My dad used to play this album on our annual family road trip to Florida during the first week of February as we retreated from the cold to escape somewhere warmer. No matter how often I return to listen to it on my own I find it to be straight forward and comforting. However, I will refuse to acknowledge that my preference for it is completely skewed by nostalgic bliss, but instead as I listen to it now as the summer heat relentlessly blasts 100°F temperatures I will unabashedly rave about this album and the sounds of Van Morrison as being about the joys of life during summer.
I too often unfairly dismissed Franz Ferdinand as a one hit wonder due to the degree Take Me Out overshadows their entire discography, but the album as a whole does stand up on it's own and features a few other songs that can match it.
Not impressed by this classic rock album. For some of the slower songs I did enjoy the sounds of folk rock allowing for the lyrics to shine through and to create moments of thoughtful reflection. Sad Memory was a standout. But I just could not find myself interested in this as a whole. Buffalo Springfield remains a one hit wonder to me for For What It's Worth with only a few other songs I would want to revisit.
each song is too long and unnecessarily drags on just for Jimi to make every second a vanity project for him to show off how amazing he is at playing guitar
One of my favorite live albums. The live audience is great.
At the beginning of this album I thought about how it is a quintessential example of a punk album that on a modern day relisten comes off as no longer being relevant when comparing it to the genre as a whole after it's release, even if it was transgressive for the period it was released in and for the genre it pioneered it has an undeniably impactful legacy. But in 2025 listening to God Save the Queen and Johnny Rotten yelling about England's fascist regime it continues to feel pointedly sharp in it's continued relevance.
One of my favorite atmospheric albums ever, it perfectly captures a sullen melancholy mood in a setting that feels like a dimly-lit smoke-filled cocktail lounge.
I needed an excuse to listen to this album because it's not my favorite Kanye album and I rarely revisit it, especially because of how long it is. I was excited that this was the album of the day giving me the excuse I needed. But relistening to the album my experience was aligned with my expectations, and I feel justified I am hesitant to listen to this without an excuse.
After spending time as a producer hidden behind the curtain, Kanye's ego forced it's way out in a debut album that solidified him as one of the greatest rap producers of all time, and kicked off his career as the rapper unafraid to write the corniest lyrics of all time. College Dropout is a sneak peek into everything Kanye will do in the future: an album that drags on, music where I get bored and irritated wanting it to end, songs with stand out production, songs with surprising instrumentals and excellent production that I never noticied before when listening closely, Kanye showing his genius in good ability to know who to collaborate with to make a song really stand out, Kanye lyrics being annoying, Kanye lyrics being clever, Kanye lyrics being funny.
However, I'm at my happiest when the album is finally done and I can move on to something else. Rating 4 stars because 3 is an injustice to Kanye's production.
In January 2021 I only gave this a 3.5, but I really enjoyed it on relisten so it deserves a 4. I'm not well versed in jazz for it to be higher, though, or to provide a more thoughtful review.
enjoyable Bob Dylan album
This had some good droning guitar sounds. I like the album cover.
second half gets a little boring but instrumentally Lou Reed and John Cale aren't pulling any punches to help create that perfect mix for haunting pop sounds as a backdrop to Nico's voice
3.5 but rounding up / I like punk music, but I have a hard time thinking that I'll come back to revisiting this album. It lacked any feeling of a wow factor. Listening to the first two Bad Brains albums before this I did find this album to be more succinct in its sound, though, and one of the reasons I rounded up instead of down for it felt like an exercise in reaching what might be their peak.
Enjoyable pop punk. I listened to this on a road trip and when Boulevard of Broken dreams came on my wife pointed at it and said "that's me!". I then told her she is "lonely edgy angsty teenage wolf meme". The use of the f-slur and the r-slur is sooooooo early 2000s I love it.
https://x.com/MarkRonson/status/1288485122732326917?s=20 // My friend stereotypes The National as being "sad dad music.” I tend to agree. High Violet is a stark example of the band's place in the pinnacle of Pitchfork's indie rock fever, and their sound is forever marked as being that of an aging millennial who’s reached parenthood. But by the circumstances that I exist, with having to attend high school during that period of time, early 2010s indie rock will always be one of my favorite genres. Terrible Love is a standout opener for me. Afraid of Everyone’s shoegazy instrumentals pulls me back in, and Bloodbuzz Ohio sends me goosebumps throughout for its poignant reminder of my upbringing. However, besides that, the album overall does get a bit boring throughout with a certain tone of melodrama that isn't quite dramatic enough for me nor self-deprecating enough for me to empathize with it's monotone. However, I thoroughly enjoy The National’s unreluctant assertion of their roots and a sound that sounds so specifically dated from 2010, because it's better than the alternative that Spotify and Big AI proposes in 2025 - that of generic sounding singles that blend together for the purpose of being thrown on a playlist to be listened to completely in the background. The National, whether you like them or not, has stamped their sound on culture to the point that even Taylor Swift is recruiting them.
An album i'll permanently associate with /mu/, the greater general terminally online internet music community, and Kanye West. It's awesome nonetheless.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BW92t264eBM
the album as a whole, but especially Peking O, made me feel as if I lived in an alternate universe while simultaneously making me feel seen and understood when reflecting about how I feel living in our given society today, really awesome and cool and fun stuff 👍
it was fine. i listened to their first two albums prior to this, and Green River _did_ feel notably more engaging than the other two, but I don't know if my perception was pre biased by the fact that this album was the one for 1001 and not the other two. all three of them were around a 3, this one might be the best but still not good enough to rate up. Bad Moon Rising is fun tho.
First song on the album was the start of the letdown. Even with my penchant for poppy New Wave, both the single and the album as a whole wasn't quite the right mix of dark synthwave for me to feel like this was going to be spectacular. I did like some of the haunting synths on Despair. The All Tomorrow's Parties cover was ok in general, but I love the original so much that this was also more of a letdown. Overall the production value sounds nice, but nothing stands out too much on a single listen.
A perfectly appropriate cold weather album, feels very cozy adhering to the stereotypical "coffee house" music with warm vocals and acoustic instrumentals. I made myself a cup of tea to accompany the album. I think my mom had this on CD at some point in my life so I tend to associate the album with "mom pop." Don't Know Why and Come Away With Me are great singles. The album as a whole becomes monotonous throughout though. Rounding up from 3.5 to 4 because I personally enjoyed the slow-paced wistful atmosphere the album creates.
