Of A Diver are. The aesthetic quirks and songwriting can't overcome the clunky cheesiness. Slowdown Sundown tries to give us some variety by injecting the album with some dusty Americana, but I just don't find it especially convincing. After this, we get to side 2, where this thing feels roughest to me. These last 3 songs aren't interesting compositions to me, and the fact that they are all well over 5 minutes, without enough corresponding substance, has me watching the clock. There are some upsides here: a couple of decent songs, some cool moments, and I think the lyrics are often kind of neat, but it just can't pull it together. I didn't really like this, but there's at least enough here to save it from a 1.

Bummed kind of feels like a one trick pony, but it is a pretty cool trick. Happy Mondays kind of reinvent psychedelia from the frame of reference of Brit Pop, indie and English Funk without resorting to the well of cliches that Psych has been tethered to since the beginning. A lot of the heavy lifting here seems to be in the production which is hazy and blurry as these songs kind of throb along. And the songwriting here is decent, but not quite good enough to make me want more after a full listen. The best decision here is that Happy Mondays made sure these songs all have momentum: sometimes modern interpretations of psych feel meander-y and directionless, but not here. And I know I said this is a one trick pony, but one particular song is an exception here. Country Song incorporates like Acid Country influence, and the result reads to me as *very* psychedelic, like it just feels super trippy in the way it pulses, and it's really captivating. Nothing else here quite captures me in this way, but I do feel positively about this over all, and I finished this album feeling generally pleased.

Upon getting this album and doing some research, two things immediately stuck out to me. Firstly, Wikipedia lists this album as belonging to seven genres, six of which I am unfamiliar with by name, so if I miss some of the cultural context here, forgive me. Second, that Buena Vista Social Club has 4.4 million listeners on my streaming service of choice, which makes me wonder what happened here. Frankly, English speaking music communities aren't exactly spending most of their time seeking out traditional Cuban music and 4.4 million is, without qualifier, a healthy following. With this in mind, I started listening and noticed a third thing: that this is really fucking good. This is just pleasant and joyful and nostalgic. This really effortlessly transports me to a time and place that I do not know, and never will, but the sounds and ideas here are so vivid and evocative that they bridge the gap. And while I can't take this apart into its individual components, I can listen to this and tell that it is really effortlessly weaving a tapestry with a bunch of disparate yet related sounds, like I believe those seven genres are doing some heavy lifting. I do agree with a sentiment that I've seen here that this album starts stronger than it ends, but I do think this remains somewhat strong throughout its runtime, and I'd believe that the perceived oscillation in quality can perhaps be chalked up to a matter of taste. I wish I had more to say about this, it is really exciting to listen through, I just don't have enough context to say everything I want to. But, like I said, I do think this is very good, and I could see it growing on me even more.

This is a pleasant surprise, I kind of knew I needed to listen to Belle & Sebastian more, but just never got around to it, and I liked this a lot. It comes across as really earnest and vulnerable. A lot of these songs are kind of low fidelity, and the sound here is sort of baroque and pleasant, and I think it makes this album come across as small, and I don't mean it in a bad way. Like this is very intimate and personal feeling and this even comes through in the lyrics, like the content here is serious, but never crushing to the listener, with a lot of these songs focusing on little day to day sadnesses and embarrassments and some victories too. I also noticed that on a lot of these songs, the vocals sound *very* similar to Nick Drake, and I think it works here. It serves as a good stylistic complement to the songwriting and aesthetics on display here. And speaking of the songwriting, I like a lot of these songs a lot. Expectations, The State I Am In, She's Losing It, We Rule The School and Mary Jo are some highlights here, but most of the material works very well. I'd also like to acknowledge Electronic Renaissance which is one of the only real stylistic departures here, and its kind of warm, analogue synth sound fits in well here, it isn't as jarring as it should be and is actually one of my favorite songs. Overall, this is a really great collection of alternative pop songs. It feels like a lot of attention to detail went into this album, and the sound is just extremely warm and pleasant and earnest, it's kind of like a really heavy blanket, and I'm into it.

The list has seen to it that I be given my second Bob Marley & The Wailers album not long after my first, and I'm not exactly complaining. What I have to say about this is honestly pretty similar to what I had to say about Catch A Fire, although I may have slightly preferred Catch A Fire. This is as chill and joyful and politically minded as any other Bob Marley I've heard. Marley is still a great presence, The Wailers are still super tight, and this is another great batch of songs. A great example of reggae, that I get a lot out of, and honestly, I don't have much more to say.

It is not so strange an idea to me that country and punk can, or even should, be smashed recklessly together. Look at The Gun Club, Meat Puppets, the cowpunk scene at large, or even some of the alt country songwriters of the '90s like Will Oldham who definitely had some involvement in the punk world. Although I will say, even though Mekons have all the components of these two worlds, the stuff happening here on Fear And Whiskey is like some secret new thing. Like for a couple of tracks, before I was sold on this, I was convinced that this was just lunacy. We aren't quite starting with punk, it's more Post-Punk, almost New Wave. And while most of the examples I provided incorporate country more as "Americana", where the music is made a little dustier, maybe a little lower fidelity than a regular punk album, and the sound and palette reflect that, that isn't how Mekons really go about things. The sound here is pretty much pure Post-Punk (with some New Wave sheen), but the *songwriting* is *very* informed by country. Like this is country software on Post-Punk hardware or something. And, very importantly, the biggest aesthetic effect the country influence has here is the fiddle, which is a major part of these arrangements, and it sits super weirdly, because it is played in the super expressive, almost sour way that the fiddle manifests in Country Music. Throw some borderline spoken word on top of it all and add the occasional weird-o vocal effect here and there for good measure, and you're left with a real headscratcher. Like this isn't all *that* weird in the grand scheme of things, but all of the components here are so deeply mutated that I actually sort of struggle to fathom how they stumbled into this space: It almost has a surreal quality at times. More importantly, I have decided that I like it. Chivalry is a good picture of what’s happening here, it’s idiosyncratic, unique and kind of fun. There’s a little ‘80s cheese, but it kinda works here, just adds another axiom for me to gawk at. Although I was sold by the end of Trouble Down South, it’s conversely kind of a dark take on the sound. It has a sourness, and it’s kind of theatrical in a weird way too. In fact, I’ve heard some people mention that this is a concept album, and I think that tracks. Darkness and Doubt is cool too, it almost sounds like Modest Mouse for a couple of passages, and it honestly sort of makes sense. Country is great too, and I really like the cover of Lost Highway at the end. Although honestly, once you tap into the aesthetic, the songs are all pretty great. It really is fascinating music. I can imagine this isn’t for everyone, but give it a chance, it’s pretty cool!

Quite possibly the most popular Flaming Lips album, but it isn't my favorite. That being said, this is pretty fantastic. This is their legendary psych concept album, and it is just so colorful and emotionally complex for something that kind of presents itself as a little silly. The songs are amazing, the production is amazing, and the synths across this have a fantastic sound. Somehow, this isn't one I really analyze much, I kind of just put it on and get absorbed in it. This is a super rich, unique experience. I'm gonna hold off on the 5/5, but honestly, it could probably get there if the mood strikes me. I really do love this album.

I had a pretty great time listening to this. I could probably do to check it out again, but from a first listen, what sticks out is just how joyful this project is. Honestly, if the execution were any worse, I'd maybe have a hard time taking this seriously. However, Carole King is just so earnest that this comes across as super sweet and empathetic. Just listening to this honestly kind of makes me feel good. That being said, I don't know if I like the music enough that I see myself coming back a whole ton, but I did really enjoy the listen I had.

Out of all of the UK based electronic albums I've been given through this project, this is one of the ones that does the least for me, but this does still manage to be pretty cool. This is a very influential, relatively early form of Acid House, and it isn't a genre I'm super familiar with, but just from this I haven't decided how I feel about it in general. There are a lot of very chunky, stylized sounding synths, and the percussion is pretty minimalist in general. There's also more kind of electro-pop than I was expecting. Sometimes this comes together to create something I like well enough, but at others I think this album sounds kind of dated. Although if I'm listening for sort of background music I can get through this pretty happily. It also helps that, especially for an electronic album, this is pretty short. Overall, I enjoyed my time, but this isn't a huge standout to me.

I mostly know Jethro Tull as "The Prog Band With The Flute" so I frankly expected this to have more or what I find annoying with some prog. However, I actually liked this quite a bit. It honestly scratches a different itch than most prog, the word that comes to mind to describe the sound of this is "Earthy". It's the acoustic passages, the relatively reigned in song structures, and the lyrics which I actually like quite a bit. There are all kinds of ultra visual character portraits and surprisingly relatable philosophical musings. For example, on one of my favorites here, the title track, we have both many of the greatest compositional moments on here as well as some super interesting lyrics which portray kind of a really ugly figure in a way that almost makes it impossible not to view him with at least some empathy. I also usually like the aforementioned flute on this project. The intro to Cross-Eyed Mary is really cool, and the flute break on My God is honestly kind of fascinating. Some other highlights on here are the light and folky Mother Goose, and the driving single Locomotive Breath. I will say that Cheap Day Return and Wond'ring Aloud are fine, but kind of insubstantial. And I'm not really into Hymn 43. But I liked this a lot! And I think it has some real highlights!

Don't Stand Me Down seems like Dexys Midnight Runners' attempt to save themselves from "one hit wonder" status after making mega-hit "Come On Eileen", unfortunately, it seems like this may have sealed the deal. Don't Stand Me Down was a critical and commercial failure at the time, but there has been a bit of a critical shift over time towards the narrative that this was more a work of messy, misunderstood genius. And I will say, the components of the story are there, but I'm not sure I buy it. There are some daring and baffling aesthetic decisions made across this album, however nothing near daring or baffling enough to justify just how much of a mess this comes across as. The biggest sticking point for a lot of people seems to be the vocals, which are admittedly kind of odd. It is very sort of deep and deadpan, and sometimes it feels kind of out of key, but it sort of feels intentional. Regardless, I still have some problems with the intonation and annunciation. It feels like Kevin Rowland is trying to intentionally lean into his voice's quirks, but it kind of sounds like he is almost making fun of himself in a few of the more particularly sour moments of delivery here. Although, I will say, I could see these vocals working in a punk-ier setting. Another sticking point here is the spoken word aspect. Kevin Rowland was interested in working "conversations" into the middle of these songs, which is an idea I'm sure *someone* could have pulled off. However, the execution is *extremely* clunky, the mix usually renders the conversations nearly inaudible, and maybe most importantly, no one seems to be saying anything interesting. It is an experience akin to catching a few words from a conversation a table over while eating in a restaurant. On top of it a lot of these songs are just kind of boring to me and they really can't justify the incredibly long runtime on most of them. Most egregious may be One Of Those Things, which basically sounds like a vamp of a couple of bars from Sweet Home Alabama coupled with like a monologue. I can appreciate on some level that this took risks, but when the results are this awkward and unenjoyable, it is kind of hard to award any bonus points.

While Leonard Cohen certainly has his many fans, I can't help but to think that he may be, in certain spaces, one of the most underrated artists in his nook. He is an underrated singer, guitarist, hell, depending on where you ask he may even be an underrated songwriter. Frankly, I think more people need to be honest about where he sits in the discussion about the "Great American Songwriter". Songs of Leonard Cohen is a great showcase of his talents, and probably one of the greatest debuts of all time. At times beautiful and earnestly sweet, very often profoundly sad, this album shows Cohen as a fully developed songwriter already. His guitar playing is understated and chilly, occasionally launching into a stunning classical guitar passage here and there. The arrangements (controversial to Cohen himself) are very creative and well utilized, when this becomes larger than a man and a guitar, it has some real impact. Almost most importantly, his lyrics are just fantastic. There are so many lines that I just love. He combines biblical allusion, visual poetics, and some incredible characterization across this album on the major hitters and deep cuts alike, all held together by his grimly self serious, and deeply expressive vocal performances. Running down classics here, Suzanne is one of Cohen's most celebrated songs, Master Song is chilling and kind of mysterious, Stranger Song is absolutely gripping. And Sisters of Mercy and Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye have also been cemented as absolute classics, among others. Personally, two of my favorites are some of the deep cuts here. Teachers is written in such a way that every line feels kind of shocking, it is just incredible writing. And one of my absolute favorite Leonard Cohen songs is also here: the deeply underrated One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong. This song's emotional palette is kind of horrific honestly,the lyrics are very specific, but also sort of surreal, and *incredibly* dour. And, it ends with some of the most true and honest sounding screaming I have ever heard on a song. It is just the kind of horrible, miserable, beautiful art that I crave. This album is just fantastic, there's no one else who can fill the place in my heart designated for Cohen, and music like this is why. This is just fantastic from front to back, with many of my favorite Leonard Cohen songs. This one is incredibly special.

Didn't have a chance to really digest this one, but I did give it a listen. The big band songs are so bright and lively, really steeped in infectious joy, and the balladry is earnest and sweet. This is just incredibly pleasant, Ray Charles is a fantastic presence, whether crooning or providing some real energy, and the band here really knows what they're doing. I enjoyed this a lot, even though it was kind of a blur, and I'd say I am feeling a 4.

On 3+3 The Isley Brothers assemble a pretty spectacular funk and soul album, with a little psych. What struck me first while listening to this is how good it *sounds*, the guitar tone, the synth tone, the vocals: all super rich and unique. There are also tons of amazing songs here, and while I know several are covers, I listened to the originals, and these interpretations are almost completely unrecognizable as their source material at times. And honestly, it is usually for the better. The originals here are also great. That Lady is a fantastic opener, and an amazing funk song. The rest of side one is also very good, but I do think this really takes it up a notch in its second half. What It Comes Down To and The Highways Of My Life are both originals, and they are incredible. And the two covers between them are among the greatest songs here. Sunshine (Go Away Today) is interpreted as a really odd, kind of unusually dark sounding funk song. And The Isley Brothers' interpretation of Summer Breeze may be the single greatest achievement here. We have the original folk song, covered as a soul song, with incredibly epic guitar solos and this super cool synth work. This was a pretty great listen, I just didn't get as much out of the first side, and the fact that many of my favorite tracks are covers kind of made my more hyperbolic praise pull back a little. Still amazing!

Out of the pool of "canon" 2000's indie albums, this is not one of my *absolute* favorites, but I sort of get it. The tone here is like archetypal indie, like I could imagine a lot of this album in one of the sadder Wes Anderson films. This is charming, and quirky, but also sort of baroque and deeply sad: but the sadness is never overwhelming. Out of this, Wilco pulls a few nearly perfect songs and some that are just good. I Am Trying To Break Your Heart, Radio Cure, Jesus etc., and Ashes Of American Flags are basically perfect songs. And everything else is at least good. Basically, the highs are there, but the connective tissue doesn't do as much for me. This has some perfect moments, but it just isn't all there.

I feel like I should have known that this existed. Maybe it was a blind spot, maybe this fell through the cultural cracks, but it certainly *feels* important, and I don't think I've really heard anyone talk about it. For anyone out there unfamiliar with these three women: Linda Ronstadt is Country-Rock royalty, Emmylou Harris is a Country/Americana/Folk Singer-Songwriter, and Dolly Parton is popular enough that she is basically symbolic of women in country music, even today. These women had all been separately active for decades by the time this came out: with Ronstadt and Harris both getting started in the 60's, and with Dolly Parton having songwritten since 1956(!!!) when she was like 10 years old. Part of me is honestly confused that they went through with this when they did, in the late '80s, which wasn't exactly a hayday for traditional country. Maybe they wanted to prove they still had it, or prove that country itself still had it, or maybe they just enjoyed playing together, but regardless of the reason, it came out, and it is a pretty good album. These are basically well written, arranged and performed Country songs. Everyone brings their own distinct vocals and performance styles, and personalities but I will say the result here is an album that does feel like it kind of plays things by the book. Although, despite that, this is still consistent, solid country music. This feels very much like the 60's and 70's Country music that these three women originally got big from, just with a slightly glossier paint job, and they prove here that it is a style they have a deep and thorough understanding of. Songs like The Pain Of Loving You, Hobo's Meditation, and Rosewood Casket feel like instant classics. I've Had Enough, Wildflowers, and Farther Along have a dusty form of real beauty about them. Although frankly, if you can appreciate this style of music, I can't think of a reason you'd have any real problems with any of these songs. And I do think that may be in part due to how safe this play it. That being said, even if this didn't exactly change my life, it is still very solid.

In the present day, Elton John kind of suffers from being one of those musicians who is really thought of as a celebrity before a musician. Sure, everyone knows songs like Rocket Man, Tiny Dancer, and Candle In The Wind, but it kind of feels like he is a little under-listened as far as full albums go. Going into this, I too mostly just knew some of the singles, but I am pleased to report that this has some real highlights on it. The first thing that stuck out to me here is that this is the one with Tiny Dancer, a fantastic song. You've probably heard it: grand and patient and tender. It's worth noting at this point that this phase of Elton John's career can be most helpfully thought of a collaborative effort between himself and lyricist Bernie Taupin. Elton John's songwriting ear, and Taupin's talent for lyrics is a pretty formidible one here. Tiny Dancer is a great example of the fruits of this creative partnership. Miraculously, the rest of side one more or less keeps up with Tiny Dancer's quality. Levon has anpther fantastic chorus, some great piano and some really amazing lyrics. Razor face brings some really cool alternative instrumentation to the mix. And Madman Across The Water (the title track) takes Elton John's glam sound into a darker, proggier space, and the result is really compelling. Unfortunately Side 2 can't quite keep up. Holiday Inn is just fine, and I can take or leave Rotten Peaches and All The Nasties, but the remaining two tracks are worth discussing. Firstly, let us discuss Indian Sunset, and the mess it makes me navigate. Firstly, the *sound* of this song is really good, it is another in a proggier pocket like the title track, and the string arrangements work really well, but none of that is the big thing with this song, let's talk lyrics. So, listening to this, it is clear that it is being written from a well meaning place, and as far as the poetic devices, pacing, and tension goes, it is actually pretty well executed, as in, this is *theoretically* well written. **However** the core narrative concept of this song is such a *fantastically* bad idea that these positives barely matter. Upon seeing this on the tracklist I figured we were in for another 70's and 80's "well meaning but ill advised song about the wrongs leveled against Native Americans (a weirdly common song type for this era). And on some level, it is this, but it is also so much more jaw-dropping. I would honestly urge you to read the lyrics yourself. All I will say is that I'm glad that Bernie Taupin is free from whatever force in his life convinced him that he *needed* to write a song in which Elton John theatrically portrays a young Native American warrior. The last song I would like to discuss here is Goodbye, which is a truly fantastic closer. However it commits the cardinal sin of being unconscionably short. As a whole, I thought this was a little uneven, but it has some really amazing highs and I enjoyed the experience in general.

MGMT are kind of a fascinating case study. Two collegiate avant synth guys start a pop group as a joke (so the story is often told), and pretty much immediately write a song so good that it becomes the figurehead of a scene (which didn't really exist at the time) as soon as it was given an opportunity. I guess they just had *it*, and by it I mostly mean a preternatural ear for melody. That aforementioned song was Kids, that aforementioned opportunity was Oracular Spectacular, and that aforementioned scene was 2000's indie pop (there exists a recording of Kids being played live in 2003, they really did hit it *that* early). In the hands of a lesser band, this is a perfect formula for a one hit wonder, but MGMT deftly avoided such an embarrassment. I think this is in part due to how they kind of started down their own path after this album, whether the public wanted to follow or not. But probably more importantly, the rest of Oracular Spectacular is also like *really* good. Hell, I don't even think Kids was the only hit on this album. The first half of this album really shows off that ear for melody, we are hit with like five ultra catchy synth pop tracks in a row. Time To Pretend is a strong start, catchy as hell and also setting up the themes here. Oracular Spectacular seems very focused on nostalgia and youth, as can also be seen in songs like Weekend Wars, The Youth, and of course, Kids. Speaking of weekend wars, another great song: a little texturally different than the opener, but just as immediate and engaging. The Youth slows it down and gives something a little psych-y, then we get the hits. Electric Feel almost feels like a disco song, all slinky and neon. Then, we have Kids, which really is as good as people say. It's one of those songs that kind of feels like it's just always existed. It is also very apparent on Kids just how good MGMT is at dialing in a synth tone. Like just the sound of that lead line is damn near iconic. Now that the audience has had some time to learn to trust MGMT and hear some crowd pleasers, the second half of the album switches it up a little. The textures are a little more out there, the song structures are a little less conventional, and the vibe is a touch more psychedelic, but MGMT manages to do this without really alienating anyone. Also, this material doesn't seem like it is trying to scare anyone after the hits, so much as it feels like MGMT feel like they have earned a little room to play around. 4th Dimensional Transition is honestly one of the better songs on the album. The percussion is super propulsive, and the slightly more abstract songwriting really works. Pieces of What feels really earnest, and it is a nice addition. And the last three songs are just as successful as these. I'm honestly surprised I liked this so much. It isn't quite getting the 5, but I'm gonna be coming back.

Fishbone is doing a really cool Ska/Punk/Funk/Metal/Hard Rock thing here, and it's honestly a really unique, eclectic sound. We kick off with a really fun, inspired Curtis Mayfield cover and keep the momentum up from there. Ma and Pa is a really fantastic punk-y ska song, and it is an early highlight. Honestly, it is hard to go wrong here, the only caveat is that the production sounds a little odd, maybe kind of dated, but I think it largely serves the sound. I also like the lyrics a lot here. Don't let songs like Bonin' In The Boneyard trick you, there is some really astute social commentary across here. Some other highlights are Pouring Rain, Deep Inside, One Day, and Slow Bus Movin'. I am really glad I heard this, it's really cool.

This isn’t bad, but I honestly think Buffalo Springfield is more significant as a catalyst to start Crosby, Stills & Nash, and more importantly to me, Neil Young’s solo career. Honestly, most people in this band went on to make better songs, but there is some good stuff here. Young’s Mr. Soul may be the best song here, but Everydays, Bluebird, and Rock & Roll Woman are also pretty enjoyable. Unfortunately some stuff here just isn’t as significant, and some of it even feels kind of incomplete. Like Broken Arrow, moments of it are fine, but it just feels super fragmented. If you are a fan of the artists that came out of this band, check this out, but I can’t imagine it’s worth it to everyone.

This is the first physical album I ever bought with that cute little "Parental Advisory" sticker on it, and I could have done a hell of a lot worse. I'm not gonna say that the world needs this album right now, because the implication that world peace could be achieved by sitting everyone down with a Rage album is frankly stupid, but maybe *I* need this right now. In the present day, it is a deeply stupid time to be an American, and hearing just how much Rage Against The Machine seems to "get it" is on some level cathartic, but on another worrying, because if so many of the same issues and ideas confronted here feel prescient and fresh, then just maybe it has *always* been a stupid time to be an American. Now, this is a conclusion I came to a while ago, but this is certainly a cultural artifact which constitutes material evidence supporting that hypothesis. Rage Against The Machine may be the most successful band to ever explicitly combine Metal and Hip-Hop. And I think there is an argument that this may be the greatest album within its niche. Zack De La Rocha's powerful vocals, Tom Morello's distinct and iconic guitar work and Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk's groovy rhythm section makes for a formidable band. This album is an outburst of righteous, intelligent anger that captured the public through its intensity and fantastic songs, not to mention the incredibly powerful album art. This tracklist is just stacked. Bombtrack is very representative of the band's sound and it rockets out of the gate. Killing In The Name is an all-timer, one of the most iconic songs of the '90s, maybe ever. "Fuck You, I Won't Do What You Tell Me" is a mantra for a certain generation of music listeners, it is incredibly powerful. Take The Power Back gets groovy with it, bringing out the bass work. Settle For Nothing is incredibly dynamic, with its incredibly heavy riffs. And Rage Against The Machine just never runs out of steam. Bullet In The Head is the closest we have to a low point, but I honestly think it's a matter of personal preference. But even so, we get into Know Your Enemy, which just moves with so much energy. I'd like to take a moment to mention just how detailed all these compositions are, like there really isn't a lazy song here, there's always a great riff, or bridge, or solo around the corner. I only have so much to say about the last 4 songs here, like they are also sick as hell. Although I would like to make a mention of Township Rebellion, a super underrated song. I mean, if you're interested in metal *or* hip hop *or* you're just angry, throw this on, it's damn near perfect.

Chore Of Enchantment is kind of fighting an uphill battle. While this is pretty good, and has a lot of things I like, it also happens to be a Folk tinged indie album from the late '90s. This was a time when there was an absolute bumper crop of great indie albums (folk tinged or otherwise). And like I said, this falling into my niche is nice on one hand, I even like the vocals, but on the other this is basically competing for bandwidth in the same space as some of my favorite albums ever, so I am not sure if this really made a huge impact on me. It honestly kind of feels like an odd choice for the list, but I am glad I heard it, so I can't complain too much. This is a lot of very down-tempo indie, with deadpan vocals, and some fun little detours, and like I said, I did enjoy it. This is the kind of thing I can recommend for one full listen, then pick and choose some favorite songs, you maybe don't need to keep exploring this if you're not that into it though. Some songs that I did really like were (Well) Dusted, which is a pretty great Country-slanting start, the interesting, but criminally short 1972, Satellite (my favorite here, probably because it's a little toothier than most of the album, and thus sticks out), and the Leonard Cohen-esque Bottom Line Man. Like I said, worth a listen, and I may even check out more of Giant Sand, they seem to have a lengthy discography.

Sometimes I have a tendency to think of the boilerplate "'80s" sound as having just emerged from a vacuum somewhere, and this listen served as a helpful reminder that that sort of thing is rooted in some very cool ideas. After freeing his brand of new wave from the tyranny of the electric guitar, Gary Numan ventured out into The Pleasure Principle. The music here is chilly, groovy synth pop/New Wave that, miraculously, doesn't sound dated. Gary Numan's vision of futuristic groovin' robot music is internally consistent enough, and well produced enough that it pretty effortlessly sucked me, as a listener, into its world, even 45 years later. The synth work's clunkiness even works, the songwriting incorporates enough post punk angularity that it manages to sound pretty natural and intentional in this context. His vocals also help sell it, Gary Numan is remarkably expressive for how deadpan he is playing it, and he slots wonderfully into the space he has created. On top of this, we have a pretty great tracklist here, really consistent honestly. Some favorites are Metal, Films, M.E., Conversation, Engineers, and ultra-hit Cars (which for a long time made me associate Gary Numan with the band The Cars, which is brain poison that I have only *just* escaped). This is absolutely worth a listen, some really sick, unique new wave, with a great palette and really consistent songs.

This album is sort of an interesting guilty pleasure for me, which isn't to say I think it's bad or anything, there's just a lot here that could annoy me, and some of it does, but I manage to enjoy this album nonetheless. Honestly, a lot of my complaints center on Anthony Kiedis, which is an extremely common opinion in music spaces. Although, I will say I can't imagine anyone else singing for The Peppers. I actually kind of like his singing, it's a touch melodramatic, but it *is* compelling, and I do like a lot of the melodies here. Although I do *not* love his kind of rap delivery that he gets into, it just sounds goofy as hell. Also, he has a lot of terrible lyrics across this album. There are a few good lines, but wow, when he gets it wrong, he gets it *wrong*. He has all sorts of goofy little -isms in his writing that bug me, but I think the worst example across this album is "Do you smell like a girl when you smile" off of Porcelain, which is otherwise such a tender, sweet song, and this just feels creepy, whether it was supposed to or not. It is also worth noting that even though I am sort of reluctantly willing to put up with Kiedis here, I still do think there's kind of a talent gap between him and the rest of the band. Chad Smith is an incredibly solid drummer here. Flea's slap-bass is iconic and super animated, he is a big reason this album is a space that makes sense for Kiedis, it just kind of works. And, last but not least, the guitarist here is John Frusciante, and I honestly think he's kind of the secret weapon here. He left The Chili Peppers after Blood Sugar Sex Magik, and became increasingly lost to a truly frightening heroin addiction. This was the first album he recorded after getting clean, and he basically had to teach himself how to play guitar again (Note: He also recorded a couple of fascinating solo albums before getting clean, they were lo-fi, intense, and *extremely* sad: I bring them up just because I happen to enjoy them for what they are and I feel that they are chronically overlooked, but explore at your own risk). The result is minimalistic, expressive, almost stylized, and often very sad-sounding playing. He is the sole counter balance to Kiedis' "Hip Bippity Bop California" flows and Flea's kinetic slapping. Without someone like him, I honestly think this would be like drinking a cup of simple syrup, but he adds so much emotional depth and complexity to the themes here through his playing that the album slots together *just right*. The songs here also just work, this was way more consistent than I remember. The first half is pretty much a laundry list of hits. Around The World, Parallel Universe, Scar Tissue, Otherside, and the mighty Californication kind of feel like they should sound overdone and cliched, but when I here these songs, I just like them. They're honestly sort of undeniable. Then the deep cuts in the second half bring everything together. The great songwriting and emotional range on songs like Easily, Porcelain, Emit Rennus, This Velvet Glove, Savior, and Road trippin' just work for me. Even if I'd like to think I'm too cool for The Chili Peppers, the fact of the matter is that this album just rocks. And while I have complaints, I *am* having a great time, so I won't complain.

The Strokes are probably the reason that "New York City Indie" means *anything*. The components are simple, ultra slick pop songs, a little garage grit and some really great vocal performances get you just about there, but The Strokes' sound here is bold and distinct despite the simplicity. An interesting exercise is going back to listen to the home recording demos of some of these songs if you have a chance. They come across as lo-fi garage rock, but the magic is there. The Strokes really just cleaned up their playing and slapped slightly shinier paint on it and we made it here. Of arguably greater note is that the vocals sound approximately the same between the demos and finished songs, and I think this is a particularly inspired choice. Julian Casablanca's blown out, gritty delivery gives so much to this project. But, as I implied, this is an album that really lives and dies by its songs: And the tracklist largely rocks. The singles are iconic, a lot of the deep cuts are still earworms too, although there are a couple of songs here that are in one ear and out the other for me. Also, while I'm complaining a little, why would you name a song "Barely Legal", it's weird, and Julian Casablancas already kind of comes across as an ass sometimes, so this doesn't help. In the grand scheme of it, these are pretty minor complaints though, and I do like this album a lot.

While I am not comfortable saying this is the most important ambient album of all time, it is certainly in the conversation. Eno's concept behind Ambient 1 effectively serves as a mission statement for ambient music in general. He sought to place beauty and true artistic integrity into what would be effectively considered "canned muzak". The idea is that the resultant piece is something that is enjoyable at any level of listening. An album whose nooks and crannies can be front and center, or which can fade into the background and serve as an atmosphere of faint blissfulness in a public, tense space: say for example, an airport. I for one have some history with this album, I've read to it, written to it, driven to it, but on this listen I thought about it with more intent than usual, and I must conclude that it is truly successful in accomplishing the goal it sets out to achieve. The best first listen to this is probably as background music, but feel free to let it draw your attention now and then. The compositions here are surprisingly detailed, the textures are varied and intriguing and the atmosphere is light and ethereal, while being as all-encompassing as you let it be. 1/1 is probably the most "iconic" track here, but my personal favorite is probably 1/2. It is still just as able to be ambient set-dressing as anything else on the project, but it kind of sneakily ramps up the detail and density of sounds, and if you let yourself give into it a little, it is incredibly enchanting. I wasn't sure when I started, but yeah, I am gonna give this a 5. It is so influential, so successful at its stated goal, and so (surprisingly) enjoyable that it has completely won me over.

As far as '70s bands adapting to the'80s goes, ZZ Top do a pretty good job on Eliminator. There are4 kind of highs and lows here, but the highs are pretty damn good, and the overall experience is pretty enjoyable, especially since this sounds like it could have been a mess. Putting the " '80s " paint on ZZ Top's kind of blues-y Texas hard rock honestly sounds like a recipe for disaster, but it is handled with a lot of grace on Eliminator. The band retains their energy, and it still sounds like they're having fun, and the song-writing appeal of ZZ Top's older stuff is still there, just re-contextualized with some synths and drum machines. Got Me Under Pressure is built around a killer riff, Sharp Dressed Man is a killer single, and I Got The Six is just a great hard rockin' tune. Legs kind of uses the synths as a driving rhythm component, to great success, and for as weird as Thug is with it's odd synth line and slap bass, it's a lot of fun. Songs like these are a lot of the high points here. On the other hand, I think I Need You Tonight is a little over-long (although the solo is good). Also TV Dinners sounds *fine* and I think it's going for like a new middle-American blues thing, but I think the lyrics just sound really stupid in the modern world. Dirty Dog and If I Could Flag Her Down are also kind of whatever to me. Although we end on Bad Girl, which is a pretty good song. This is a little un-even, but I'd say it's largely successful, against all odds. I had some fun!

A lot of people claim that all AC/DC albums sound the same, and I don’t think that’s entirely fair, but I do think their albums all more or less go for the same thing. Consequently, I feel like most people really just need to fall in one with one AC/DC album, and brush up on the other singles. My go to is Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, but I am probably due to give the other Bon Scott albums a listen. Honestly, I don’t remember being crazy about Highway To Hell, but I liked it well enough this time, and I feel that it does what a good AC/DC album should. The AC/DC sound kind of feels like a hard rock archetype, and that sound is reflected here. It’s all here: the sleaze, the energy, the muscle. And honestly, I think AC/DC’s best songwriting trick at this time was just how simple a lot of them were. It was kind of like they tapped into the same thing that makes a perfect pop song by writing material so immediately and effectively catchy. This is probably seen clearest on Highway To Hell, which is about as ubiquitous a song as they come. And while I won’t say the songs *quite* sound the same, they all do kind of tap into the same space. If you like some of this album, there’s a good chance you’ll at least get something out of all of it. And I could have some fun the whole time, but honestly, for me, I do still think they have stronger collections of songs. But take my opinion with a grain of salt, this is a favorite for a lot of people.

Low energy, sad indie music: I thought this would be in my bag, but honestly it just doesn't click. Honestly, for my tastes, for as low energy as this is, it may not be sad *enough*. At the very least, the kind of sad served here doesn't do much for me. Earthquake is an admittedly strong start, seemingly informed by slowcore, and pretty great. But after that, we get a little more "regular indie" with the sound and while this *does* have a sound of it's own, I'm still just sort of whatever on it at large. The songwriting isn't bad per say, I just haven't clicked with it, and honestly, most of this didn't leave a strong impression on me. And that's too bad, I really expected to like this and I'm a little disappointed, maybe just because this isn't what I expected. But I will leave this open to future listens, I do kind of get the sense that *something* is here.

Well shit, this is just spellbinding, like this is the sort of thing that could probably make you a better person. I like jazz, but sometimes I sort of have a mostly intellectual connection with it, which frankly, may be a way to miss the point. But Winter In America, whether because it brings in some other influences, or because of the incredible poetry, or just because it is fucking immaculate art just completely shatters this sort of wall. While I understand this album is ultimately about The Black Experience in America, which I can safely say I am outside of, I honestly think the lens used here reveals some more universal truths about America in its many forms. I mean just listen to H2OGate Blues, Gil Scott-Heron is getting to the heart of some serious shit here. And frankly, a lot of it feels awfully familiar in a modern American environment. Gil Scott-Heron is really a genius poet and thinker and the evidence is all over this thing. This album is dense: it's juggling bitterness and tentative hope, it's exploring the patterns that America runs on, and often it brings it all to a deeply small scale, getting into how structural, social issues are almost always kind of people issues in a way. I really don't feel like I can analyze it effectively. But, I will say I can *feel* this thing, and it seems like it wants more than anything to be felt. And honestly, for as much as I've talked about Gil Scott-Heron, Brian Jackson is co-billed for a reason. His playing is incredible, he lays stuff down for Gil Scott-Heron without forgetting to get a word in himself: He is clearly a fantastic musician with incredible compositional chops. I have few if any complaints, and for a cold listen, I feel pretty confident about what I'm hearing here, I'm giving it a 5.

For as popular as The White Stripes were, they sure were loud. The first White Stripes album I got while doing this was Get Behind Me Satan, which opened their sound up a little, experimenting with some textures. Elephant is archetypal White Stripes. Both broad types of White Stripes songs are plentiful. One is Pummeling turbo-blues, driven by guitars which are in the conversation for loudest ever on a 2x platinum record and Meg's stomp. The other are cute, and charming "small" songs. We kick off with Seven Nation Army, the album's resident ultra hit, powered by a slick sense of coolness: this was written with "James Bond Theme" in mind, and it isn't all that surprising. Black Math and There's No Home For You Here are bangers, keeping the octane high and the garage rock raucous. I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself is the most dynamic song yet, and it segues us into a few of the other type of White Stripes song. There's still something a little tense about In The Cold, Cold Night, but I Want To Be The Boy To Warm Your Mother's Heart and You've Got Her In Your Pocket at least feel a little more sugary. These are good song, but I do usually go to The White Stripes for their more rockin' songs. We turn the distortion up again with the lengthy Ball and Biscuit, and the minor single The Hardest Button To Button. Then we hit one of my sleeper favorites: Little Acorns. After like a minute and a half of motivational speaking about acorns sets the stage, we drop into the biggest riffs on the album, you could probably mosh to this. Hypnotize, The Air Near My Fingers, and Girl, You Have No Faith In Medicine all keep a good thing going without reinventing the wheel, I'm not complaining. Then we end on It's True That We Love One Another, the cutest little song on here. It's honestly a pleasant way to end, it just sounds like they're having fun. Not perfect, but very good, I do still think this is among the best to come out of the 2000's rock mainstream. It's just a really great rock album, through and through.

In A Silent Way is an interesting answer to a question I had: How did we get from stuff like Sketches Of Spain and Sorcerer to Bitches Brew. In A Silent Way is a slightly earlier foray into the kind of more experimental fusion sound that Miles Davis would explore more later. I guess this was pretty controversial at the time, which is kinda odd to me. Like I get that this strays away from more traditional forms of jazz, but I don't hear anything really alienating either. This is honestly one of the best jazz albums I've gotten through this so far. Shhh/Peaceful is tethered to a pretty stable percussion line and features really expressionistic splashed of sax and keys and other instruments. And the title track is a *little* less beholden to a percussion line, so it comes across to me as slightly airier, but a lot of the same elements are in place. This album showcases a more abstract mode of jazz songwriting which really puts Davis and his ensemble's ability to improvise at the forefront. The chemistry on here is second to none, and that tracks: the personnel here are an endless parade of soon to be established '70s jazz genius. At the end of the day this is just such an enjoyable listen for me. And while I do think this isn't Davis' best work in this style, it is still very much it's own, extremely valuable piece of art.

The first thing I thought when checking this out was "wow, those vocals are a lot", then I went to eat a piece of cake, which was, I guess, the art digestion buffer I needed, because when I came back I found them much more palatable. Whether or not this entirely mundane series of events actually changed my relationship with this art, I'm glad I was able to adjust to the sound here, because, there is a *lot* of interesting stuff here. Firstly, I would like to mention how glad I am that there is some trans representation on the list. Especially since Anohni (her name chosen after the release of I Am a Bird Now) speaks so frankly about gender, her trans experience and how it has effected her life and her perception of herself. There are some songs here that I feel pretty deeply, a lot of these ideas hit *awfully* close to home, I'll leave it like that. Anyways, the music here feels beautiful and fragile. It didn't take me long to fully acclimate to her voice, and I think that it suits the art here very well. The instrumental arrangements are just as important, the strings and piano are just incredibly beautiful across this whole album. The vocal guests also do a fantastic job here: Boy George, Rufus Wainwright, Lou Reed, Devendra Banhart, and Julia Yasuda all feature and all do amazing work. Honestly, most of these people are really legendary in their own right. If I have to nitpick a little, my biggest problem here is probably that Hope There's Someone, the first song here, is probably the best. I'd have to give this one more time before deciding if it deserves a 5, but I do feel comfortable with a strong 4.

I wasn't listening to a lot of pop music in 2017, so I did miss this when it came out, but I was at least aware of it. This is a very good pop album, Melodrama took a good few years to release, and that seems to be reflected in the level of detail on display here. The content here also seems very personal to Lorde, it doesn't feel like she felt the need to fit a certain public perception of her, or chase trends. Consequently, we are rewarded with a pretty distinct album. The songs feel as polished as any other mainstream pop album from this time, and it is also quite a bit busier than Pure Heroine, but there is honestly a lot of restraint here too. Like a lot of these songs feel very dynamic and intentional. A lot of the material is really catchy too: (almost) always good for pop. Green Light, Sober, Homemade Dynamite and The Louvre are probably the most immediate songs here, but the more subdued feeling back half also has a lot of good stuff. This is a real success as far as it intended to be an accessible pop album without sacrificing artistic integrity, and I see why this warrants a spot on the list.

Crosby, Stills & Nash has a name more like a law firm than any other band I know. Unrelated: this album is pretty good. There’s a mix of great folk rock songs, and some I just don’t really care about. Suite: Judy Blue Eyes, Guinnevere, You Don’t Have To Cry, Wooden Ships, and Helplessly Hoping are all pretty excellent songs. Marrakech Express is fine, but it gets a little grating. Pre-Road Downs has some cool psych stuff, but isn’t a highlight either. And a lot of the rest is just kind of whatever to me. But I am glad I heard this in general.

I mean, this is like perfect. I've heard this in full before, and I already love this album. I don't want to say conclusively that this is the all time greatest instrumental hip hop album: artists like J Dilla and Nujabes have albums that may be better (especially Donuts, holy shit) but no one else had reached these heights in 1996 (as far as I know). The way this is constructed is truly genius: like it's kind of a plunderphonics thing, it's kind of a trip hop thing, and it's still very much its own. On a sensory level for me, it sounds *extremely* burnt orange, and very dusty. Like, I'm not sure this has ever really been replicated, and so much work went into this to ensure this. Like *exactly* what makes this truly one of a kind is kind of locked in a black box like I am almost completely unable to analyze it: it's just beautiful. Like sometimes it's very fragmented: the weird little interludes, the sampled nature. But, it's still incredibly cohesive: the sound palette is very internally consistent, there are motifs and everything. I dunno, I can't get into what's up behind the scenes here, it's like all made on one Akai sampler and then like a magic spell cast by DJ Shadow for good measure. I'm just in awe here.

Kind of surprised at how earnestly rootsy this seems. Wilco has a kind of indie cool factor, and (as far as I'm aware) Billy Bragg was mostly a folk punk poet type character before this. But, united perhaps by their love of Woody Guthrie (which I must infer) they basically lay down 50 minutes of really wonderful Americana on Mermaid Avenue. I'm not sure that I am confident in my ability to review this one, there's like 15 songs here, from showstoppers to little vignettes, and I think they all deserve a little time that I probably can't give. But, I can talk favorites. Walt Whitman's Niece is a fantastic opener, it's earnestly Americana, but it certainly has something wry and clever, and almost a little weird about it: great song. California Stars is one of the more popular cuts here, and I think it deserves it, this is a song for driving through the great plains region of the United States, which is a type of song I have a sort of affinity for. Birds And Ships is another more popular cut, and it also pulls it's weight with Natalie Merchant providing beautiful guest vocals. I think I like Hoodoo Voodoo, but regardless, it's hard to not talk at least a little about. Christ For President has a *particularly* rootsy folk stomp that I enjoy quite a bit. One of my absolute favorites is Eisler On The Go, which is banjo driven and particularly sad. We end with Another Man's Done Gone and The Unwelcome Guest, which are both worthwhile slow jams. Everything else here is at least decent, but there are a couple of more forgettable songs. But, all in all, the experience of Mermaid Avenue is really great, and the seemingly unlikely mixture of Wilco and Billy Bragg is really natural and potent: cool stuff if you like Americana.

When I reviewed Kid A, I alluded to thinking there is one more perfect Radiohead album, and it is this one. And I'll tell ya, it was hard earned, it took me years to really get this album, but there was something about OK Computer that kept me coming back. And when this clicked, it dominated my listening habits for like a *year*. This is such a dense album to get this popular. We touch on modern ennui, paranoia, coping with a then emergent online ecosystem, anxiety, and the human condition moving into the 21st century. And I will say, before I get into the music, this album is *probably*, on some level, in a world where music criticism is increasingly quantitative, overrated: like I'm pretty sure this is like the 2nd highest rated album of all time on RYM. And this probably isn't the 2nd best album ever, not that it *really* matters, but regardless, I still just *adore* this album. Airbag is a fantastic opener, and it is pretty incredible: this reads so intuitively on a melodic level, but if you listen into the mix, the way all the instruments slots together seems *so* intricate. And speaking of the mix, this is one of my favorite mixes ever, like it has the real hallmark of an incredible mix: you don't notice it. It took me so long to even really think about the mix, which to me just affirms that it sounds so incredibly natural, like these songs couldn't exist any other way. Also, I have very few negative things to say about this album, so I may as well get them out of the way. Firstly, Subterranean Homesick Alien is probably my least favorite song here, it's just subdued in a way that I don't always need: but honestly, this song is still better than some artists' best. Second: sometimes electioneering doesn't hit, but it is *necessary* within the flow of the album, and it has steadily grown on me. And that's about it: I would also like to say that I actually love Fitter Happier for what it is, and I do not consider it to to be a low point here. It is super cold and offputting and sad in a weird way, and I think it has aged remarkably well given its use off text to speech. But yeah, I don't really have anything else negative to say. Paranoid Android is this incredible, multi-phased piece, and honestly, something about the slow part is almost panic inducing, it's like a slow motion anxiety attack. This sort of thing is also captured by No Surprises later, there is just something really sad and helpless, and *anxious* about this song that can be really powerful if you let yourself be sucked into the album. Exit Music (For A Film) is like perfectly beautiful, and tragic and damaged. Let Down is like the theme song for feeling lonely on a bus. Karma Police is a really interesting take on Orwellian ideas and a hell of a single. Climbing Up The Walls is just super disquieting, and honestly probably the most underrated song here (if *any* song here could possibly be underrated, we are talking about OK Computer). We end with Lucky and The Tourist, which seems like a really odd way to end, but it somehow does just work out. These two songs are as fantastic about anything else here. I mean, yeah, this is my favorite Radiohead album, it's a 5, I love this thing.

I think "World Music" is usually shorthand for "it isn't from America or The UK" but I think Kala is one of the few albums that is *really* world music. Denied entry to The USA due to Visa problems, M.I.A recorded in all sorts of countries most Americans can't find on a map, incorporating local artists, found sounds, and a healthy dose of the South Asian music that seems more personal to her. The result is fascinating: it's this super unapologetic like experimental rap/digital pop thing mixed with all sorts of sounds that are often not heard in mainstream pop hits (in America etc.). It sounds incredibly coherent for how "everything goes" its construction is. We have samples of birds used rhythmically, didgeridoo beats, a Pixies interpolation, and Timbaland is also here. This is the epitome of an album that bangs *because* it's sort of rough around the edges. Even Paper Planes is ultimately brought together by like gunshots and cash register noises (what a weird song to hit big by the way). I honestly love this album, there are no real low points for me. Bamboo Banga is deceptively sparse, it sounds way busier than it actually is. The rhythmic sensibilities of Bird Flu are fucking insane. Jimmy is an inspired cover of a song from an Indian "dance-action" movie, etc, etc, etc. I even like Mango Pickle Down River, with its didgeridoo and The Wilcannia Mob, a group of Indigenous Australian children who rap like it's the late '80s. Also, the lyrics are pretty in-touch, thoughtful, and on theme about the plight of "Third World Countries". This album manages to stand as a positive and inspiring force even as M.I.A's personal beliefs have recently taken a turn towards batshit crazy. I can't say enough good about this, there really isn't anything else quite like it, and M.I.A. was the perfect person to deliver this vital piece of art.

The speed at which punk moved was truly astounding. From the formal progenitors like Ramones releasing in '76, to the class of '77 establishing the scene in ... '77, to true-blue post-punk less than a year later in '78. The Scream by Siouxsie And The Banshees is one such album. Most impressive to me is how fully realized this is for how early into it's niche it released. Like, in the broader sense of post-punk, this is an amazing album. When I put this on I thought it would be a The Cure situation where their first had yet to catch up with the scene they helped establish. But no, "the sound" is all there, and frankly the atmosphere is pretty suffocating even with reference to later albums in the genre. Even more amazingly, these are *killer* songs. I think the draws of the songwriting here are best displayed by closer The Switch, which manages to be tense and compelling for a full 7 minutes. And honestly, just about everything else here keeps up. Even the *surprisingly* good and very inspired cover of Helter Skelter is pretty awesome. I'm not gonna call it a 5 yet, but it's one of the best post-punk albums I've discovered in a hot minute, and I'll be revisiting it.

Ya know, even though I've seen Alice Cooper live twice, I've managed to have never heard this album in full before. And, as I have learned, Billion Dollar Babies is a fantastic rock album. At this point, I shouldn't have to tell you that Alice Cooper is an incredibly charismatic performer and his personality is felt throughout this whole thing. The sound here also has a sort of theatrical flair which adds a little camp, but Alice Cooper has enough real cool factor that there is kind of a neat balance struck here. It also helps that on songs like Unfinished Sweet, those theatrical elements almost get kind of art rock-y, and it contributes to this album feeling so unique and memorable. The lyrics strike another balance, a lot of these songs are tongue and cheek, but the writing is up with rock's best. Elected is super catchy, tons of fun, and bitingly satirical. And while some may think I Love The Dead is a bit much, I think it pulls off something really difficult: it isn't too funny to be kind of genuinely uneasy, and it isn't too dark for some comedy to shine through. The songwriting is is also amazing, No More Mr. Nice Guy is a hell of a catchy rock song, and the title track is covered in great riffs and cool sections. You also have some cool soundscape stuff here on songs like the aforementioned Unfinished Sweet (with it's dentists' drills) and Sick Things, which has a really cool atmosphere. We even get a short ballad with Mary Ann. This is a remarkably consistent and incredibly unique rock album which serves as a reminder that Alice Cooper is more than a great image and a hell of a performer. The music is definitely there, and I really enjoy it.

This is an absolute hip-hop classic, I mean this was the first rap LP to top Billboard: it's a vital piece of hip-hop history. The synergy between Ad-Rock MCA and Mike D is infectious and thrilling, and Rick Rubin's production is just sick: a lot of the rock in the band's DNA comes out in his sampling on here. And a lot of these songs hit, and when they hit, they hit hard: Rhymin & Stealin, The New Style, Posse In Effect, Time To Get Ill and more have un-fucking-believable beats. We also have an example of prime early hip hop storytelling on Paul Revere. And the bigger singles here largely hit too. For one, Brass Monkey is incredibly funky. And there's also the rock songs here: Fight For Your Right, and No Sleep Till Brooklyn. I love no sleep, the flow is sick, and it has the better Kerry King solo. Honestly, I like Fight For Your Right, but I could kind of take or leave it, it feels a little played out to me. And there are a couple others that don't quite do it for me as well. She's Crafty is also not bad, but again, I could take it or leave it. Slow Ride's sampling can be a little annoying if I'm in the wrong mood. And Girls is the only song that I think is more or less bad: I realize it's a joke, but God this song's obnoxious. Also, there are a bunch of lyrics here that have aged pretty badly that The Beastie Boys have distanced themselves from. Basically, this is a really great album, but there's definitely a little growing room. And they did grow into it: The Beastie Boys have a good few albums that I prefer to this one. But I did really like this, and I don't want to understate its impact.

I get the sense that I'm not quite picking up everything this is putting down. It's weirdly dense, kind of in the way that early Modest Mouse songs are weirdly dense (I'm not entirely sure that this comparison makes it full circle, but I really can't think of a better one). It's a sprawling kind of dense, where like songs are busy on a moment to moment level *and* they seem to kind of chug along in a weirdly expansive way. The tone is also pretty unique, like this is definitely on the grittier, darker end of alt music, but in like a weirdly accessible way, and there are also moments here that are surprisingly pretty. Like Ocean Size and Jane Says, the latter of which has some really neat steel drum playing too. I think rhythm is generally a standout here, like the drums on Ted, Just Admit It... and the basslines across the album, Mountain Song is a good example. The guitar playing is also very good, I just don't have it quite pinned down yet. It's very much alt rock, but with a somewhat classic style "Hard Rock" edge, including almost metal style guitar solos. And Perry vocals are stand outs too, he's an intense performer, and his lyrics seem raw, and very personal. There are some incredibly blunt mantras across this thing ("God is dead", "Sex is violent", "Some people should die"), and they are delivered with enough conviction that they hit harder than they usually would. Like I implied at the beginning, I haven't fully gelled with this one, but I still get *a lot* here. This thing is a little darker and a little weirder and a little more eclectic than it seems, and it's an essential alt rock classic. This isn't my first time trying this one out, and it won't be my last. Jane's Addiction had some real lightning in a bottle during their surprisingly brief existence, and I feel like it's a matter of time before I fully get to the bottom of it.

Bone Machine is the peak of human coal mine, Tom Waits' "Undiluted Biblical Violence" phase. For those unfamiliar, Tom Waits was a singer-songwriter/balladeer/piano-man in the 70's and the something broke in 1980. During a decade when most got glossier, Tom Waits instead brought forth his strangest tendencies, being christened anew in junkyard percussion and increasingly alienating vocal stylings. Bone Machine is a far cry from what was going on, even with Waits in the 80's. Tom Waits pushes past camp into genuine darkness, past brake drums into what may as well be the sound of a glockenspiel tumbling down a stairwell, and pushes past conventional production technique into something bold, impolite, and probably *incorrect*. This thing was recorded in the unfurnished, concrete cellar of a recording studio, and the result is claustrophobic: you don't listen to this so much as you get trapped in a room with it. This is like soul music for the end-times and Tom Waits sells it on all fronts. He is a surprisingly versatile vocalist: he growls, croons, and on songs like Dirt In The Ground and Jesus Gonna Be Here, he gives the most unhinged blues howl I've ever heard. Most songs here are a showstopper in their own right, even the weird little nooks and crannies. The Earth Died Screaming is a fantastic opener, showing off the intensity of Tom Waits over percussion that sounds at risk of falling apart at all times. Later, Murder In The Red Barn has guitar playing that sounds like the strings are being cut rather than plucked. In The Colosseum sounds like you brought a lead pipe to a gunfight, but the other guy also brought a lead pipe, so now you're just going until someone can't move anymore. The intro to Such A Scream is a rare sort of low fidelity that isn't often explored, it's bizarre and challenging. Even something little like The Ocean Doesn't Want Me is chilling and off-putting, and it brings something huge to the project as a whole. I'd also like to note that there are a few songs where Tom Waits proves that he can still write a hell of a ballad. Who Are You, A Little rain, and Whistle Down The Wind are beautiful, and they still manage to slot into the bigger picture here. Lastly, I'd like to recommend anyone reading this to at least read some of the lyrics, Tom Waits is a fantastic writer, and there are too many stand-outs for me to keep track of. I listen to a lot of Tom Waits, so it shouldn't be a shocker that I like this, but it really is a rare and fascinating achievement that deserves time and respect.

This is an early sort of psych album, and overall, it’s pretty good! Most of these songs are pleasant, well made psych pop and folk rock songs, I just don’t have a ton to say about them. There are little highlights like Monday, Monday and Spanish Harlem dotted around, and especially for how early this hit the scene, I think it’s worth hearing. That being said, I think there is *one* song here that is really, *really* good, and that’s (of course) California Dreamin’. I honestly think this is one of the best songs of the ‘60s, *and* I think it’s one of the *most* psychedelic songs of the ‘60s too. Like the experience of listening to it just feels weird. It’s like a combination of the technicolor reverb, the *stubbornly* minor key, the droning vocal harmonies, and the kind of lo-fi, warm, 60’s fuzz that comes with less expensive recordings of the era. The effect of this all is a song that I really think could cause a hypnosis state or something. Like it reaches a little bit deeper into the brain than music is usually supposed to. I wouldn’t say it’s scary per-se, but if you told me this could activate sleeper agents, I’d believe you. It’s an irreplaceable song. The rest of the album isn’t really pushing it down, but I don’t think any other song here really keeps up. That being said, I’d say the full package is still worth hearing at least once.

My second belle & Sebastian album, and while it's very sweet and detailed, I kind of had a hard time gelling with it. From the title track on, things did connect a little better, so maybe I just need to listen a few more times, but for now I don't have a lot of strong feelings or interesting takes on this. I will say though, even if I'm not floored here, the craftsmanship is pretty amazing. It's another Belle and Sebastian album that feels like a real labor of love, which does endear me to it on some level.

An incredibly joyful affair with some *ultra* recognizable songs. As soon as Green Onions started rolling, I found myself thinking "Oh!!! That's what that song is called!" I don't even know where I've heard it, I just know that it's seared into my brain. The sound across here is in sort of a blues/R&B/Blues pocket, and I personally hear a little bit of early Rock & Roll (granted, it is like built out of the aforementioned genres). And the sound palette is dominated in large by a very prominent Hammond organ which I learned to love throughout this runtime. It feels like it has a very sort of blocky, chunky sound, and I find that it has a certain idiosyncratic appeal. Not to mention the playing itself, which is first rate: there are so many impressive runs and passages here that just ooze personality. The guitar playing is also very impressive, and I think it's mostly what gives me a Rock & Roll feeling. Also, there's a hell of a rhythm section with jazzy drums and some occasional upright bass rounding things out. This simple formula is used to deftly navigate a run of inspired covers, and a couple of originals. In fact, this is mostly covers, but frankly, Booker T. & The MG's rock them, so I'm fine with it. Check this out if you need something jazzy, light, and catchy (these songs will stick with you). It works really well, and the band as a unit absolutely sells it.

The completion of Smile is one of the most hard earned and storied sagas in popular music. When Brian Wilson began working on Smile in 1966, the process just about destroyed him. I can only be happy for him that he was graced with the ability to finish Smile 38 years later in 2004. I have to say, with the scope of this project and the sheer density of the arrangements here, I see why this was just a little difficult to put together. On Smile, all sorts of songs, snippets and sketches come together to make a very cohesive album experience. I'd like to know how many tracks are on some of these songs. Listening deep into this mix, you just keep finding new instruments: xylophone, bass clarinet, vocal harmonies, etc. And every track seems to have a different sound palette too. It's kind of miraculous that this *is* cohesive, but it achieves a certain atmosphere of quirky, joyful, and slightly psychedelic playfulness. Every song contributes towards this goal. I liked this album a lot, but I think it's worth it for just about everyone, if only so you can see the pay-off to one of the more interesting myths in rock history. Besides, this is just about perfectly *executed*, it is at a level of detail that is rarely observed, and I think it's worth it just to be immersed in that detail.

The favorite Nirvana albums of curmudgeons and contrarians everywhere, including me. Sometimes, people boil the Nevermind v. In Utero argument into "which one is Kurt's more honest artistic expression"? Is it the perfect pop album made pre-fame? Or is it the angry, antisocial house fire made as a reaction to overwhelming fame? I really don't know, and honestly I'm not sure it matters. For me, I just love noise rock, and depending on where you draw genre borders, In Utero may be the most commercially successful noise rock album *ever*. The songs throb, the guitars sear, and Cobain screams his throat raw on a lot of these songs. The Albini production job gets us all the way there, his dry, live, and unprocessed *ultra* visceral sound colors the whole experience that this album provides (Nirvana was forced to re-mix the singles, dig up the original Albini mix of them, they're fascinating.). And I think one of this album's biggest successes is that even though the songs are intentionally less accessible here, I think the song writing is just as potent as on Nevermind, even if the goal of the songs is a little different. We have two main types of song here: the rock songs, many of which are the heaviest, and most intense of Nirvana's career. Songs like Milk It, Scentless Apprentice, Radio Friendly Unit Shifter, and Tourette's go off like a Roman Candle, but never lose sight of that song writing. On the other hand there are the melodic songs here. They kind of overshoot Nevermind and end up as weird, sad, displays of pain. There are some hits here, but if you listen close enough, there are ghosts even in Heart Shaped Box, All Apologies, and Rape Me. And songs like Dumb and Pennyroyal Tea are just chilling to me. The lyrics here are also very interesting, Cobain writes about his body like a pile of meat and chemicals, and he writes about sex like it's body horror. Listening from front to back, the sadness and fury laced into this album is completely unignorable, and I think it's an incredible piece of art. Nevermind is probably a better album, but for some people, there's really nothing like In Utero.

Unhalfbricking is warm, pleasant, and more compositionally dense than I thought. Side A of this album feels really smart and intricate, almost (to my ear) ending up somewhere proggy at times. And this complexity is used very effectively, Fairport Convention has really precise control over the emotional palette that these songs invoke: From the rootsy (and Bob Dylan written) Si Tu Dois Partir, to more atmospheric pieces like Genesis Hall and A Sailor's Life. I will say that after A Sailor's Life, the songs get a little more straight forward, not bad, just a little less interesting than the first side's material. Overall, this surprised me, it has a pretty unique feel for a UK folk rock album, and I think the writing is generally very strong. It also just gives off good vibes, it's very warm sounding music, even at its coldest.

This is such a wildly important album for both hip hop and modern music at large that it really can't be overstated. Let's get the elephant in the room out of the way: this sounds like a hip hop album from 1984. So yeah, it sounds old, and it sounds clunky at times, but I can pretty much guarantee I didn't need to tell you that. Even if you go a year or two later, you get music that sounds way more modern, but it's because of albums like Run-D.M.C.'s self-titled that we got that music. And honestly, if you go a year or two earlier, you get hip hop that sounds *so* much clunkier. And honestly, despite the age, I actually like this quite a bit. McDaniels and Simmons have some really cool synergy. And through the somewhat dated rapping, you can still very much tell that both men were incredibly skilled at the art-form. And Jam Master Jay's production can be similarly dated, but there are still plenty of cool grooves here. I also need to acknowledge that people were still figuring hip hop out here: upon doing research, this is really an album of firsts. I've seen people cite It's Like That as the first hardcore hip hop song, Sucker M.C.'s as one of the first diss tracks, and Rock Box as the first rap rock song. These are also among the best songs here. It's Like That is almost an incredibly early example of conscious hip hop. Although Rock Box may be my favorite here: Eddie Martinez's hair metal guitar works surprisingly well here, and McDaniels and Simmons are at their most locked in, the flow is actually really cool. Additionally, I've heard arguments that this song had a big hand in tearing down the barriers between rock and hip hop, giving us future Run DMC songs, and resulting in other very influential artists like the Beastie Boys. I'd also like to shout out Wake Up, with it's very hopeful lyrics. While this album wears it's age on it's sleeve, I still find it very enjoyable, and it's role in music history can *not* be denied.

Blackstar is Bowie's late career opus and swansong. The material here really exemplifies one of the things that made Bowie the fantastic and unique artist he was: even at the age of 69, Bowie was still exploring new grounds and expanding his horizons on Blackstar. Blackstar sounds fresh and modern within Bowie's discography, and it is a magnificent sendoff for him. The atmosphere is deeply sad, the lyrics are incredibly self aware across Blackstar, and on a lot of these songs, Bowie is trying to comprehend his status as an icon and celebrity, while seemingly reflecting on the inevitability of death: it's all very tasteful and introspective. At the same time, he is still flirting with experimentation, and modern developments in sound. I suppose I'd categorize this as art pop, but I can also spot influences from hip hop, jazz, and experimental electronic here. Blackstar's finest moment may be Lazarus, with it's meticulous pacing and mournful sax. Lazarus may be one of Bowie's best ever songs. Even though this is a favorite, this album is just about perfect. The "Title Track" is sprawling and detailed. 'Tis A Pity She Was A Whore rocks, but in a weird, subdued kind of way. Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime) is anxious, jittery and visceral. Girl Loves Me is irreplaceable, with it's Polari and Nadsat. It may be Blackstar's strangest moment, and is another favorite of mine. Then Dollar Days and I Can't Give Everything Away are both beautiful. They close the album off with a chilling, deeply final sentiment that somehow doesn't leave the listener alone. There is something weirdly comforting about these two songs. As I said, this album is just about perfect, even without being contextualized by Bowie's death mere days after it's release, Blackstar is personal, daring, and truly fascinating. I couldn't have asked for a better bookend to such a storied and legendary career.

Ya know, Odd Future probably needs to be studied. This one group of edgy teenagers somehow produced two wildly influential international stars (Tyler and Frank) and one king of the underground (Earl). Blonde would later cement Frank's status and influence, but Channel Orange is a vital stepping stone that often lives in its shadow. The two albums are honestly different beasts, and (I think) had influence on different worlds in music. Channel Orange very much feels like an R&B/Neo-Soul album, at times even like a psych album, and made it's impact on the development of that world. Conversely, Blonde almost feels more like an indie album, and I think it became sort of an archetype for a whole nook in that genre moving forward.Channel Orange is a bit more eclectic, almost sprawling at times, while Blonde is *laser* focused on a very particular sound and emotional landscape that comes across a little more abstract than Channel Orange. And while Blonde gains a lot from this, it kind of highlights some of the unique positives of Channel Orange. A sprawling, epic, narrative piece like Pyramids couldn't exist on Blonde, and to a lesser extent, singles like Thinkin Bout You and Super Rich Kids couldn't either. And honestly, the experience of listening to Channel Orange from front to back is really cool in it's own right. Th pacing is good, the interludes work really well as mood pieces, and a lot of songs here are fantastic set-pieces. The aforementioned Pyramids, Thinkin Bout You and Super Rich Kids are great examples. I'm also a big fan of Crack Rock, Monks, and Pink Matter. The latter of which has an exceedingly rare (and very good) Andre 3000 feature. While not as focused as Blonde, Channel Orange still feels deeply personal to Frank, and it is a really awesome debut. Some of the sound across here feels trapped in the 2010's, and these songs don't all resonate with me, but it doesn't exactly ruin the album. I really enjoy Channel Orange. Additionally, as one of his two studio LPs, Channel Orange is nearly as vital a component of Frank Ocean's legacy as Blonde.

Honestly, if you love hip hop, I think you’ll pretty intuitively see what makes this great. 4 rappers with a lot of personality and two great producers, what could go wrong? The Kool Keith feature doesn’t hurt. The lyrics are clever and optimistic, the flows are cool and the songs are great complete pictures. I will say, it doesn’t like reinvent the wheel or change my life or anything. It’s simply good ass hip hop. Some favorites are Freedom, Remember His Name, What’s Golden, DDT and Acetate Profits. I’m giving it a *very* high 3, repeated listens could probably push it to a 4.

The Grand Tour is simply a very pleasant country classic with a few truly exceptional songs. George Jones proves his strengths as a performer across The Grand Tour, with clever, classy and instant classic country tunes delivered in his wonderful baritone. Everything that makes this album great may be best exemplified in the title track, a grand, classic country weeper. However, there are some other really great tracks here. The Weatherman is energetic and fun. I'm a big fan of the lapsteel on Pass Me By. The chorus on she Told Me So is a great example of the unique and clever writing on display here. And Our Private Life is a really interesting, sort of tongue in cheek song about the consequences of celebrity culture. It's also, incidentally the most fun you can have on this album in my opinion, I'd probably love dancing to this one in the right setting. There's plenty to love here. I will say, the strongest song here may be the first, which I have mixed feelings about. Also, this isn't all the sort of country I gravitate towards. Despite that, there is something undeniable about this, and I liked it a lot.

Alright, my second Stevie Wonder album, and it's the big one. I'll keep it short, this probably isn't my favorite album of all time or anything, but after listening to this I think there's an argument that this is the greatest album ever. And I really can't think of anyone off the top of my head who I think is "better" at music than Stevie Wonder. Like the magnitude of the accomplishment here is not lost on me. This is basically as close as anyone has ever come to just like creating 21 consecutive, perfect songs. And it keeps the quality up for longer than many feature length films. The only "complaint" I have is that after the magnificent Love's In Need Of Love Today, we have a few weaker songs before getting back up to speed. Weaker is relative, Have A Talk with God, Village Ghetto Land, and Contusion are still better than many artists' best, it's just that after this run we get Sir Duke immediately and you remember how the rest of this album sounds. These songs manage to be so complex and groove *so* hard, it's frankly improbable. And every once in a while, Stevie Wonder realizes that he's found a groove so good that he just has to ride it out for like three minutes: and he's always right. Additionally, I just learned that Gangsta's Paradise is an interpolation, so that rocked my world quite a bit. But yeah, this is pretty much just immaculate, damn near perfect for way longer than should be physically possible.

This is kind of like a serving of mediocre French fries. If you’re craving fries it’ll do the job, but otherwise I don’t really need it. But instead of French Fries it’s bluesy rock. These are competently written and played rock songs. Rod Stewart’s vocals are fairly unique, and there’s cool guitar work, but there isn’t a ton keeping me interested here. It’s pretty whatever rock in this style. Palatable, but I’m not really coming back.

Rocks is much better than my last outing with Aerosmith. Prior to this, I had gotten pump, which I thought had aged terribly. The glammy, sexed up Aerosmith, paired with glossy '80s production just doesn't do it for me. Here, Aerosmith's tendencies are instead paired with a more straightforward, gritty type of '70s rock production. The performances also feel much better here. These two aspects give these songs some room to breathe, and a lot of them are honestly pretty good. I get more out of Steven Tyler screaming his brains out on Back In The Saddle than I do from Pump as a complete project. Back In The Saddle is also driven by a great bassline and a propulsive stomp, it's a great rock song. The funky Last Child is also a great listen. Although, even outside of the singles, there's a lot of good here. I like Rats In The Cellar, Combination, Nobody's Fault, and Get The Lead Out a lot. And the remaining songs still have redeeming qualities. I will say that I'm still not particularly fond of Aerosmith's style of rock music, but I don't think I can really ask more of an Aerosmith album than what is given on Rocks. And besides, I did enjoy it. This is a hell of a redemption arc in my mind, I fucking hated Pump. I'm curious if this is the peak or if other Aerosmith albums surpass rocks, but in the meantime, I'm content with what I am given here.

I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You is a *fantastic* playground for Aretha Franklin to use to showcase her abilities as a generational vocal talent. However, this translates into an *album* that is just very good. Consisting largely of covers (although Aretha Franklin does have writing credits on Don't Let Me Lose This Dream, Baby, Baby, Baby, Dr. Feelgood, and Save Me), the purpose of this album is largely to put Aretha Franklin front and center, where her vocal abilities and talent for interpretation are plain to see. Even the most important song on here, maybe the most important song Aretha Franklin ever recorded, Respect, is an Otis Redding cover. Regardless of this, her performance is so fantastic that Respect is considered one of the best singles *ever*. The other material isn't quite up to Respect's level, but little is. This is a very consistent collection of solid Soul songs. And while I will say that my taste in soul usually veers a little closer to funk, the genuine warmth and true *soul* here is a force of nature. Not to mention the aforementioned talent, I will say again that Aretha Franklin is an absolutely fantastic vocalist. While I don't connect as closely to this as I do to some other albums on the list, the vocal showcase here gets this to finish the hat trick. I ended up enjoying my time a lot.

I liked this, but I wouldn't really say it's something I'm drawn to. Although, this was extremely well made and I honestly think the questions brought up (often implicitly) by this are often more interesting than the music that's here. I wouldn't know it if I didn't look stuff up about this album, but this consists entirely of covers of country classics. However Ray Charles very tastefully adapts them to R&B in a way that I'm not sure anyone else could have. He really, truly makes them into R&B songs, but the compositions remain intact, even though they are transformed. I think one of the most interesting things this album asks is, "Is composition genre agnostic?". In other words, I have to wonder if any composition can be truly made into any genre of music. Where does a cover end and an original begin? Can a song be both a cover *and* an original? I don't know. But this is a truly unique example of interpretation as an artform. And while I don't think I'll be returning to this that often, it is very pleasant, and this kind of does need to be heard.

TV On The Radio feels like one of the most "2000s Pitchfork" bands ever to me, and that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Bad rep they have now aside, Pitchfork did have pretty good taste during a certain period and I do think of TV On The Radio as a "good" band. I think maybe because their particular take on the indie sound seems to exemplify everything the publication gravitated towards, as well as the kind of unique space in the public consciousness TV On The Radio seem to occupy. They feel tangential to the more "proper" 2000's indie pop scene, ending up somewhere similar, but seemingly coming from a slightly different world. TV On The Radio seemed to have their roots in the worlds of art rock, post-punk, soul, and to an extent, electronica. And this sound netted them a certain level of success, but I don't think I'd say they ever had a real hit or anything. In the past, I've enjoyed Return To Cookie Mountain, and Dear Science has been on my to-do list for a while. I enjoyed it quite a bit, but your mileage most likely depends on your amount of goodwill towards indie generally. I will say that I think Cookie Mountain was more willing to stake itself in the fuzzier woodlands of TVOTR's sound, while Dear Science is pared back to the core of their sound, leaving the weirdest edges of the band's sound behind. The result is a more focused sounding album that I do think is a little less interesting for it. However, the songwriting feels a little more front and center, and these are some really good tracks. Halfway Home, Dancing Choose, Stork & Owl, Red Dress, and DLZ are some of the best songs here. A lot of the songs here have a really interesting sense of momentum, and the performances are really good across the board. I especially enjoy the vocal performances, Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone both have unique stylings and great energy. And the sounds on these songs are a good representation of the sounds across this album. There is post-punky guitar, electronic percussion, think synthwork, and it's rounded out with flourishes from violin, horns and more. As I mentioned, if you enjoy indie, check this out, it's really strong, but I don't think it's gonna make the genre click with skeptics. And while I did enjoy this, I get to sense this has more to give, so I definitely see myself coming back to Dear Science.

This was honestly quite a bit better than I thought. When this came out, folk rock was admittedly kind of oversaturated. Like, this was in the middle of a run in which every member of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young had an album crack the top 15. So, while it's hard to say this really feels essential, it is good. Honestly, Love The One You're With is actually *really* good, and earlier this week I heard Aretha Franklin's cover of this song. And, while this may be controversial, I actually *do* prefer Stills' original. While this is definitely the best song, this album is actually pretty consistent, especially side one. The rest isn't bad, but I just think it's a little choppier. Honestly, it's not changing anyone's life, but I think this is largely worth a listen, even though it kind of seems to be overshadowed by Stills' other projects, and also Neil Young's whole career, due to a storied history between them. This does have an identity all it's own. Also, as a quick aside, I like the photo on the cover quite a bit.

I don’t know if this is still underrated, it’s kind of had its moment, but I do know that this is my favorite Neil Young album. There’s something different about Neil Young’s folk rock compared to other artists of the time that I can’t entirely pin down. It may be the cool factor? There’s something effortlessly stylish, and subtly dark about much of his best music, and his songwriting is good enough to hold it together. I really think his best is some of the best music ever, like I’m pretty sure this is how Dylan fans feel when listening to Dylan. Anyways, on On The Beach, the x-factor is ratcheted up to 11. This is very much a mysterious, dark, deeply sad album. And a lot of the music doesn’t always seem it, which honestly kind of brings these attributes into clearer focus. And there are a few songs that really play into the darkness: Revolution Blues, On The Beach, Ambulance Blues. These tracks are all breathtaking centerpieces. But frankly, this whole album is just about perfect to me. It’s just 8 immaculately crafted songs in a row. Walk On is groovy and relatively upbeat, still with some of this album’s magic. See The Sky About To Rain is a good summation of the melancholy here, fantastic song. Revolution Blues may be the most chilling song about Charles Manson ever recorded, it’s just got a feeling, and the lyrics are absolutely arresting, “Well I Hear That Laurel Canyon is Full of Famous Stars, but I Hate Them Worse Than Lepers and I’ll Kill Them in Their Cars”. The banjo work on For The Turnstyles is a nice change of pace, with some airier banjo and a rawer vocal performance from Young. Vampire Blues is a great example of the fantastic guitar work across this album. And the final run of On The Beach, Motion Pictures, and Ambulance Blues, is haunting. Ambulance Blues just sucks the air out of any room it’s played in, it’s impossible to not pay attention to. This really is a work of genius, and I think it may be Young’s finest, from the beautiful cover art to the strange, dark atmosphere of the songs. I absolutely adore this album.

Devo at their most weird and wonderful. Are We Not Men? Is kind of the sound of punk morphing into new wave in real time. This album kind of feels like a cultural garbage disposal, you throw rock, funk, surf, punk, pop in, and Devo gets their wormy hands in all the crevices and Devos them up. We end up with an album that sounds more or less like a New Wave project, but with sort of a punk soul. But that isn't all, we also get a twisted weirdo cover of (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction, mutated surf riffs on Praying Hands, the abstract, opaque Space Junk, the skronky, discordant, delightfully obnoxious Jocko Homo, and the lower key, sour Shrivel-Up. And between these artier moments, Devo's sharp pop and punk songwriting really shines. Uncontrollable Urge, Mongoloid, and Sloppy are catchy, quirky, and fun. This is a really great collection of songs, and a *fantastic* debut. No one else, not even Devo can replicate the specific type of gleeful, catchy anarchy on Are We Not Men?

People always say not to judge a book by its cover, and while this rings true, you're still gonna see the cover first, and the cover for Groovin' is *uniquely* ugly. And unfortunately, The Young Rascals can't really outrun this bad start. We're following the rough blueprint The Beatles laid out here, and while The Young Rascals escape to uncharted territory on several songs here, the results are mixed. Something struck here, and I realized I think a lot of these songs sound like sitcom themes, which doesn't bode well. Honestly, the best tracks usually lean into gimmicks, as well as psych, which makes the gimmicks go down a little smoother. Some songs here I actually kind of like are How Can I Be Sure, Groovin', I Don't Love You Anymore, You Better Run, and A Place In The Sun. These all have at least something going for them that keeps me happy. However, the rest of this is the "obnoxious, saccharine hippy music" side of psych. There just isn't much here to distinguish The Young Rascals from their peers, and what is here is usually not that good. There's a couple of moments that save this from a 1, but I just don't like this thing.

As the 70's changed to the 80's, New Wave seemed to change overnight. Was it Gary Numan's fault? I dunno, maybe. Regardless, I kind of think Rio sums up the state of New Wave in the '80s quite nicely, even if I'm not really into a lot of records with the "80's" sound. Although, honestly, this has managed to age pretty well, and I think it's because the production here serves to reinforce the very specific tone and sound that Duran Duran is very intentionally creating. And dialing "this tone" in through the medium of pop songs may be what this album is best at. This is basically a list of potent, immediate pop songs. They may not all be my thing, but I can't argue against them being successful. Like, this album very much achieves its goal. The best here are largely your singles like Rio, Hungry Like The Wolf, and Save A Prayer. Although, this album has one big curve ball. After 8 crisp pop tunes, Duran Duran gives us The Chauffeur, and frankly, at this point of the album, I didn't think they had something like The Chauffeur in the tank. No other song on the album can match its tone. It's this like sensual, ominous song slow burn that almost reads as a goth song. It just came out of no where and completely enraptured me. There's even an ocarina solo that (miraculously) works in the context of the song. Capping the album off with this thing solidifies the 3, Rio is not a personal favorite, but with one fantastic song, and a bunch of other catchy, effective tunes, it pulls it's weight.

This sounds like Oasis tried to lift Radiohead's shtick. Like Travis are very clearly attempting to write a "sad" album here, and they won't let you forget it. This is just an onslaught of mopey alt rock/brit pop ballads that are trying a little too hard. Honestly, this reminds me of Stone Sour's ballads sometimes, which isn't *exactly* a good thing. Despite my many complaints with the broad concepts at play here and the ideas throughout this album, I will say that they manage to write a couple of good songs. I think Writing To Reach You, As You Are, and Luv are my favorites. But then you have songs like Why Does It Rain On Me, which I think are just obnoxious. Although honestly, the nicest thing I can say about The Man Who is that most of these songs are pretty good on their own, it's just that sequenced together, this is a slog. Edit: This is why you always listen to *everything*, I feel the need to mention that after a few minutes of silence, the bonus track Blue Flashing Light may be the album's best, however walling it behind minutes of silence is obnoxious enough that I'm keeping this at a 2.

It's interesting to see people say that this album is pretentious, because even though it probably is, at least a little: it rocks too hard for me to have ever cared. And I've given this my fair share of listens. For how dense and odd and heady as Deloused veers, I do genuinely think it maintains some real accessibility. The aforementioned hard-rocking nature, the great melodies, the tasteful Latin influences: these are all little facets of this album that keep it tethered and enjoyable for a (relatively) large audience. And it's blend of these things with some really abstract ideas is where this album's magic lies in my opinion. It's really a fascinating, engaging and exciting listen. It may not be to everyone's tastes, but if you're a prog fan or an enthusiast of boundary pushing rock in general, I can't imagine you not getting something out of it. In the past, I've never considered whether or not I consider this a "5", a perfect album, whatever, but regardless, I think it's genuinely fantastic. So while I'm playing it a little safe here, Deloused is going to be subject to relistens just as I go about my life honestly, and I'm probably gonna upgrade it some day.

This took me by surprise, I knew Nina Simone was talented, but I didn't expect to be so moved by this. On Wild Is The Wind, Nina Simone sounds like the warmest ghost in the jazz house. She is so human, but her presence manages to feel otherworldly and hypnotic and haunting at times. Her voice helps too, deep and intriguing. Her raw talent shows here as well, her control comes through across this record, and she hits some breathtaking runs. Also, at some point I realized the jazz piano here is also sublime: turns out, that's her too. And she wrote these arrangements (and one of the compositions) herself. Of all the records I have heard during this project that are largely interpretations, this may be my favorite. Nina Simone is just that good, she cannot be mistaken for anyone else, and I don't think anyone else could sing these like her. Check out the title track to hear what I mean. I was kind of in awe of this and I really wasn't expecting it, this is unbelievably good.

Here, Jack White makes some good rock music, but doesn’t quite recapture the magic of The White Stripes. He largely deals in the blues rock you’d expect from Jack White, with a little country and even some big band influence on a few songs. Although, there really isn’t anything shocking on Blunderbuss. There’s also kind of a rough lyrical theme going on here, I’m pretty sure this album is more or less about Jack White’s relationship with women. Sometimes it’s compelling, but it’s not something that feels like it’s really holding this thing together. Ultimately, it’s the songs that drive Blunderbuss. It is good blues rock, and Jack White does know what he’s doing, even if this is not as interesting as the music of The White stripes.

Not an album to think too hard about, Fat Of The Land is wall to wall bangers. This is some techno that has a little crossover appeal with the metal and punk worlds, The Prodigy just approach the genre (big beat in particular) with so much visceral energy and muscle. And they manage to keep this energy through songs that could be a little repetitive or annoying. But the grooves go deep enough, the drums hit hard enough, and the vocals are powerful enough that it works. I have very few complaints: I guess Smack My Bitch Up wasn’t exactly made in the best of taste, but so little is communicated verbally that I have a hard time staying mad. Aside from that there may be a couple songs that drag a little bit, but there aren’t any skips. This is most likely the peak of it’s microgenre and pretty much essential listening.

More good jazz that I don't have a lot to say about. There's plenty of great sax and Hammond organ here. And it isn't especially difficult, this is pretty agreeable music. Like I said, it's good, but not quite to my particular taste in jazz, and I don't know enough about the era to say if I agree that this is essential or not: however, I enjoyed it.

Cheap Thrills is a unique, energetic psych/blues album. Honestly, between Janis Joplin's wailing, soulful vocals, hard-edged, noisy guitars, and a rhythm section in conversation with it all, this almost bridges the gap to the hard rock of the '70s. This is very much a darker, grittier take on psychedelia. If Sgt. Pepper is like doing acid at The Philharmonic, cheap thrills is like dropping a tab then walking down the street. This isn't an album that uses psychedelia as escape, in fact it almost seems to use it as a lens to amplify the world as it exists. This is mirrored in the confrontational, unmistakable R. Crumb album art, which honestly helped this album grab onto me. This is one of the more intense, unique rock albums of the late '60s, and it's stuff like this that cemented Janis Joplin as a rock legend in just 4 years, with as many albums.

"Industrial Music For Industrial People" -Monte Cazazza of Throbbing Gristle Throbbing Gristle's D.O.A. the Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle is intentionally abrasive, frightening music, made by difficult, volatile people. Part of me does want to say this is relatively accessible, but "relatively" would carry such a large asterisk that there would hardly be a point; this is a difficult album. Frankly, I like it quite a bit: familiarity with Throbbing Gristle and their satellites is doing a lot of heavy lifting, as is my general immersion in noise music. I would urge you to give this a shot, it really isn't for everyone, but it is exceptional within it's field. This is truly a masterpiece of textural and rhythmic experimentation that, at times crawls towards sound collage. I can't tell you exactly what's going on during songs like Hit By A Rock, but I can tell you that I'm into them and their kind of intense, abstract palettes. Even on an emotional level: there's an intensity, but pinning down exactly what emotion this is trying to convey is possibly a futile effort. I'd also like to take note of a few more "accessible" tracks. Dead On Arrival is an incredible fusion of Throbbing Gristle's "deal" into a more conventional setting, it has this unstoppable groove, augmented by some of the strangest sounds ever put to record. Weeping is a similar fusion with less abstract ideas, but the execution is so bizarre, tortured and frighteningly vulnerable that it hardly reads as listenable: it honestly feels like a Jandek song. Hamburger Lady may be Throbbing Gristle's most infamous track ever. Check out the lyrics to know why. And I will say that after this point, the album becomes *extremely* abstract, but we do get one more conventional song in AB/7A, which almost just reads like an industrial synthwave song. In this song, the path from industrial like this to later stuff like Nine Inch Nails or Skinny Puppy is clearest. I will say that while I do love this album, I don't think it's getting a 5, if only because I have yet to "figure out" some of the sound collage/spoken word tracks here. However, this is utterly singular, bold, and truly frightening at times. Throbbing Gristle conjure a visceral, reptile brain reaction with their music: a rare feat, which must be celebrated.

Violent Femmes have scored a neurotic proto-folk punk masterpiece here. I think the unlikely ultra-success of Blister In The Sun gives some people the impression that Violent Femmes were something of a one hit wonder, but this whole album captures something pretty special that Violent Femmes could never quite recapture. Not that anyone would know, no one has ever listened to another Violent Femmes album. The punk songwriting and attitude across here combined with the jangly, almost percussive acoustic instrumentation here is a match made in Heaven. This manages to feel as much like folk music as it does punk. On top of this, Gordon Gano fills in the gaps with his amazing performances and distinct lyrics. His writing is direct and bitter, often painting a visceral portrait of a certain archetype of deeply pathetic man. It's like someone starts venting about a breakup and you slowly realize that they were the problem. And even the songs that escape from this kind of character retain the wiry, nervous energy. For example, Kiss Off reads as a rant about suicide by way of angsty, alienated, nervous implosion. Kiss Off, as well as Add It Up come across as downright manic, and I think they are where this album's strengths may be clearest. Like these both may be among my favorite songs ever. The rest of the album achieves the same goals, albeit ratcheted up a little less, and the results are usually great. Confessions, Prove My Love, Promise, To The Kill and, of course Blister In The Sun are my other favorites here. Among what's left, we still don't really have any duds. Gone Daddy Gone is defined by its xylophone playing, which is incredibly strong. Good Feeling isn't a favorite of mine, but ending the album on such a comparatively earnest song does a lot for the project as a whole. If I had to choose a least favorite, it's probably Please Do Not Go, which is basically a reggae song. It's honestly still pretty good, but my biggest complaints are with some line deliveries. Gano is damn near putting on a Jamaican accent for a couple lines. My problem isn't so much that it's problematic, which on some level it probably is, but it really does just sound unnatural and distracting out of his mouth. Regardless of a few gripes, this is a classic that really holds up. The anxiety coursing through this album is palpable and it is leveraged in such a way that it makes the material here incredibly compelling.

Crocodiles is kind of an interesting moment, seemingly capturing the evolution of post-punk to goth in real time. That being said, this isn't the most interesting Echo And The Bunnymen album in my opinion. They have a good sound here, but I just don't think they'd entirely carved their niche out yet. The result is a good post-punk album with some pretty great songs that I don't really think transcend the (very saturated) genre. Honestly, it's the gothier tracks that mostly do it for me here, Stars Are Stars springs to mind. But even so, there were bands pushing this sound further a couple of years earlier, like Siouxsie And The Banshees and Bauhaus. However I don't think that really discredits the material here: a good song is a good song. However, conversely there are songs here that specifically don't do it for me. Happy Death Men springs to mind. This is a good record overall, I just don't know if it stands out within it's niche, and I think Echo And The Bunnymen later surpassed it.

The Allman Brothers Band has never really been my cup of tea as far as '60s and 70's rock goes, however, I liked this a little more than I thought. Let's talk about the shorter songs first. The problem is that I just don't really gel with any of them regardless of how good the performances are. Sure, they are technically doing a great job, but I've previously mentioned that this sort of blue rock is kind of whatever to me. Now, of greater interest is the jams here. And I will say, I like a good jam, but I am kind of picky. These songs, comprising nearly 3 full sides of the album are a mixed bag to me. I don't think You Don't Love Me is really worth the 20 minute for example. However In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed is something I can connect a little more to. The playing is super emotive, and I think the pacing and instrumental phrasing makes the whole song work really well. And Whipping Post is somewhere in the middle. I think the performance is a little overlong, and the pacing is a little uneven, but there are some pretty transcendent moments of full band guitar music across the 23-ish minute piece. The highs here are interesting enough that it saves At Filmore East (a little bit) to me. However, I still don't get a ton out of the full package.

While this may not have the highs of The Doors' self titled album, I think this may be more consistent. Unfortunately, even a Riders On The Storm or an L.A. Woman doesn't quite reach the level of a Break On Through or a The End But however you cut it, this is still an album that captures the doors at the approximate peak of their abilities. Interestingly enough this means that The Doors were operating at their strongest at only the start and end of the Jim Morrison era. And Morrison was pretty much falling apart at this point: breakdowns, legal troubles, substance abuse, the rock and roll classics. And I will say that I'm at least glad he was able to put a strong, dignifying bookend on his life and career. The material itself here, as I mentioned, is generally strong, and quite a but more even than The Self-Titled, in many ways. The Self-Titled's best was better and it's worst was worse. And it's general tone was lighter, but something like The End is the kind of dark that L.A. Woman doesn't even really aspire to achieve. Conversely, L.A. Woman's tone is a consistent moodiness, and it maintains a level of engaging quality throughout, even though I could probably live if one of the less important songs here was cut. Perhaps not as intriguing as The Doors' more daring, earlier works, this still features great writing, and remarkable performances from Morrison. And Riders On The Storm serves as a very strong end to Morrison's career: with it's foggy, mysterious atmosphere, it cements this album as worth a listen.

A friend of mine came to an interesting revelation about KISS some time ago. That being that KISS is a children's band. Since hearing this, I have started noticing how often stories about KISS' music and shows told by people over a certain age begin with "when I was 8...", "Back When I was 12...", "I was 10 when I first heard KISS", and now, I'm more or less on board with this theory. And it isn't really a bad thing. It honestly helps contextualize the band for me. Who better to love men in elaborate costumes making glammy pop-rock about partying and discovering the true meaning of Rock and Roll than those under the age of 15. That being said, I know as many KISS songs as anyone else, which is a good many, and I can't say the band has ever floored me. The opening salvo here is Destroyer at its best. Detroit Rock City, King of The Night Time world, and God of Thunder are fun and rockin', even if you technically have to sit through a minute or so of ambience to get there. Aside from this run, I count Shout It Out Loud among the highlights too, but I can't say I'm as thrilled about anything else here. Great Expectations and Beth are kind of non-starters. I don't do KISS ballads (with the exception of Goin' Blind, but that one is like actually somehow sort of eerie, so I don't really count it in the same world), but Beth does try at redemption in the, admittedly pretty cool, back half. Aside from these, the other songs here just don't feel as catchy, energetic, or strongly written as the better stuff here. Destroyer is a mixed bag to me, one that unfortunately has more bad than good by volume. But KISS manages to get a few good songs in, and it's enough to earn a second star.

As with Funeral, I like Neon Bible well enough, I just still don't know that I fully understand the magnitude of praise that Arcade Fire receives. Don't get me wrong, this is an album of well-produced, well-written, slick indie songs, and there is a consistent level of quality here, I just don't think Arcade Fire are really the most interesting or enjoyable indie band out there. It may just be a matter of preference, I usually prefer my more energetic indie to have some more teeth than Arcade Fire can usually show. That being said, there are moments here that achieve a more baroque, densely arranged sound that I think Arcade Fire wears well. And I do have some highlights: Intervention, Black Wave/Bad Vibrations, The Well and The Lighthouse, and No Cars Go. In particular, I think the build at the end of Black Wave/Bad Vibrations may be the finest moment on the entire album. On the other end, (Antichrist Television Blues) and Windowsill didn't do a ton for me. Overall, the consistency across this album is really what saves it. A lot of these songs have something going for them. And the front to back listen is pretty enjoyable too.

Appetite For Destruction is the crowning achievement of a genre of music that I hate. Hair metal, glam metal, whatever you call it, Guns N' Roses kicked the genre into overdrive, bringing a heaping tablespoon of grit to the glitz and hairspray of bands like Ratt and Poison. And then glam metal pretty much immediately fell apart under the weight of shifting trends. Now that isn't to say that G N' R didn't use some hairspray themselves. Basically, while I do have good things to say about this album, it's still hair metal at the end of the day, and while I can appreciate Appetite For Destruction on some level, it will really never be "my" album. Let's start with the fact that this was an absolute hit machine. Welcome To The Jungle, Mr. Brownstone, Paradise City, and of course, Sweet Child O' Mine are mainstays in the canon of rock and metal. However, no matter how catchy, well performed, or potent these songs may be, I could live the rest of my life happily without hearing any of them again. Sweet Child O' Mine has it worst, I was almost embarrassed when I heard that fucking riff while driving today, it was a jumpscare. Paradise City is a close second place, especially because I don't think it's ever a song I ever really liked all that much to begin with. Mr. Brownstone isn't quite as overplayed as the rest, it just also happens to be a single I don't like all that much, but I still think it's firmly in the "overplayed" category. That leaves Welcome To The Jungle, which it turns out I have a little room in my heart for, even now: it's a good song, and I'll leave it at that. Escaping from the singles, this has good and bad. I actually really liked It's So Easy, it swaggers, it pummels and it's catchy too. Nightrain and Think About You also have enough momentum to keep the fun up. I'd also like to include My Michelle as a highlight, just because I think it's a pretty good song and I appreciate G N' R having the guts to drag their cool uncle party metal album somewhere a little darker for a song. As far as what's left, I could really take or leave it. There isn't a whole ton here I see myself returning to here, but there is some value to Appetite For Destruction. I understand this album on at least some level, even if I don't like it all that much. I'm gonna let G N' R pull a 3 here, but just barely.

This is pretty cool. The Yardbirds are a band most well known for generating iconic guitarists, with links to Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, and On Roger The Engineer, Jeff Beck. Due to this alone, The Yardbirds have a space carved out in rock history, but this album is also pretty interesting. I'd say that, broadly, this is another mid '60s psych band, but The Yardbirds have a slant that's just a little lo-fi and earthy, for lack of a better word. The tone is a little darker and less colorful than the '67 summer of love stuff that would follow. Although I think it's made up for through this album's focus on texture. It comes across as accessible and enjoyable rock music, but with something a little arthouse about it. And the songs are good enough to carry it. This one is at least worth a listen, even in a sea of psych records from the time.

Back in 2019, I attended a metal/metal adjacent music festival, and one of the bigger ticket acts was set to be electronic and big beat group The Prodigy. However, The Prodigy's vocalist, Keith flint tragically died a couple of months prior, so the band understandably called out. Who did the promoters and organizers settle on to replace this punky, hard-edged electronic act in the middle of a metal skewed festival? None other than The Cult. While The Cult is, in fact a hard rock, or even heavy metal band, the vibe of the festival skewed a little more modern and a little heavier. Basically, The Cult's vibe was way off. And, long story short, they played a perfectly decent ~50 minute set to a crowd that was just not into it. And ever since watching them fight for their lives up there, I've kind of rooted for The Cult as underdogs, even if I don't really listen to them much at all. But, even with my predisposition of sympathy towards The Cult, this album just doesn't do it. And it hurts even more because The Cult were actually kind of interesting before this. Their first couple albums were still, I'd say, around the hard rock pocket, but with a distinct goth rock slant that resulted in some pretty cool music. This style got them some mainstream success on Love in 1985, and it's been a while since I've checked that album out, but just after a quick refresher, it's pretty good stuff. Unfortunately, after this, The Cult pretty much threw everything unique about their sound out the window, and gave the world Electric. Which is about as boilerplate a hard rock album as I can imagine. I honestly expected to like this a little more than I did, but I just wasn't feeling it at all. I get the sense that a lot of these songs would be fine on their own, even if I'm still not convinced that they'd be great. But sequenced together, they just run into each other and create homogeneous hard rock mash. Even Love Removal Machine, a song I remember liking, was not really that exciting or interesting to me in the contest of the album, even if it *is* pretty catchy. And the Born To Be Wild cover just didn't need to happen at all. I will say, the one song I did actually like was Memphis Hip Shake, which has a really interesting, snaky, start-stop riff, punctuated by a great drum stomp. It's some great, groovy hard rock. But as the last song here, it's also too little, too late. And it can't save this album. I almost feel bad for this, but I really felt like I was waiting most of this album out, and that's never a good sign.

For as much as I like a few R.E.M. songs, I don't think any of their albums have clicked with me from front to back. Which is kind of odd, I love a lot of '80s and '90s indie, I like sad music, and I can handle a little jangle. Side note: What the fuck even is jangle pop, I will listen to songs that I think sound "jangly" on some sensory level, but any effort I've made personally to define the genre has been largely unsuccessful, even though I can listen to something and say "yup, that jangles". Regardless, R.E.M. seems like a band I should like, and maybe I will like them in time. I enjoyed Automatic For The People a lot. While, perhaps not R.E.M.'s saddest, it may be competing for their slowest. This album consists almost entirely of largely downbeat, but nimble ballads. And I'd say it is largely engaging, even though this is a formula with a high risk of being boring. I think a lot of it comes down to the textural, dare I say, "jangly" guitar playing, and the distinct presence of Michael Stipe. He really knows how to write a melody, even when the songs lose me a little, he has a way of grounding things. Like, I don't think anyone else could've made a good song from The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight. He also, miraculously sells the pure melodrama of Everybody Hurts. This mega-hit could've been *insufferable*, but it remains a great song despite gratuitous airplay. Although I actually think this album works best on some other songs. The one-two combo of Drive, and Try Not To Breathe may be the peak to me. Monty Got A Raw Deal is also a pretty great summation of what's happening here. Also, I'd like to highlight Man On The Moon, which I *think* is a tribute to the late, great Andy Kaufman. Unfortunately, I don't think R.E.M. quite sticks the landing. I think that Star Me Kitten, Nightswimming, and Find The River start to drag a little. But it doesn't bring the artistic whole down *too* much. I do think this was a pretty great collection of songs, and a great showcase of balladry from R.E.M. I can only imagine I'll dig deeper from here.

I just received this mission. 196 minutes, 48 seconds huh. Let's see how we fare. To be Frank, I will probably not listen to this in one sitting, but I think that's fine. I don't even think this was intended to be listened to in one sitting. It is an entire fucking box set, that is cleanly separated into discs. But I do intend to hear the whole thing. I suppose my "break glass in case of emergencies" is that the first 3 discs consist of the body of the material, but according to the wiki article, the rest is largely alt. takes and different mixes. So if I really need a break, I think I'll declare a success If I can at least make it through the first 3. See you on the other side. Alright, I did make it through everything. The first thing I noticed is that the Spotify upload has the discs with a tracklist in an order different than what is cited on the wiki article, so I kind of resolved to just go through the whole thing. Second, I'm more sure than ever that this isn't even really an album. Like the format of this website's challenge fails to accommodate a project like this. Something that was never, *ever* intended to be consumed in one sitting. I think this is the kind of thing you would have bought, then you would have slapped one disc on every once in a while. Although I will say, digesting 196 minutes of '50s pop/vocal jazz does put you in a really unique space as a listener. I have never felt more like an archivist than I did during this. This project really does feel like something you are forced to contend with, and it almost feels like it's challenging you to find a way to present the, admittedly strong content here in a more digestible way. I think there is a really cool exercise in curation here. Spoiler alert, I'm giving this a 3, I'll talk more about that later though. But I think that if you went through this, picked the right songs and sequenced it right that you could pull a really fantastic 45 minutes out of this. The music itself here is generally cool, even though it's hard not to get a little tired of '50s pop over the course of the whole thing, unless you are a very particular kind of person. However, the performances by Ella Fitzgerald are spirited and charismatic, and the compositions by The Gershwins have such a classic sound. They are dated, but they are ultimately well written, classy tunes that aren't afraid to have some fun. And I'd be willing to bet that these performances are the defining interpretations of these songs. As for how to rate this, I'm a little torn. On one hand, this is an unceasing obelisk of pop music: an absolutely unmanageable volume of largely similarly textured and written songs. On the other hand, this was never intended to be consumed in the way that this challenge demands, and the magnitude of the achievement here is not lost on me. This is one of Fitzgerald's greatest accomplishments, and it is, at the end of the day, a *very* robust collection of very well written pop songs. As such, I'm playing it boring and splitting it down the middle, getting to the aforementioned 3. Definitely listen to this, just never in one sitting.

This was exactly what I needed after being assigned the 3 hour long Ella Fitzgerald box set yesterday (no offense Ella Fitzgerald). Sleater-Kinney deliver their riot grrl with all the conviction, power and righteous anger you could ask for. And they have kind of a unique niche in the genre, coming across with flavors of alt rock, noise pop, the punk-end of grunge and a little bit of straight rock and roll. The songs across this record embody this style from front to back, serving as a canvas upon which their lyrics can be painted. And the lyrics are compelling, it's the confrontational feminism you would expect from Riot Grrl, coupled with very personal subject matter. We cover the queer experience, heartbreak, invasion of privacy, gender stereotypes and more. Tucker and Brownstein both share vocal duties, and their passion and intensity comes through cleanly, reminding you that this is very much a punk album. This whole album is worth a listen, but at least be sure to scope out Dig Me Out and One More Hour.

There's something about Coldplay's combination of mass appeal and melodrama that both made them a shorthand for sad songs in the 2000s, and makes them a target for easy bullying now. Coldplay is a punchline as often as they are a serious recommendation at this point, and 15 years or so of *very* mediocre music as of now isn't doing them any favors. But I must assume this empire was built on something, so I'm trying to go into A Rush Of Blood To The Head with an open mind. A lot of people really like this album, and this appears to be one of Coldplay's consensus best: there has to be *something* here. And I will say that we kick off with a pleasant surprise. Politik counterbalances Coldplay's aforementioned signature melodrama with some great tension, and the result is a pretty tasteful, enjoyable song. Although, unfortunately, In My Place sounds exactly like I expected, and much of the album follows suite. To mention the other positives, A Whisper is another song that gets the tension right. And The Scientist as well as the title track here dial Coldplay's sound in, and deliver some more intimate, earnest sounding music that I think really works. However, everything else suffers from being "sad" music that is for the widest audience possible. The emotional meat feels insubstantial, and impersonal, and everything is pasted over with, and I want to emphasize this one more time, oh *so* much syrupy melodrama, delivered through huge arrangements and overdone vocals. The result just usually sounds hollow to me. I actually think Clocks is one of the worst tracks here. Here's an exercise if you want to participate. Put on the beginning of Clocks while watching drone shots of any University. You will be *instantly* transported mentally into an advertisement. I get Coldplay on a few songs here, but so much of this is exactly what I expected. If this is just about Coldplay's best, I'd hate to hear their worst.

Guess who's back: Back again. It's Elvis, he's back. Back from what you may ask? Mandatory service in The U.S. Army of course, which is as good a reason to slow your artistic output as any. But, as we've already established, Elvis is back, and he has approximately 31 minutes of new material to sustain his horde of admirers. If you've heard an Elvis song, you could probably tell me what this sounds like. Which isn't to say that this is bad, it's just that Elvis is so ingrained in music as a cultural reality that we have a Seinfeld syndrome situation. The 65 years since this came out saw music like Elvis, and the Rock and Roll that he was inspired by being built upon, mutated, stripped back, hardened, baked, fried, and boiled so many times, by so many people, and in so many different ways that I just can't really find Elvis' music exciting. That being said, for the rare situation in which I want to hear an Elvis song, any of these would do, but I just don't really need them *all* together as an album. I will say that Such A Night is unquestionably my favorite here, so I guess I advise you check it out first. But everything here is deeply "Elvis" as well. Basically, for better or worse, this is just 12 Elvis songs in a row, so your mileage may vary depending on your enthusiasm for the idea of listening to 12 Elvis songs in a row.

I often see Surrealistic Pillow discussed as being one of the greatest albums of the whole '60s psychedelic counter culture scene, and I honestly think I see it. This is really a record that is more than the sum of its parts, and that I think really works best as a single work. The brightness of psychedelia meets the breeziness of folk music here, and a lot of these songs reflect this. The songs on here are largely brisk, occasionally even vignette-like, and it does really cool things for the pacing here, and helps the album maintain its kind of surreal, psychedelic tone. And speaking of this album's tone, it has something really unique going on. Little streaks of darkness manifest here, minor passages, oddly textured moments, and unusual lyrical ideas here help counter-balance the aforementioned brightness here, resulting in a more complex, mature sounding work. I honestly consider a lot of these songs to be among my favorites: She Has Funny Cars, Somebody To Love, Today, Comin' Back To Me, and D.C.B.A.-25. And let's not forget the ending here. White Rabbit is an iconic piece of Alice In Wonderland inspired psychedelia, and Plastic Fantastic Lover has some of the most interesting lyrical and textural work on the whole album. I will say, I'm not as into My Best Friend or 3/5 of a Mile in 10 Seconds, but they don't really get in the way of my enjoyment of this album. I can absolutely see why this is considered the cream of the crop of the San Fransisco psych scene. This album is fascinating, well written, and it's aged well to boot.

At first, this may appear to be a collection of compellingly performed Blues standards, but I know know that most of the value of this record is in B.B. King's triumph of performance. This captures the magnetism of B.B. King as a performer, entertainer and even storyteller in a way that I'm not sure I've heard from another live album. Even the crowd noise reflects this, they are going *insane*, King clearly has them eating out of the palm of his hand. And I think his incredible musical performances are only half of it, the stage banter and chemistry on display here does so much for this album. I think this is best exemplified through the first 4 songs on Side A. King spends what would have been dead air between songs connecting the themes of the pieces, segueing, and addressing the audience. All while his band vamps, ready to hop in at a moment's notice. Honestly, this run kind of plays like a singular song. It really showcases how he uses the concert as its own art-form, with it's own, unique capacity for storytelling. Aside from his performance here, the selection of songs is great. A touch same-y, but he makes it work anyways. And it helps that the last track, Help The Poor, is one of the most unique pieces here. I don't listen to a ton of blues, and it's a genre that's kind of hit or miss when I *do* check it out, but B.B. King sells these songs like no other could, creating a truly great live album in the process.

Perhaps most well known for Smooth, which is a song that people who actually lived through the '90s seem to hate: Santana is a guitar God, and Abraxas erases any doubt of that. Here, we have a particularly exciting fusion of Latin rock and jazzy psychedelia. I'm honestly most into the more abstract cuts here: Singing Winds/Crying Beasts, Incident At Neshabur, Se A Cabo, Black Magic Woman, and to an extent, Mother's Daughter. These songs all showcase Santana's ingenius, atmospheric and tastefully restrained guitar playing. I would also like to make note of the spectacular percussion across these songs, which I think is consistently underrated. Of these songs, the atmosphere on Singing Winds... is incredible and kicks things of right. Black Magic Woman is an inspired cover of a Fleetwood Mac song, and Santana really emphasizes the spacey, mystical qualities of the original composition. Incident... is the album's jazziest moment, and Se A Cabo may be the single best rhythm performance on the whole album, sounding precise and dizzying. In a very different way, I also love Oye Como Va, which is an incredibly fun song, it makes me want to get up and groove. Out of what's left, El Nicoya is brief, but very good. And I like Samba Pa Ti, and Hope You're Feeling Better, but I've not decided how much I like them compared to the rest of the album. That being said, the whole package here is awesome, this is some incredibly unique rock from a very talented group of musicians. Also, the album art here is among the best, *ever*, just take it all in, holy shit.

This isn't exactly a new take, but wow this is smooth, and so sensual it's *almost* funny. But consistent songcraft and quality performances keep this ball of sex and grooves from falling apart. And the result is great, check out ...Til The Cops Come Knocking, it exemplifies everything this album succeeds at. My only real complaint is that it's a little long winded for what it is, but there aren't really any songs that are a total failure, so I'd really need to think about what would have to be cut. While I'm complaining, I must also say that, as a lesbian, the sex appeal of Maxwell is somewhat wasted on me, but that's not his fault. Plus, even if it isn't necessarily for me, the atmosphere here is kind of transcendent. This is really solid stuff, while listening to this I kind of learned that Maxwell seems sort of overshadowed by D'angelo, and from this album I couldn't quite figure out why. And, while I learned it's because Maxwell's career consistency isn't quite there, Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite stands strongly on its own as a self-contained statement.

This is kind of interesting but deeply flawed. This is basically a narrative spoken word/UK rap concept album/opera. The plot of A Grand Don't Come For Free is that our hero, Mike has a shitty day, culminating in him losing 1000 British Pounds. And on his quest to get it back, he falls in love, attempts sports betting, falls out of love, gets drunk, falls in love again, and more. The sound of this thing is kind of a mixed bag. First, the beats are generally good, if a little clunky. One of my favorites is the beat on Blinded By The Lights. Now, moving past that, let's discuss the real sticking point for a lot of people, the delivery and lyrics. The Streets' delivery is kind of baffling here. I said this was a rap and spoken word album, but I'd really like to emphasize the spoken word aspect. In fact, it's almost all spoken word. The delivery is low energy and conversational, and the flow is choppy and weird, which comes across as clunky. The lyrics are also weird, instead of more conventional hip hop poetics, the skew here is towards *very* literal storytelling, which again is clunky at times. And, this all compounds with the occasionally clunky beats. The overall project is so clunky, it's almost *blocky*. Like it damn near sounds stylized. And I could imagine this being a draw for *someone* but I'm just usually not into it. Although this has some positives, mostly related to the narrative and storytelling. The "common man's adventure" slant really adds something weirdly relatable. Like there's a mundanity here, but it very much works in favor of the album. And something else interesting about the narrative is how, without thinking, 1000 pounds, doesn't *feel* like that much money. But, really, most people wouldn't bounce back easily if they lost it. Like, I certainly just couldn't shrug off 1000 dollars. And the presentation of this idea almost gets to a kind of class consciousness that was pretty cool. I will also say that I liked the ending. The final song of this album has two endings to the story. First, we are presented with an ending where Mike is overcome with bitterness and gets into a fight with the TV repairman without learning a damn thing. But then we are shown another world in which he makes up with his friends, and they open up the TV themselves, discovering that the 1000 pounds fell into it. It's kind of obvious, but the presentation of it genuinely feels kind of sweet and I had a good emotional payoff even though I didn't love this whole album. Like I said, this is interesting but *deeply* flawed. And while I didn't love it, I am glad I heard it. And I am excited to hear more music by The Streets. I could even see this growing on me a little. But as of now, I just can't see myself giving this any higher than a 2.

Pearl Jam’s Ten Or How I Learned Stop Worrying And Love Eddie Vedder’s Drawl. I’ve never been as into Pearl Jam as I have been into the three other biggest grunge bands (Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Alice In Chains). To me, it seemed like Pearl Jam kind of bring out some of the country influence that the other bands in the scene seemed to flirt with. But consequently, it felt like they lacked some of the sludgy riffs, punk spirit, and queasy darkness that underscored the rest of the scene and really drew me in. While I still kind of feel this way, I get country now, and can appreciate that there’s more to Pearl Jam than I originally thought. For a band that was so small and young at the time, they really had a great sense for songwriting. When I looked down the track list, I realized I was intimidately familiar with 5 of the 11 songs here, just from hit status, rock radio, and pop culture. I can look past the overplayed status of songs like Alive, Jeremy, and Even Flow, and see the great tunes at their hearts which got them overplayed in the first place. As far as the other hits here go, Once is one of the harder rocking songs on here. And Black is beautiful and sort of haunting, one of Grunge’s best acoustic ballads ever. I was honestly surprised that the deep cuts here are also good. Why Go, Porch, Deep and Release punch with the other rock songs here. Oceans is more nuanced, and atmospheric. And Garden is one of my favorite songs here full stop, embodying a darker, more ominous tone than the rest of the album. I even learned to love (or at least cope with) Eddie Vedder’s distinct vocals, which I know turn a lot of people away from Pearl Jam. Yes, he spends more time drawling incoherently than saying actual words, but at least he’s got some style. His biggest crime is honestly making a generation of post grunge guys think that they were also allowed to do this kind of thing. Overall, I’d still say that this isn’t a favorite of mine as far as grunge goes. But I’ve learned to really love this album on its own terms in a way that I didn’t think I could.

Before this, I knew precisely one song form Aladdin Sane, the title track. Which I bring up just so I can emphasize how weird it is that the cover of this album may be the most iconic image of Bowie *ever*. I don't think this is one of the 5 most discussed Bowie albums, and I'm *pretty* sure it barely cracks the top ten. I'm not even really sure if it has any hits. Alas, it does have this one little undeniable cultural win, which is good for Aladdin Sane. That being said, after listening through Aladdin Sane, I could do to hear a little more love for it. This was released during Bowie's classic era, and it sounds the part. The problem here isn't even really Aladdin Sane's fault. It follows Ziggy Stardust, it would have almost been impossible to truly one up it. But, while this isn't quite as immaculate as Ziggy, the highs are still very much here, and the consistency is close. The songs I'm not that into here aren't even bad, they're just not as interesting as the strongest cuts. In my eyes, these lowpoints are largely the more straightforward rock tracks, in particular The Jean Genie and Watch That Man. Also, The Prettiest Star, which I'm just not sure drives its concept home. That being said, everything else here is a mix of fascinating experimentation, marvelously executed theatrics, and classic Bowie songsmanship. Songs like Aladdin Sane, Lady Grinning Soul, and Let's Spend The Night Together are driven by Mike Garson's ingenious piano playing which fades into and out of really fascinating freeform, almost avant-garde tendencies. He gives this album a character that remains distinct in Bowie's catalog. On the other end, Panic In Detroit and Cracked Actor are two more rockin' cuts that really work for me. Enough Bowie is injected to give them some real character. Lastly, Drive-In Saturday and Time are some of this album's moments of high drama. And it works incredibly well for both of them. Drive-In Saturday captures the spirit of Ziggy moreso than any other song here. And Time is Bowie at his most theatrical. If this kind of thing were attempted by anyone else, it would be unbearable. But Bowie's raw magnetism and ear for arrangement turns this into one of the best songs of the album. A little less even-keeled than Ziggy, Aladdin Sane forges it's own path. It embraces unique textures and ideas and delivers a collection of great Bowie tunes in the process. It isn't perfect, but sometimes "very very good" is enough.

Cool rock music from the lesser known corners of the 2000s garage rock scene. It’s got what you want, the riffs, the songs, the performances, but I just don’t know if it can stand up to the scene’s legends. But I am glad I heard it. I will note that the production here is kind of unique, so it does stand out of a crowd. A couple of favorites are Zuton Fever, Pressure Point, and Dirty Dancehall, but the country leaning stuff here is also largely cool. Probably not essential, but very cool! And I’ll leave it at that.

This is of spectacular importance to jazz history, but I just think it's pretty good. This is basically a collection of 78 rpm singles recorded by Miles Davis and a large, revolving cast of musicians. Considering this, Birth Of The Cool sounds very cohesive. At The End Of The Day, these are songs from the same era, with the same sound, and similar artistic mission statements. The singles chosen for this record are Miles Davis' earliest cool jazz recordings. Cool Jazz being a post-WW2 movement slowing bebop down, making it a little more accessible, and adding some new instrumentation. This album in particular is renowned for its unusual instrumentation, the inclusion of French Horn and Tuba being of particular note. The compositional style on here is also noteworthy. These songs all hover around 3 minutes (or shorter) pretty consistently, which was kind of out of necessity, given that they were originally on 78 rpms. But it does give Birth Of The Cool a really interesting brevity. It also showcases all the improvisation and density associated with jazz music in fascinating little bite-sized packages. But, for all of the interesting things about this album, I just liked it, I didn't love it. I enjoyed my time here, and can appreciate the listening experience from a perspective of historical significance, I just don't think I'm that into cool jazz. It's easy and breezy, almost to a fault. I think I just like my jazz to hurt at least a *little* bit more. But this is coming from an Ornette Coleman fan, so keep that in mind. Regardless, this was an interesting, quick, and broadly enjoyable listen. And if you really know your jazz, I'm sure you'll be more into it than I am.

Even if I shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, I see no reason not to judge a cover by it's cover. And the cover for Wish You Were Here is among the most striking and beautiful *ever*. Tender and earnest, but presented in a way that makes it appear deeply uncanny, solid 5/5. But now let's talk about the album. You can find literally any opinion possible published on the topic of Pink Floyd's run from Dark Side to The Wall. "Dark Side is overrated" "Wish You Were Here is Underrated" is just the start of it. Wish You Were Here has been underrated so long that it may technically be overrated now??? Then that may make Dark Side underrated. Then Animals is underrated, and The Wall was overrated, but now it isn't? Point is that these albums have been talked about to death, and I don't think it's possible to be underrated when a part of one of the most well-loved string of albums ever. But also, I'm pretty sure that doesn't really matter. For my money, Wish You Were Here is my favorite Pink Floyd album. Spacier than Dark Side, more compact than The Wall, and more personal than Animals, Wish You Were Here occupies a particular space. And while it's certainly not the most ambitious album in the run, I think it may be the most flawless. I can poke holes in the other 3, in fact, even though I love it, The Wall is *messy*. Wish You Were Here also holds the distinction of being the saddest album in the run, in my opinion at least. For those who somehow don't know, the legend goes that this album was chiefly inspired by Pink Floyd being visited in their studio by a disheveled, mentally absent incarnation of their former band member Syd Barrett. And if the material on here is any indication, the experience seems to have really weighed on them. In fact, reading the lyrics here, and even just listening to these songs, (with the exception of the funky, sarcastic takedown of sleazy music execs on Have A Cigar, which is as good as anything else on here) almost any song here can be read as a eulogy for the still living Barrett. Maybe most literally on Welcome To The Machine, the only song here that just *may* be underrated. The lyrics blatantly read like an "In Memorium", and the music, courting both coldness and triumph, sells the weight immaculately. Shine On You Crazy Diamond, cleaved into two bookends spells it out in its title. It's a celebration of someone flawed, misunderstood, and ultimately doomed to burn out quietly. It is also a piece of expansive, gorgeous space rock, which manages to justify its staggering runtime. And, for last, I have saved the title track. Wish You Were Here is one of Pink Floyd's warmest, most poignant moments. It is absolutely heartbreaking if you let it be. And it has been rightly celebrated amongst the band's strongest material for a hot minute. From start to end, Wish You Were here is beautiful and compelling. I really do think it's nearly flawless. It's just this perfect little gem that feels divorced from Pink Floyd's In-fighting, their fall from grace, and even, to an extent, its contemporary canon. It just feels like the band simply made an unspoken agreement that nothing could be as important as celebrating their friend, if only for an album's worth of time, and it has given Wish You Were Here a heat-shield of raw humanity. Truly beautiful.

There feels like there should be some cool stuff here, but it never really materializes for reasons directly connected to the cultural web of shit Duck Rock is embroiled in. From the research I've done, it truly seems that anyone unfortunate enough to interact with Malcolm McLaren feels slighted in one way or another. If you just give his wikipedia article a brief look, it seems that nearly every band who he was involved with felt mismanaged. He's not even a musician really, he's a businessman, an organizer and a curator, which is admittedly a kind way to put it. And this is his debut album. I think he does some vocals here, but aside from that, I don't think he contributes a whole lot. It feels like a DJ Khaled situation, where it's more that he uses his money and industry status to summon talented artists into a room together to make music for him. And that's on the songs where he isn't just ripping songs by African artists wholesale, slapping some percussion on them, and yelling a little (I'm not even sure if he's doing the yelling). Like even on "original" composition Buffalo Gals, someone else programmed the drums, scratched the records, and recorded a lot of vocals. And his part, as far as I can tell, is just yelling out squaredance calls. I even found an interview with Trevor Horn in which he describes the process of physically forcing McLaren to stay on beat to just record *this*. In fact, more often than not, it doesn't even feel like McLaren's really doing much that's transformative at all. Which compounds with the fact that this album was created without any attention given to ethics. McLaren manages to exploit the African artists he samples, the American hip hop artists he was working tangential to, and probably the studio musicians he gathered to pull it together. And just to set ethics aside for a second, he exploits hip hop for the first three songs, and it doesn't sound bad, all things considered. But then he turns to world music, and his laziness really hurts the album. The majority of Duck Rock feels directionless and sloppy. Who would have thought that when you rip a bunch of songs from people without doing anything transformative, the "collage" approach doesn't really work. Nothing is incorporated with anything else, a cohesive picture never forms. And any goodwill I feel towards this project isn't due to the contributions of McLaren. This has the distinction of being one of the albums to introduce Hip Hop to The UK, so it's place in the history books is set. But, even though I didn't hate listening to it, I'd honestly rather just check out the artists featured and sampled. Artists like The World Famous Supreme Team, Boyoyo Boys, Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens, The Roan Mountain Hilltoppers and any other uncredited contributors to Duck Rock. I'm not feeling particularly kind to McLaren: this just feels lazy, and we know he knew what he was doing, because he did it with punk a decade earlier.

I've heard this album talked up quite a bit, and while I don't fully get the hype, yet at least, I did enjoy this quite a bit. Here we have a combination of alt-rock, brit-pop, psych, house, and maybe even a little folk all mutated together and packaged for the '90s. I will admit that the sound here is pretty unique, and every song manages to hit a particular tone and kind of summery atmosphere out of the water. But this formula does mean that I think this album lacks a little cohesion on some level. It also means that there are songs here I'm just not into. But there's still cool stuff here. I think the first 5 songs are pretty tight, and probably the best showing overall. We have the bright, folk-y Movin' On Up, and some moments of almost trip-hoppy psych on Higher Than The Sun and Inner Flight. I'm not that into Loaded or Damaged, and I'm still undecided about Come Together, but we *do* have a good three song run to close things out. Like I said, I don't fully get the hype, but there's a lot of good here. It captures a different kind of '90s hit than we were really seeing at this time. I think there's like a Pitchfork review that claimed that this was the Yin to Nirvana's Yang. And I don't entirely see it, but it frames this in an interesting way.

In the world of prog rock, "irritating" and "actually really cool" are close bedfellows. And I don't think any album illustrates this more clearly than Fragile by Yes. The highs of this album are high enough that it really feels like the lows are an intentional decision to not make good music. To explain the structure of this album a little, there are basically 3 huge, epic songs, all of which incredible centerpieces: there is one complete, structured song that's a more manageable three minutes. But the other 5 songs, stringing everything together are all short sketches and experiments, each recorded solo by one of the band members. These songs are really a mixed bag. We start with Roundabout, a momentous accomplishment: prog at its coolest, and rocking a hell of a baseline. But then, we immediately follow it with Cans And Brahms, keyboardist Rick Wakeman's solo contribution to the album. It is an arrangement of several Brahms excerpts and easily the most deeply obnoxious moment on the project. This is prog is all of its stupidest glory, it gives goofy high fantasy vibes and I hate listening to it. Just two songs later, South Side Of The Sky even does the neo-classical thing a lot better, and that song is amazing, veering into the most atmospheric tendencies from classical music. *And* immediately after Cans And Brahms we get We Have Heaven from Jon Anderson, which is a much better little experiment. It has the cadence of like a sea shanty and the vocal layering is great. Then at the start of side two we get stupid again. Bruford's Five Per Cent For Nothing almost works, but it *is* obnoxious. Although it is a brief 37 seconds, which saves it a little. But it is followed by Long Distance Runaround, which I know is well-loved, but to me it just kind of sounds like Thomas The Tank Engine, and I can't explain it. The Fish and Mood For A Day both work, then we close with Heart Of The Sunrise. A really great song, it reminds me of the break in 21st Century Schizoid Man sometimes, and at other times it reminds me of Words by Neil Young. Regardless of this, it very much works. There are some great songs here, and at its best, Fragile embodies the best of prog, but it also indulges in the worst.

One of my slightly hot takes on Radiohead has long been that The Bends is a little overrated. Although, I think I can kind of see what its staunchest defenders see. The Bends is a unique transitional album for Radiohead, it captures a moment in time when they still had a foot in alt-rock and Brit-pop, but at the same time, the other foot was drifting into the heady, arty, forward thinking direction they would become known for shortly afterwards. The result is an album which retains accessibility and pop potential at most times, but which also isn't afraid to annihilate the boundaries of its base genres. And I'm not sure that anyone else has mutated hard-edged Brit-pop so deeply while retaining its core identity since. And this creates some really excellent music at times. The run of the first four songs on this album, from Planet Telex through Fake Plastic Trees is one of the strongest runs in Radiohead's discography. Although, I think Radiohead stumble a little bit on Bones and don't fully regain their footing until Bullet Proof... I wish I Was. But in between we still have some great moments. Like on My Iron Lung, which is one of the most alt-rock songs here. But when we hit Bullet Proof... Radiohead fully lock in and give a fragile, and incredibly beautiful performance. And they keep the momentum up. Black Star and Sulk are also beautiful (and very sad) in their own right. And if it feels like we are kind of building towards something, it's because we are. We close with Street Spirit (Fade Out), a bold and fascinating move that makes The Bends very soundly stick the landing. On an album with so many little positive, accessible streaks, ending with Street Spirit is a *statement*. This is one of Radiohead's coldest, darkest songs *ever*, and it seems to signify that Radiohead have finished their metamorphosis into the band that was about to record Ok Computer. I enjoyed The Bends a lot more than I thought. There is material here that is on par with Radiohead's best, and while they can't keep consistent the *whole* way, the missteps are all at least good songs. Even if you don't like Radiohead, consider giving this a listen, it's just different enough from what is thought of as their regular fare, by capturing a very particular moment in Radiohead's history, that it has something exciting and unique about it.

While the 80s aesthetic here is pretty dated, Tina Turner is still pretty incredible as a vocalist. Even though I'm not in love with the full picture here, I think it was objectively a successful way for Tina Turner to revitalize her career. It's simple, her soulful vocals are put on slick 80s pop songs, and you don't really need more than that. Like there were literally 7 singles off this thing, that's over half the album. In retrospect, there are some better and worse songs here. I can't stand the rain is particularly successful, the huge 80s drama is sold really well. I also really liked the title track, a seven minute long song from the perspective of a saddened, desperate sex worker; which was written by Mark Knopfler (he thought it was a song better sung by a woman, I think he should've went for it myself, but whatever). Tina Turner injects it with a power and resilience that makes the song a more rich, complex portrait than it would have been. There are also some interesting covers here. The cover of Help (by long forgotten underground legends, The Beatles), which is compelling, but a long ways from The Beatles' little musical cul-de-sac. Her cover of Bowie's 1984 is a little more faithful, and also compelling. This album is let down a little by being a product of its time. However, Tina Turner herself manages to hold it together with her incredible vocal talents.

Despite the pretty dated sound palette, a lot of Kraftwerk's music from the '70s has something kind of timeless about it. I think some of their earlier stuff has managed to age well in particular. The Man Machine does wear its age a *little*, but it has an excuse. This was sort of a break-out for Kraftwerk, and has proven to be *very* influential. The Man Machine adapts their earlier experiments with electronic music and synthesizer melodies into a collection of pop songs, ready for the dancefloor, or even the radio. It's the sound of a band growing comfortable within their sound, and pushing admirably into a new frontier. And I'll say, in its own weird, robotic way, this thing grooves. I don't know what this even means really, but the music here makes me want to dance like a funky little puppet. On side one, The Robots, Spacelab, and Metropolis are all true blue dance music. And we kick off side two with The Model, which is a *real* pop song, it is everything great about Kraftwerk, jammed into a digestible 3-ish minutes. We have like two or three *infectious* synth-lines across this song. It manages to perfectly convey both the glamour of the song's protagonist, and the satirical bitterness with which she is presented (check out Big Black's fascinating cover of this song too, it *really* works).After this, Neon Lights is not necessarily a favorite of mine, but it's undeniably impressive. And we close with the title track, which *is* a favorite of mine. Something weird I noticed while listening is how much the synth tones remind me of (specifically) Sega Genesis music. I'd say this is a good thing, generally; besides, this predates that by like 15 years, so this was still unquestionably ahead of its time. I maybe appreciate this more than I enjoy listening to it, but this *is* a good album, with some timeless tracks, and synth tones that still manage to conjure up a certain image of the future.

I think, to a lot of people, Frank Zappa himself may be the most difficult part of Zappa's music. Which is my theory as to why the largely instrumental Hot Rats is often considered his most accessible, and even his best by some. As far as I can tell, the trick to Zappa's music is usually that he composes some mind-bendingly intricate, jazzy, and enjoyable, experimental rock music: then he records vocals over top of it where he sings about piss jokes and fucking kitchen appliances. I suspect that this may be a turn-off for some people. So, without any vocals by Zappa, Hot Rats puts nothing in between you and the compositional ability, raw instrumental talent, and remarkable nuance that defines Zappa's best songs at their heart. The only track with vocals is Willie The Pimp, featuring the infamous Captain Beefheart, and that song is just sick as hell. Everything else here is just raw Zappa instrumental songwriting. And it really is something worth celebrating. The level of consistent songwriting, and compelling interplay between performers is incredible. Even at its jammiest moments, Hot Rats is focused and compelling. For being so intricate, it's shockingly emotive too. I'll simply say, this is an *easy* 4, but much like with most of Zappa's catalogue, I need to spend a little more time and dig a little deeper. I get the sense that this is the sort of album that just gets more rewarding on repeat listens.

When I first put this on, I kind of thought it was clunky and maybe even obnoxious, but I kind of figured out what was going on here. This album is often cited as "detached" and I think that makes a lot come together. Whether it be sex, home-life or whatever, Soft Cell stands at arm's length, observes, and makes slightly surreal jokes.And the stylized, ultra-low budget synths and clunky songs, paired with the dramatic, occasionally manic vocals largely sells it. And this lens results in even a song like Sex Dwarf being pretty good. The depiction of sexuality is sleazy and taboo, and it's sort of earnest, but it feels like it's earnest as a component of a larger joke. In short, the vibe is kind of strange, and I haven't fully unraveled the honesty and the irony here. Although, at times, I'm also just not sure that they committed to the bit enough. Whatever may be going on under the hood, this at least ends up as a cool, serviceable pop/new wave album, with hints of something a little deeper and stranger going on.

After his legendary stint in The Velvet Underground, Lou Reed went off to follow his own muse. And he pretty quickly found success with the Bowie produced Transformer. Transformer sees Reed's empathetic glimpses of life in the margins of society balanced with tight songwriting and a sleek finish. And it was enough that, at long last, he was making music deemed palatable by a more general public. In about a year's time, Lou Reed would come out with Berlin, and put a stop to that. Berlin is a fascinating record. As a rock opera, it doesn't shy away from theatricality. However, it's also unwilling to stop rolling around on the concrete. Berlin is a violent, strung-out examination of a collapsing relationship and its aftermath. This album sounds like it was constructed in the hollowed out corpse of glam rock. We hit big horn sections as often as we hit guitar and piano dirges about suicide, abuse, heroin usage, and familial separation. This is punctuated by Lou Reed's un-singing, which alternates between manic and just fucking empty. The resultant tone is almost indescribable. It kind of feels like a Bowie album died in a factory accident and went to hell. I listen to a lot of very depressing music, but this stands out in a really unusual way. I've probably heard sadder, if it must be a contest, but this feels like you're mainlining someone else's regret, embarrassment, rage, and shame. I'm not even sure that it really reflects well onto Lou Reed. The lyrics are dramatized, but not nearly as much as you'd want them to be. This feels frank enough that the topics at hand gain a unique weight. And even though, our characters are, generally, *not* great people, there are enough little flashes of empathy and relatability that they become complex and deeply tragic. When I started this, I wasn't sure if he was gonna pull it off, but Lou Reed keeps this all together with incredible songs as well. This probably isn't perfect, but it is a transcendent, haunting piece of rock's shadow-canon on its own terms. And I am spellbound by it in it's sad, strange ways.

Yesterday I got Berlin by Lou Reed: I think the generator is trying to send a message. I've spent my fair share of time with The Downward Spiral, and it's still fascinating that something this completely grim was a massive break-out. This is basically a character study about an individual representing all of Trent Reznor's aimless, impotent anger and worst self-destructive tendencies. Throughout the album, this character's rage and frustration are peeled back to reveal the sad emptiness at the heart of it all. Starting off, the oppressive world of The Downward Spiral is presented to us through four generational barnburners, before things shift a little with the chronically misunderstood Closer. To me, it's really about debasing sex beyond a coping mechanism, almost into a form of self-harm. It's here that we really start peeling the layers back. Some of the aimlessness, regret and alienation is laid bare before one final outburst of masculine violence in Big Man With A Gun. Then, following this, we follow the spiral to the aching, fractured Hurt, and it's implied suicide. Sonically, the textures of The Downward Spiral may be its single greatest draw. From the *searing* synth and guitar tone on Mr. Self-destruct, to the massive, bleak industrial soundscape on Reptile, to the eerie dance beat on Closer, these songs maintain distinct. Incredibly, the sheer knowledge of the equipment necessary to produce this is pretty much on display at all times. This album contains some of the most improbable and distinct synth tones ever. I think the biggest weakness of this album, generally is the lyrics. Don't get me wrong, a lot of Trent's best lyrics are here, and this album has its fair share of mantras and anthems. But on a song like Big Man With A Gun, he is almost *comically* on the nose. I will say, this album's sheer anger usually helps it out on this front. Even if what you're saying is a little stupid, saying it with conviction goes a long way. And this album has conviction in spades. I'm really trying to think if this deserves the 5. I think I'm gonna veer no, if only because the tracklist starts *incredibly* tight, and is observably a little less tight by the end. Despite that, this is a *very* strong 4. This may be industrial's greatest crossover with the mainstream, especially just because of how little Trent had to give up. This album is still *incredibly* personal, and its character portrait is uncompromised. One of the '90s most interesting moments for sure.

I like my metal, but Motörhead has never exactly been my drug of choice. That being said, they are still unquestionably deserving of respect. Now, the question remains, even if I respect No Sleep 'til Hammersmith, do I like it? Yes. Yes I do. Here, Motörhead is operating with such reckless abandon and sheer, vital energy that this kind of functions as a punk album. And while I don't love *every* song here, this energy brings a cohesive whole together, and it works for me. The best songs here are the highest energy Motörhead classics. Ace Of Spades and Overkill are particularly exciting. Both songs just feel like an explosion. That being said, assuming we're keeping it to the original 11 song release of this, there really isn't a *bad* song here. It's really just a question of which Motörhead classics I'm receptive to, and which ones I'm not. Anyways, I can understand the placement in the book. This is a great live document of a band during their best years *AND* this is a foundational text for thrash metal. Perhaps most importantly, it's also just sick as hell. Also, I just want to give a quick shout-out to Lemmy's bass tone, he was not afraid to *fuck* that instrument up. I'm giving it a very strong 3 for now, but if I develop a deeper love for Motörhead at some point, I may revisit this.

There are plenty of interesting ideas across this, and some really unique problems too. In short, this kind of has Dexys Midnight Runners Don't Stand Me Down syndrome to my ears. To clarify, I thought that album was very ambitious, very messy, and pretty interesting, but it was no where near interesting or out-there enough to justify how messy it was (I honestly had quite a few problems with that album, and I do think this one was a little better, but the point stands). The Waterboys were a London based-band fronted and formed by a Scottish man. And, if what I'm reading is true, Fisherman's Blues was inspired by a stint living in Ireland. Prior to this, they had some commercial success releasing a few new wavier albums. However, it seems that contemporarily, Fisherman's Blues was a little too big and weird for the public, and the critics were mixed. It re-centered their sound on Celtic folk, dense, traditional arrangements, and some pub rock influences. But, there are also 9 minute long songs, fiddle-dissonance solos, and a brief Woody Guthrie cover. It *is* messy, and it *is* ambitious, and it *is*, at least cursorily, interesting. I think a lot of the best ideas here are towards the front. The title track puts their best foot forward, with a compelling, original Celtic folk-rock song. And We Will Not Be Lovers is the most successful experiment with what I'm going to dub, "Jam-Folk". It's 7 minutes long, and it has no real chorus, but it *does* have several fiddle solos and the kind of meandering, interesting, song-long half-verse thing going on that reminds me of early Modest Mouse. And, miraculously, it works: mostly due to the song keeping up some really steady momentum. It is always going *somewhere*, even if you don't exactly know where. This also sort of works on World Party, but after this point, things fall apart a little. Sweet Thing is another 7 minute long song, but I don't think it keeps it together nearly as well, even though it has cool moments. And, unfortunately, And A Bang On The Ear is one of the low points of the album to me. It's 9 minutes long, and it feels like a war of attrition. The fiddle melody feels cheesy, and the song doesn't feel like it's going anywhere. And after this, The Waterboys can never capture the promise seen in the first couple of songs. When Will We Be Married is a neat interpretation of a folk tune, but aside from that, there's little else that does much for me (although The Stolen Child also has a couple of moments). I'm also notably not into their attempts to veer into Americana, of which there are a good few. This all together leaves me cold to a pretty substantial part of this album. I will say, there's enough here that I'm not going to write off The Waterboys fully, I get the sense they have other cool stuff. But the interesting to messy to spotty ratio on Fisherman's Blues is all off.

Hotly awaited, and critically acclaimed upon release, Konnichiwa seems to be a commercial and cultural resurgence for grime. Grime is admittedly not a sub-genre of hip-hop I'm especially well-versed in, but I have enjoyed some. While I'm sure someone more immersed in UK hip hop may get more out of this, I did think it was good. Skepta is charismatic, the beats are good, the features are cool, it's a great formula for an enjoyable rap album with catchy, memorable songs, and that's what I get out of it. Although I don't see the genre centerpiece that a lot of people claim this is. Some of the highlights here are Lyrics, Crime Riddim, Numbers, Man, That's Not Me and Shutdown. In particular, Man may have the best beat on the album, and Numbers' Pharrell Williams verse may be the best feature here. It's competing with JME's verse on That's Not Me. There a couple of tracks here that don't do it for me as much though. But there's enough good that I did enjoy the experience at large. This is pretty good, and I'd be interested in hearing more from Grime as a genre.

After Bowie’s weirdly productive, yet rightfully controversial “mountains of cocaine and fascism” phase, and Low’s stubborn, experimental brilliance, “Heroes” feels something like a reconciliation with reality. Joined by everybody’s favorite recurring character in ‘70s and ‘80s rock music(as on Low), Brian Eno, Bowie manages to create another masterpiece here. The glamour of Bowie’s early ‘70s and the mania of Station To Station can both be felt here, but the really unique thing Eno brings out of Bowie is art rock, experimental, and ambient work, all executed pretty incredibly. Much like it’s predecessor, Low, this is about a side of art rock, then about a side of more abstract pieces. But Heroes reels it in a little more, and isn’t afraid to deliver a hit or two. The title track is, of course, considered one of Bowie’s best, but the other Side A tracks honestly keep up. For the first side, detail is really the name of the game. These songs are constantly elevated by tiny aesthetic decisions and performance quirks. Beauty And The Beast maintains the appeal of Bowie's best glam rock, but with a much weirder slant. The synth lead in particular is *very* Eno, and it gives the song a lot texturally. Joe The Lion kind of feels like a hard rock song, but twisted up and spat out. The iconic "Heroes" really exemplifies the detail I mentioned. The quotations around the title say more than some full songs do. Additionally, it is the song where you can most clearly see what I think to be Bowie's defining vocal quirk on "Heroes", and it's his ability to really harness manic energy. Sons Of The Silent Age has some fascinating vocal processing and a fantastic, bitter-sweet chorus. I think it's one of the most earnest moments on this project. And Side A ends with Blackout, another song with a very Eno lead that ramps up the darkness a little before we enter Side B. At the start of Side B, V-2 Schnieder dips our toes in. The structure is much more abstract than anything else we've seen so far, but a relatively up-beat groove is there. Although this is followed by Sense Of Doubt, Moss Garden and Neuköln. This suite of songs flows into each other as a nearly uninterrupted piece. And this is some dark, sad, daring music. These songs are built out of free-flowing passages, dark motifs, and textural flourishes. Moss Garden is particularly beautiful and alien in my opinion, but Sense Of Doubt's phrases and Neuköln's sax is worth mentioning as well. After this, in another particularly daring move, Bowie ends the album with The Secret Life Of Arabia. I think in another's hands, this move could have been stupid, but Bowie really pulls it off. This song being as good as it is helps quite a bit. But, basically, we are torn away from the textural explorations, and delivered to funky grooves, detailed production and awesome guitar. Again, it's bold, but it does help you to return to life without just dropping you off in the middle of no-where. This is a stellar collection of songs, and this album is rightfully considered one of Bowie's best. The content here displays a willingness to explore, an ear for detail, and an artistic maturity that we can reasonably expect from Bowie's best.

This is a mix of sounds that have aged very well, and pretty badly in my opinion. Honestly, I had the toughest time with the first two tracks, but after that some more stuff started to click. In particular, I think the more garage, jungle, break, and trip-hop stuff has aged best. The more conventionally dance-y songs are a bit more of a mixed bag. Some favorites are Melt, Song Of Life, Space Shanty and Storm 3000. And I will also say that the way this uses samples, particularly percussion, is really cool. Also, in the world of UK electronic music, this is undeniably important. This had some collaboration with people outside of the electronic world, and so I have read, laid the groundwork for much of what came after it. Honestly, by the end of this I was pretty into it. Even for electronic, it's an album you have to learn how to fall into a little. But the trance-like grooves and varied textures won in the end.

I was just thinking about this album, as well as how I was nearly 200 albums deep without seeing any Dylan. The generator, with its mysterious powers prevails again. I've been quietly working on getting into Dylan for a while, with limited success. I actually like his voice, and I think a lot of his gold era lyrics are fantastic, but honestly, I'm just not always sold on the songs themselves. Although I will say that listening to this from front to back was very helpful, and I did *really* like a lot of it. Bob Dylan really is one of the great American poets, and the advice to take this as poetry first and music second actually does help. His verses are sprawling but detailed, full of as many panoramas as portraits, and his poetic voice is distinct and powerful. A lot of my favorites on here are actually the longer songs. On Like A Rolling Stone, Tombstone Blues, Ballad Of A Thin Man, and Desolation Rows, it's as though the world of his poetry unravels before you in real time. Every verse makes another connection, strengthens the themes, expands the scope, crystallizes the images. The way he writes really is incredible. In addition to this, like I said, I happen to like Dylan's singing voice. He's narratorial and emotive, and he really digs deep on his delivery. He has such a powerful grit and it sells a weight to his words. And while listening, I did kind of figure out the appeal of the music itself. From the rambling, laid back Like A Rolling Stone, to the stubborn, rickety train energy of Tombstone Blues. My single favorite song may be Ballad Of A Thin Man, the noir-ish, blues-y rock is a perfect complement to the cubist Americana of his lyrics. This whole album contains excellent folk rock. I'm listening again while writing this, and even songs like Queen Jane Approximately, It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry, and Highway 61 Revisited are growing on me. I've really considered giving this a 5: some of these songs are perfect. But there are still a couple I'm not sold on, like From A Buick 6 and Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues. But I do finally kind of get Dylan as a mythological figure now. And I will keep listening. Don't be surprised if this review gets an upgrade sooner than later.

A West Coast Hip-Hop foundational document, the solidification of "Gangsta Rap" and arguably the album that put Compton on the map. Straight Outta Compton's importance is inarguable. And it's still pretty great. The line-up here is iconic: Ice Cube, Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Arabian Prince, MC Ren, and DJ Yella. Everyone is in top form, The beats are amazing, with some proto G-Funk stuff and some stuff that almost reminds me of some earlier New York stuff. And every one brings something unique to their verses. Ice Cube is a highlight, his distinctive, agressive flows and intense delivery made him something of a break-out here. Although, I think Eazy-E may be the best rapper here. His lyrics are clever and playful, and his colorful flows and delivery ooze personality. It's also interesting to hear the little shouts to New York rap here. I particularly noticed some references to The Beastie Boys, and it feels weird hearing a West-Coast Hip-Hop album that's from before The East-West feud. In fact, this is from '88, and considering that, the flows and rhyming styles here are remarkably modern, or at least '90s. And the lyrics on here are really cool, lots of looks at Hip-Hop culture and facts of life from this album's place and time. Also, this *very* bluntly confronts racism in policing, and other forms of institutional racism in a really effective way. I can easily see why this became the progenitor of a whole culture of Hip-Hop. I have a couple of complaints though. Something 2 Dance 2 sounds kind of silly in 2025. And while the lyrics are largely cool, there is some stuff that hasn't aged all that well. I can largely view it as a snapshot of the time, but I Ain't Tha 1 is *rough*. This is Ice Cube's diatribe about not letting women take his money, and there's some *nasty* content. He's kind of sort of trying to play it as a joke, but he sounds so *fucking* mad about the topic at hand that it can't really read as anything but vitriol towards women. Bringing up this sort of thing is always kind of exhausting because it feels like arguments about the misogyny present in Hip-Hop are often co-opted by people who are actively trying to enforce negative stereotypes about black culture, and this ironically means that women still lose by being made into ammunition. Especially because it feels like a lot of people are still willing to hand wave the misogyny present in other forms of music, like rock. But regardless, there is still a culture of misogyny in America, and I really do think something like I Ain't Tha 1 directly contributes to and enforces this culture. But I digress, this is still a really great classic, with prescient lyrics, great beats and lots of personality.

James Brown's music works best for me when he's at his highest energy. So, while Live At The Apollo isn't necessarily the bag I reach into when I want James Brown, there is still an undeniable importance to this album. This may even be better as a document than an album. The atmosphere of the concert experience is captured perfectly. There's just enough imperfection, and energy crackling around here. And the, almost rhythmically, *screaming* crowd here is one of the most important parts. People go crazy for James Brown, people go crazy for the "emcee", people go crazy for the band, and sometimes, it feels like people go crazy for nothing at all. But point is that the crowd is into it. It really captures the phenomenon that James Brown was. I'll also say, the way he blitzes through songs is *improbable*. Most of these songs are under 3 minutes. Except for the 10(!!!) minute long Lost Someone, the medley, which is sort of cheating, and Night Train. And a lot of these songs are a lot of fun. I will say that for its length, Lost Someone manages to not overstay its welcome. It helps that this album is so brief as is. This is like 31 minutes long. A Third of it is Lost Someone. Another third is The medley and Night Train. Which means that the rest of this album fits into like 10 minutes! It's almost a punk rock move. And the sheer tightness of the band helps a lot. I've heard that James Brown was almost impossible to work with and I believe it. I will say, for as much of a strength the brevity is, it's also kind of a weakness. This album doesn't have much weight as it passes through my ears. But, as I said, what is here is strong. Even though this isn't what I'm necessarily looking for out of James Brown, it is utterly successful in its goals.

I forgot when this came out: Tracy Chapman's music feels like it would almost make more sense in the landscape of the '70s. But this came out in 1988 in the world of late-era synth pop and hair metal. But maybe that's part of the reason her incredibly earnest self-titled singer-songwriter album is so refreshing. I've not heard any Tracy Chapman song other than Fast Car before this, but that song is so good it only makes sense that she has at least one great full-length. I think this album's greatest strength is its astute social commentary. Chapman very smartly centers her observations on systemic injustices with respect to the sadnesses and frustrations of daily life. Just look at deeply sad, utterly improbable ultra-hit Fast Car. Ultimately, this song is kind of about the desire to escape from your situation, only to find yourself a victim of the same forces acting generationally to suck you back in. But its rendered so tenderly in its characters that it has a life entirely it's own. And I think much of this album is this astute and nuanced. I'd like to make special note of weird acapella song Behind The Wall, which is about the frustrations that arise from interacting with a police force who's job isn't *really* to protect the public. If I have anything negative to say about this album, it's just that I think there's a *small* drop in quality into side B, but songs like Why?, She's Got Her Ticket, and For My Lover manage to be compelling regardless. This is a really great singer song-writer album from someone who I think is unfairly kind of thought of as a one-hit wonder. Most of this is just as compelling, well-written and astute as Fast Car.

Not bad per se, and kind of a cool secret, but the theatrics are a bit much. Ackles strikes a balance on four or 5 songs here, and I really like the title track, but sometimes, I just *can’t* do it. Like, the music plus his Sinatra crooning makes this sound like it’s off Broadway sometimes Oh, California! in particular is kinda insufferable. I guess I’m glad I know about this now, and it’s cool to see what else Bernie Taupin is up to, but I just don’t think I’ll be revisiting this.

A late-ish career achievement from Ellington that I enjoy, and appreciate, but that I personally only get so much out of. He’s really flying the big band jazz flag high here. And it’s a real accomplishment of the form. The band’s mechanical tightness matches a willingness to improvise that exemplifies the best of what this style of jazz can give. And there are some really incredible woodwind passages too. I just don’t have a ton to say, it’s another wildly important, fantastically made jazz album that I just haven’t developed a full appreciation of, and that’s it.

Talking Heads helped lay the groundwork for New Wave, then refused to follow the genre to it's conclusion, instead deciding to follow their muse and become one of the most interesting bands of their era. Fear Of Music sees the band in a unique position. Talking Heads have one foot in '77 and More Songs... and another in Speaking In Tongues, but you can also see how they're slipping into Remain In Light on the way. The result may be the band's most eclectic album. We have more conventional "hits" like Life During Wartime and Heaven. We have the kind of jittery, angular punk-funk we've heard before from Talking Heads like on I Zimbra, Mind, Paper, and Cities. And we see Talking Heads pulling at the strings a little: figuring out how to deconstruct their music on songs like Animals, Electric Guitar and Drugs. This particular string of songs was among the most abstract, cold, and deeply weird music they'd ever put out at the time. And across the record, the band is in elite form. Everything is sold with a rare tightness and style, and David Byrne tap dances through the mazes of intricate, percussive melodies and abstract textures. The paranoia, mania, and anxiety of his delivery really comes through here. And this is another example of how much of a great lyricist he really is: straddling the mundane with the deeply abstract, he paints strage, alienating portraits. I haven't decided if this album's scattershot approach speaks to me on the level that something like Remain In Light does, but their are a few songs on here that are nearly perfect to me. Life During Wartime is a driving, funky tune, with some of Byrne's best ever lyrics. The content is so literal that it's almost surreal. Cities is a fantastic piece of "classic" Talking Heads. Memories Can't Wait embraces a strange swagger that distinguishes it in the band's discography. Then the run from Animals to Drugs is just so intriguing, exciting and daring. While not my favorite from Talking Heads, this is a really amazing project, and it's unique weirdness will probably grow on me. These songs are incredibly infectious and I can only imagine that I'll be returning to this one.

This is alright, the songs are fine, there are some decent lines, and the production is well done. But this album is operating around an indie-niche with so many great albums that I can afford to be a little picky. The sound here reminds me of Destroyer moreso than anyone else, it's pretty much exactly what I think of when I hear the phrase "adult alternative". The components here are largely good, it's just that they aren't combined in an especially inspired way. Honestly I thought this was just kind of boring, if fairly pleasant. But there are so many indie/alt-country/alternative albums that are more interesting and memorable than Nixon that I struggle to put it on the list of recommendations.

The sheer amount of acclaim that this gets is kind of baffling to me. Don't get me wrong, I actually thought this was really great, and as far as I'm concerned, this is approximately tied with Pulp's Different Class as my favorite Brit-Pop album I've ever heard. But I've seen people argue that this is a top ten album ever, and I've seen other people argue that this is their favorite album *ever*. And I have to wonder if I'm missing something, or if I need to give it more time, or if I'm simply not British enough for this. Although to these peoples' credit, something here is interesting enough that I *do* want to keep coming back. There is something to these songs that is *infectious*. For example, from the first time I heard I Wanna Be Adored to now I like it a *lot* more. It's slightly ominous lyrics also add a lot to it as well (I don't have to sell my soul, he's already in me"). I'm not exactly sure how to describe the dominant sound here, but it is very much a Brit-pop album from the 90's. It has a Beatles-esque understanding of pop, heavy inspiration from psych, and it's willing to bump shoulders with dance music. But I think the more distinct influences here go over a lot better than on most of Brit-Pop. Songs like I Wanna Be Adored, Waterfall, and I Am The Resurrection are very successful adaptations of psych for the 90's. Although, I am a little mixed on the album's most extreme psych-experiment. Don't Stop is kind of, sort of Waterfall played backwards, and while it sort of works, and is, in fact psychedelic sounding, part of me still thinks this is kind of obnoxious, but this is probably the album's lowest point, so it could be a hell of a lot worse. I also think The Stone Roses' flirtation with dance music is way more successful than the genre at large. For the majority of the album, it's there, but it's always in the background, quietly informing the album's feel and momentum. But it does break through on the epic Fools Gold in pretty glorious fashion. Aside from this, another favorite of mine is Made Of Stone, which drags in a tasteful hint of goth. And the rest of side B is largely as consistent as anything else. The more I talk about this, the less I find to complain about it. A lot of the songs are just that good. I may be slowly figuring the appeal out here, so I'll be sure to update at some point, but for now, I'm still giving this a very strong 4. This is some of the most exciting, well-executed, and interesting Brit-Pop I've ever heard.

Hmm, well, I have no idea what the fuck this is. That cover art, and that band name, and that album name sure are arresting. I honestly don't know exactly what I was expecting, although if you forced me to guess at gunpoint, I would have said "weirdo prog rock". And I would have been close, at least in spirit. I think this is like contemporary classical/avant-pop, and as it turns out, that is a combination of things which, at least superficially, resembles prog. The more I investigate this, it feels like the less I know. I guess Eno was involved in producing this: on some level that just makes sense. But Who's Zopf? I guess only a few tracks here were by the Penguin Cafe Orchestra proper, and some truncated form of the group wrote and perfromed a lot of the material. I've even seen conflicting info as to who even made the cover art. And this is all on top of the music sounding the way that it does. But is it good? Yeah, I Think so. A lot of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra songs end up kind of lounge music-y, but it works on Penguin Cafe Single, and The Sound Of Someone You Love Who's Going Away And It Doesn't Matter pretty well. The avant-garde slant is still there and the lounge feel ends up colliding with some really discordant ideas, and it's really interesting. However, I think that Hugebaby and Chartered Flight are a slog, and this could have done to end after The Sound Of Someone...It Doesn't Matter. This album to me is honestly kind of cemented by the Zopf stuff though. Most of side 1 is the Zopf material, and it consists largely of short audio experiments and compositional ideas. The rapid fire nature of this part of the album, coupled with its weird and wonderful nature is pretty compelling. A couple of (admittedly pretty beefy) slogs aside, this is a really cool piece of lesser known 70's avant garde stuff. I don't known if it's the sort of thing that everyone needs to hear before they die, but it did enhance my life. Definitely check this out if you like Eno too, he produced this, and he's got some fingerprints all over this thing.

The reggae rhythm that we drop into immediately here is like a bullet to the head, and these vocals on top of it is like feeling the bullet come out the other side. And no, I don't know exactly what I mean by that. I don't even feel comfortable saying it's bad, I feel better claiming that this feels like staring at the sun. Despite being, theoretically, easy listening, something about the presentation of this just stupefies me. This sounds like the members of Wham were put into a trash compactor and polished into a single, perfect cube. This band's spotify biography reads like a combination of an essay on Scott Walker and a eulogy for a controversial politician. This band was founded by a leftist thinker, linguist, and underground artist who became progressively more interested int absurdly polished pop music. The lyrics here maintain the interest in linguistics and politics, but also try to be sexy with it. Like this sounds like a joke. Although after sitting on it a little, I think it’s kind of good? The tone and writing here has something stylized and ultra angular going on, that actually kind of makes the absurdly clean presentation make a little sense. Sometimes it’s cool, but sometimes it just sounds like the most “pop” music anyone has ever made. It gets a low three for being weirdly compelling, and for just existing in such a fascinating way. This was unexpectedly interesting, and maybe, just maybe there’s a post-modern masterpiece somewhere in here, but if so, I also must say that it probably isn’t for me to find.

I don't believe I hadn't heard of this, just on principle of its incredible popularity. Upon doing research, I have found this to be one of the most popular albums *of all time* in the UK, where it spent a cumulative 176 weeks on the top 100. It's an awfully unlikely hit too: White Ladder is a home studio folktronica album that dropped uneventfully in 1998. But two years later, it got re-released on Dave Matthews' label, and then simply became one of the most successful releases in the history of The UK. I can not fathom what would have changed in those two short years: but whatever happened, it's written into history now. And I think it's pretty good too. I have had an interest in folktronica, so I was pretty excited to delve into this. I don't get the sense that this is the perfect execution of the genre, but it *is* good execution of the genre. With the added bonus of being (seemingly by accident) the full realization of the genre's commercial potential. I thought the incorporation of electronic elements into folk music was largely effective here. And I think the atmosphere, and breezy, almost slightly ethereal sound is the main draw here. It's a great album for going on a quick autumn walk, which is exactly what I did while listening to it. Something pastoral and naturalistic is deeply rooted in the sound and it just feels right. I do think this dragged a little as it was winding down, but a lot of the positives remained throughout. It's cool stuff, I just can't see how *this* became one of the most popular albums ever.

While this benefits from being a little more concise than In Rock, I also think it lacks some of that album's proto-metal muscle. But there's still penty of hard rock swagger, and the riffs and solos are great. There are 3 all time genre classics here: Highway Star, Smoke On The Water, and Space Truckin'. Smoke On The Water has one of the most iconic, recognizable riffs *ever*. But honestly, this album is pretty consistent. I don't have a lot to say, it's another Deep Purple album which added to the foundation of hard rock and heavy metal. I prefer In Rock, this this has plenty of its own merit.

This seems sort of cool on the surface, but it kind of just ends up decent. It's kind of hard to pinpoint everything that goes into this sound: there's some alt-rock and electronic and psych. But it's more helpful if I were to just say it sort of sounds like if The Flaming Lips were a little less interesting. I will say, this didn't leave a very strong impression on me, but it is pleasant while it's on. There are some neat moments, but a lot of this doesn't feel like it's executed in a particularly inventive or daring way. That being said, even if Rings Around The World is not an especially interesting album, Super Furry Animals do still seem like a kind of interesting band. Read this as a low three.

Le Tigre, fronted by Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill merges an early '90s riot grrl/punk sound into alt-rock and electronic, ending as a kind of energetic, feminist dance punk. Perhaps more impressively, Le Tigre managed to do this without sacrificing the grit and legitimacy of earlier riot grrl. As such, Le Tigre is a joy to listen to. As catchy and infectious as they are righteously angry: there is an alternate universe in which this served as the template for punk moving into the 2000's. The electronic inspiration is really well-executed, reminding me of the sound that bands like Yeah Yeah Yeahs and !!! would fall into later. Kathleen Hanna's vocals manage to shoot straight to the front of the mix no matter what's happening. She has way more vocal power than you may assume. And these songs are all pretty great. Great writing, in your face commentary, and sardonic humor run as a throughline here. And just when you start to think you've had enough barnburners, they take the sound somewhere more eclectic on songs like Friendship Station and Dude Yr So Crazy!! and keep it fresh. I also appreciate any album that celebrates queerness this boldly. This album is exciting and driving from front to end and it serves as a great continuation of the Riot Grrl sound.

This is a fantastic execution of the combination of soul, funk, jazz, rock, prog, reggae and more. From the band I only knew from Lowrider, no less. The most impressive thing about it is how coherent a sound they pull together here, and the variety they manage to drag that coherent sound to. The Cisco Kid was an unbelievably fast inductee into the "best songs ever list", taking on a South-Western affect and funk groove that sounds super unique. Where Was You At is some ingeniously composed, soulful funk music. Beetles In The Bog is a shorter take on the more abstract, jammy songs here. And speaking of the jammier songs. I think they are keeping this from a perfect 5. Don't get me wrong, they're all good, they may even all be great. But they are all a *little* overlong, and it adds up. That being said, my thoughts on this will probably change eventually, and War, and all 7 of its members at the time really pulled something off here. I am extremely impressed, and this is a very high 4.

Several members of Blur have gone on the record to say that they wanted this to be their American Rock Album. And you can hear it: grunge, alternative, indie-rock, and more. I guess Pavement was a big touchstone, which tracks. This album has a lot of the lower fidelity, quirky, texturally inclined indie stuff going on. And a song like You're So Great pushes it far enough that it almost sounds like a Guided By Voices song. I'd say this was a success overall. The core of Blur's brit-pop sound is very much here, but the indie aesthetics come through very clearly too. And it doesn't sound super disingenuous or put on either. They even scored a couple of hits in Beetlebum, and more notably Song 2. Beetlebum is one of the more British songs here: I believe it's a Beatles tribute, and it sounds it. On the other end of things, Song 2 is basically grunge: it's pretty much 100% fuzz, grunge attitude, and punk songcraft by volume. After this, Blur is pretty good. A lot of unconventional song structures and experiments with texture abound here. Most of them are very successful, from the aforementioned You're So Great's lo-fi pop, to the fuzz punk of Chinese Bombs, to the songs here that get a little trip-hoppy. I do think this could've been cut down a little, and every song does not feel essential. However, the consistency is generally there. A couple of neutral notes: it's interesting that a lot of the styles Blur is lifting from American bands here is from 5-ish years before this came out. It worked with their sound well, but it kind of does feel like Blur are playing cultural catch-up a little. Also, this was marketed as their weirder, more adventurous, "scarier" comeback, and I don't fully see it. I think this lands squarely into pop-rock, even with some of the weirder ideas, and I would be interested to hear these ideas pushed farther. Which, admittedly, may be what Blur offers on 13, which I should probably check out. Even if this isn't exactly what I was looking for, it was a cool step for Blur, and it largely paid off.