I appreciated the danceable beats on some of the tracks, but felt pretty lost on the majority of this album.
Listened to a lot of Peter Gabriel growing up. Solsbury Hill will always go hard.
I generally like jazz and jazz-adjacent things, but this was not my cup of tea.
If Jack Kerouac had a guitar, his name would be Bob Dylan.
I really dug this album. Surprised I had never actually listened to it before. Reminded me of early Radiohead in a way? Excited to dig more into the QOTSA discography.
Total dad rock. But for all the times I’ve heard Money for Nothing in my life, I guess I’ve never actually looked at the lyrics? Not wild about the f-slur, but at least there’s the recognition that the arts are important and the gays will always be cooler than you 😎
As a lover of riot grrrl/ female-forward punk, it’s a treat to revisit Patti and be reminded of her influence. I went back and listened to some Bikini Kill and SleaterKinney afterwards and kept thinking “yup, they got that from Patti”.
Since we’ve been listening to a lot of 60s-70s classic rock lately, I was able to pick up on a little bit of the Doors and Bob Dylan in Patti’s music as well. It’s all connected, folks!
Listened to this in the car on my way to D&D last night to get myself hyped for the fight that was about to go down. I arrived feeling energized and reckless, which is the intended effect of arena rock imo.
Man, I love the Talking Heads. The whole thing feels big and dancey when the lyrics are, in many cases, bleak. It feels like Byrne is challenging you to pick one- the dark reality he’s painted in his lyrics, or the energetic beats he’s enticing you with. Best example of this is “Life in Wartime”. The lyrics are bone chilling, and listening to this song while watching the protests in LA (fuck ice) feels surreal. But goddamn if that song doesn’t make me want to get up and dance.
Fear of Music, indeed.
It was fun, but I think I might be hitting a little bit of classic rock fatigue. Lets get some variety!
Their sound has the same kind of whimsical feel as Sufjan Stevens and I dig it. The Sound of Someone You Love Who’s Going Away and it Doesn’t Matter was probably my favorite track.
Classic example of don’t judge an album by its cover. I didn’t look at the genre before diving in, and was expecting something much more upbeat. Was surprised to be met with Decemberist vibes and a little bit of Americana twang.
An undeniable classic. I have such a vivid memory of watching the Work It video on TRL and then begging my mom for hip hop lessons.
5 stars by default because it happened on June 22
Everything about this album feels grand- from the big band stylings on the front half of the album, to the swelling orchestra on “tell me you’ll wait for me”. However, all the theatrics are dull compared to the raw emotion carried in Ray’s voice. He brings life to the lyrics, and everything else is just there to compliment it.
Thundercat lays out his dreams, insecurities, fears with brutal honesty in his lyrics. At times, it feels disjointed and rushed. I wish that he would take a minute to linger on an emotional note or a beat, and spend some time “in the pocket”- easier said than done. This album covers so much ground with so many different genres and guests (hello Kenny loggins?) but it wasn’t the tour de force that it could have been. Which is a shame, because it is funky as hell.
They did it! They played Freebird!
One of my favorite albums. “Lost Cause” was on heavy rotation during my angsty teen years. I once heard someone refer to Beck as “Bob Dylan for millennials”, and while I hate that phrasing, I think that there are certain undeniable parallels between BD and Beck that make his music timeless.
Tipping my cap to Ben Wyatt on this listen. A good portion of this album was on Parks and Rec in some way or another. Aside from that, it was decent, easy listening. Nice to hear something other than losing my religion
A coming of age album for both the artist and listener. I was surprised to learn that this was Lauper’s debut album, because it contains most of the work that I define her by. It’s fun to hear her experiment with that 80s synth sound throughout the album, and use her vocal chops (hello breath control!) to drive a song home. Girls just wanna have fun will never get old for me, and has never wavered in being a uniting, feminist anthem while keeping its sense of whimsy.
Further reading: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun is also a delightfully cheesy teen dance movie from the 80s starring SJP. By no means a cinematic feat, but was frequently rented by me at the local blockbuster.
Im not a Coldplay fan, but tried to come in to this with fresh ears and an open heart… but nothing stood out to me? It just all kind of felt bland and commercial. Especially compared to everything else we’ve listened to, this didn’t present itself as a musical feat.
How it felt revealing this album: https://youtu.be/bJGcASPRu0Q?feature=shared
I tried to make it though the extended stuff, but didn’t quite finish. Still, it was such a fun listen.
Nothing like some 70s punk to get your day going…
The standouts for me were Lexicon Devil and What We Do Is Secret. Personally, this isn’t an album I can listen to front to back without it feeling monotonous, but I could see myself enjoying a song or two if they came up on a playlist. I’m surprised that I had never heard of Germs before, because they feel like the Avengers of rock music. Produced by Joan Jett, Pat Smear on guitar, Belinda Carlisle joining in the later years… like damn.
Hello, old friend…
I found this album in college, ten years after it came out, and it carried me through so many highs and lows. It’s both rough and demure all at once. I’ve never felt more badass then when I was stomping across the quad in my combat boots and army green jacket, with this blasting in my headphones. I’m happy to say it still holds up. And the spoken word in “Little Acorns” does still make me cry a bit.
Me and my brain cells vibing today: https://youtu.be/DTfBIMK8JZ4?feature=shared
A fun little listen. Because “Let’s Get It On” is so well known, it’s a little comical to hear it as track 1. However, it really set the tone for an album that explores love and intimacy on both physical and emotional levels. The influence is obvious- I was constantly reminded of Prince and Thundercat during this listen
There are a few albums on this list that make me question if I really need to hear them before I die.
This is not one of those albums.
I tried, but I just couldn’t get into this one.
When compared to Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, this isn’t my go-to choice for an Elton John album. Tiny Dancer will always be a classic, but I didn’t find any new favorites on this album.
This album came at the perfect time- the temperature dipped momentarily from 90-something to a crisp 78, and the residents of Sacramento collectively exclaimed “It’s Fall!” These are the songs that make me feel like I’m in a Norah Ephron romcom as I’m doing the most mundane tasks like doing the dishes. Describing these songs as “home” like the artist sought out to do, feels appropriate. These songs invoke the feeling of your favorite worn leather arm chair. Familiar, but never unwelcome.
Kinda spooky, but didn’t hate it. It is, however, glaringly obvious that I am not nearly goth enough to fully enjoy and appreciate this album. I’ll work on that. 🖤
