This is music for people who have much more interesting lives than myself. I mean, I like it...I'm just not sure I'm cool enough to listen to it. It reminds me of people who are also super into Japanese culture as if that's not totally obnoxious.
God dammit. I know I'm supposed to like Lou Reed. But I just don't. I also don't like Velvet Underground. There. I said it.
Still very listenable. This album made me want to be a pop star when I grow up. I was so close! It's true, there are some bad tracks. Otherwise, would be a 5. I had this on vinyl. I remember being obsessed with the liner notes, but was disappointed to learn that Michael Jackson didn't necessarily write his own songs. Lots of cool robot voices on PYT.
I don't mind the Talking Heads but I just don't care for David Byrne.
I decided this was five stars as soon as I heard the first note. I've never been into Def Leppard, but I'm feeling nostalgic today and this is hitting the spot. The only thing I don't like about this is that I wasn't at their show at the Summit in 1987. Can you imagine the backstage debauchery?
Prince has never really been my jam and never will be. But the greatness of this album simply cannot be denied.
I do not like this. It's interesting that it contains so many elements of a kind of music that I really like but somehow the way this is all put together just does nothing for me.
They remind of the Velvet Underground. They also remind me of Railroad Jerk if Railroad Jerk wasn't trying so hard to be hard to listen to. It's fine. I want to give it 2.75 stars but I guess I'll round up.
I had a lot of trouble getting into this. Like we were saying, it sounds a lot like a Wu-Tang album, which is great. But I guess because of that it didn't really grab my attention. Again, would really like to give this 2.5 or 2.75 stars.
Obviously, this is not my thing. And I won't be listening to this any more than I will be listening to Dolly Parton. But it's great music and she's got a great voice. Respect.
Always felt like David Bowie was just a little before our time and so I never really got into him. But this is a great album.
This was a little tough to listen to while working, probably because I can tell that it deserves more of my attention. This is what more popular music should sound like. Accessible but intricate and interesting. Though Thom Yorke's voice does grate on me after a while. I want to give it 3.75 stars.
Eternal Life is a great track. His voice is wild. Probably won't come back to this, but this was definitely fun at times. His voice is a bit much for an extended listen. I don't know...I might come back to it. It's so over the top.
This was released five years before we were born. Crazy.
The transition from Black Sabbath to The Wizard is nuts. The blues influence is so front and center.
This is an album that I wish I could experience for the first time back in the day when it was released. It must have been wild to hear this then.
I've never cared for REM. Michael Stipe's voice just does not appeal to me.
I had no idea Kool Keith was on this album. I thought I was going to like this more than I did. It's very listenable and it's got some cool beats. But it does get a little bit forgettable in the middle. I don't really know the history behind these guys, but I suspect that "real clubbers" back in the day probably thought these guys were a watered down version of the stuff they were listening to.
I enjoyed this way way much more than I thought I would. This is the first album from 1001 that I saved to my library.
Solid 90s sweaty rock and roll. No complaints, but sometimes Josh Homme's stuff starts to sound kind of sameish after a while. I like this, but given a choice I'm fine with just listening to Kyuss. I want to give it 3.5 stars.
This did almost nothing for me.
60s folk rock has never been my thing. Don't think it ever will be.
I almost never find myself wanting to listen to Radiohead, but they are a great band. I enjoyed this one more than Hail to the Thief. He sounds like Billy Corgan on the first track.
Great album. Not necessarily something I will listen to regularly but I enjoyed this.
Not sure why, but this didn't grab my attention as much as I was expecting. Strangelove is the stand out hit for me. A lot of it blended into the background for me, though it was still a good listen. I've spent a lot of time listening to Violator which resonates with me much more strongly for some reason. I definitely want to give it another listen.
I put in a little extra effort on this one. Gave it three listens. Never not liked it, but it mostly ended up as background music. I really like the first track. If I try to put myself back in 1975, I think I can see how this would have been exciting.
I enjoyed this way way more than I would have guessed. I guess I'm not really aware of Chic, though of course I know Le Freak. I could listen to that bass all day. Despite not being my thing, I plan to check out more. Must have been fun hanging out with them at Studio 54 back in the day.
This band and The Strokes are in the same bucket for me. Those 2000-2010 rock bands which made perfectly good music but just didn't/don't grab my attention for whatever reason. I liked the acoustic tracks at the end much more than the rest of the album. 2.75 stars.
Great album that I've never listened to all the way through. I thought I would lose interest by the time I got to the last few tracks, all of which have much much fewer listens on Spotify. Turns out those were some of the best tracks, including the ska track! I love hearing her punkish roots on this album, particularly on the last track.
This was a more challenging listen than I would have expected. Gave it two listens and I couldn't really get into it at all. I guess Joni Mitchell is just not my thing.
I gave this two listens. It didn't really rise above background music for me, but it was fine. I'm vaguely curious about some of his other music just because there's SO much of it spanning so many decades. Might be interesting to see what other kind of styles he picked up. Glad I listened to it.
Ok, so this album. I just never got into these guys at the time. And I haven't really since. I think the main reason I just never got into them is because I felt like the people who were listening to them were...assholes. Even just hearing that intro on the first track instantly makes me think of jock dickheads. Either that or annoying stoner dudes who wore aggressively ridiculous pants. But this is a great album and I enjoy listening to it now. These guys really managed to stay in everyone's good graces despite being total dicks when they were younger. With all that said, 20 tracks is a bit much. There's a little bit of fat here that could be trimmed, which would make this a solid listen from start to finish. Who was with me at the Fireside Bowl when we saw whatever-band-that-was and Mike D was there?
This was fine. More jangly and upbeat than I was expecting. Didn't quite grab my attention but was easy to listen to. Probably won't revisit.
I've never liked Paul Simon and this listen did not change my mind. Maybe it was overexposure to Call Me Al in my formative years. Just got so tired of that song and his voice.
There's so much saxophone on this album. I enjoyed the start of the first song. Then the second track kind of ruined it for me and I never recovered. Did not like.
I thought "Make Over" was a cool track. It was the only one that really caught my attention. Lots of attitude. Sounds like it could be very easily covered by a punk band with a lot of success. Interestingly, it has the least number of plays on the entire album.
Needless to say, I wasn't listening to a lot of this stuff in the early 2000s, and the passage of time has not increased its appeal. There's no question she's got a great voice, but...it's still pop. 2.25 stars.
I think you just had to be there.
Never really listened to these guys before and I wasn't able to give this as much of my attention as I wanted to. But I really liked what I heard. Unbelievable energy. I'll revisit this. I don't think I'll ever really get into them because they're just a little too far before my time, but I'm glad this came up. Hard to believe this was recorded in the 60s. 3.75 stars, rounding up to 4.
Never much cared for Elton John. This was not as irritating as I thought it was going to be. Would be interesting to be Elton John for a week in 1971.
This falls under the heading of, "music that is old enough that to me it just kind of sounds 'old-timey.'" I'm trying to imagine if someone said that about music that I grew up with and how old that would make me feel. Point being that I have almost no frame of reference for how this stands out from other music from the time. I enjoyed listening to it. Beautiful voice. The scatting sounds almost...quaint? Would be interesting to spend a week as Sarah Vaughan in Chicago in the 50s.
Great album. Kind of blends into the background after a while. Definitely sounds like it came from the 90s but it holds up real well. 3.75 stars.
I said I would give this five stars and I'm sticking to it. BUT...this is kind of awful. In a great way? I imagine that while he was high with his buddies, someone suggested kind of jokingly that he should go into the studio and record his take on a bunch of sometimes-forgettable standards, and he was like..."why not?" And so this totally harmless album was recorded and yes, it's totally fine. And terrible. And great. I don't know why this needs to exist. Anyway, it was just what I needed at just the right time. Willie is a good guy.
Some of the bass lines on this album are so wicked. Colony especially got my attention. Nothing complex but just so effective. I think I'm in the minority when I say I don't really care for Ian Curtis' voice. But holy crap, is this good music and so clearly influenced so much of what we have been listening to for much of our lives.
I couldn't care less for this music. It sounds like absolutely nothing in the background. I barely even noticed it was on.
This is it.
This is the album.
This is the album that I had to hide from my parents.
This is the album that was released at just the right time in our angst-ridden teenage years.
This is the album where every listen was a cathartic release of that bottled up angst.
This is the album that I heard on tour and learned how intense and exciting a live show can be. The noise, the sweat, the lights, the energy.
This is the album that absolutely destroys from start to finish. The dynamics change so much from song to song...some big and loud, some barely audible, yet every song is powerful. One low spot for me is Closer, and that's only because it got overplayed so so so hard. There might be a couple other things that could get picked apart a little bit, but I don't see the point.
Maybe it's not THE album that changed how I feel about music. I'm not sure there is one single album that can claim that title. But this is definitely on the very short list of those that truly got me excited to hear more, see more, and feel more music.
Jesus, this album.
I'll bet it would be difficult to be Trent Reznor for a week in 1994.
The whole time I was listening to this I could not help but be reminded of those late 2000s era hipsters in Logan Square. Those dudes who walked around in tight jean shorts and a tank top with cheap plastic sunglasses. Probably a mustache and sockless canvas shoes. Maybe even a sweatband if they were trying too hard. I don't know if this was the band for them, but it made me think of them. I never really got into this band. The music is good; some nice beats. Vocals/lyrics were a little bit annoying at times. I won't add it to my library, but there's a decent chance I'll listen to this again sometime when I'm making a big salad. 2.95 stars.
I enjoyed this. Nice and chill. Not sure it's one of the greatest albums of all time, but it was a good listen.
Turns out I have no idea who Dusty Springfield is.
I really couldn't get into this.
Rod Stewart is a total cheeseball. I'm giving this a solid three stars because I happen to know from experience that The Man puts on a great live show and gives it his all. But no, this is not getting added to my library.
I thoroughly enjoyed this. Never heard of these guys before. When the album art came up, I assumed it was some kind of metal. Very easy to listen to. Added to my library.
I've obviously never listened to the Beach Boys before. This was moodier than I was expecting. Less bubble-gum. I almost got through a couple of listens...feel like I need one more to make better sense of it. But I don't think another listen will make me like it any better. Not for me.
Never got into the Pixes, but I appreciated them much more on this listen. I think it's a little too late for me to really get into them, but I've added this to my library. Will plan to revisit.
I can see getting into these guys in the right setting or at the right time. But didn't do it for me right now.
Update - About halfway through the album now and I'm definitely tired of it.
Update - Almost done! Can't wait!
Going into this, I thought it was one of those albums that is just non-stop hits. There ARE a lot of hits on this album. But holy cow, side two of this becomes forgettable very quickly. The hits were huge, but I don't think this even compares to some of their earlier stuff. It's fine, but I won't be coming back to it.
This was a great listen. Always been kind of confused by this band and where they lie in the history of all the music we've been listening to for the last several decades. But it's cool how much you can hear their influence in some of the funk, punk, ska and even alt-country bands that have followed them or played alongside them. Good stuff. Long album, but it didn't bother me too much.
This worked out just fine for me. I had a boring 35 minute drive to get through so I put on this 25 minute long album. I didn't mind it. I'm not going to be coming back to this, but it was a perfectly enjoyable listen. The never-ending harmonizing in the background gets a bit tiresome, but I guess that was just what they did at the time. Buddy Holly was great. I'll bet it would have been fun to be him for a week in 1957.
Queen is so weird. Sometimes their songs are just so weird and irritating, but people love them. Sometimes their songs totally rock out and I also love them. All the respect, but I just found out this impossibly irritating.
I can't find anything bad to say about Fatboy Slim. He seems like a fun guy. He just wants to make fun music and his music *is* fun. I don't often find myself thinking that I want to listen to Fatboy Slim, but when I do it's always a good time. I'm sure it's always fun to be Fatboy Slim, regardless of the decade. That floppy disk, though.
Not sure what it is about this that screams 90s, but it took me back, even though I never listened to him back in the day. This needs more of my attention. Added to my library and will revisit.
I'm so used to the hits that it's almost hard to believe they had any other songs. So from that sense, it was kind of refreshing and not as painful as I was expecting to hear something different. But there's no chance in hell I'll revisit this. Our collective cultural experience with that godforsaken movie and the overplaying that followed completely burned me out on this band. There's no need to consider what it must have been like to live Jim Morrison's life back in the day because that has already been covered extensively.
This was the album I bought in my 20s when I was trying to deal with the fact that I had never really listened to the Beatles. I tried to get into it but never really did. I still don't really care for it, or for the Beatles in general. I recognize it as a great album, except for that number nine garbage.
I guess I don't know much about Culture Club. I thought this was going to be more dancey, more fun, maybe even edgy. But it just sounds like cheesy 80s soft rock. Didn't do anything for me. Definitely won't revisit. I'm sure spending a week as Boy George in the 80s would be messy.
This was a great listen. I'm adding it to my library and plan to come back to it. It's so easy to hate on ska, but not this.
This is a classic album, even though for me 1984 is always the first Van Halen album I think of. It's a good time, and I don't mind it at all. And holy crap that logo...I can almost smell the iron-on t-shirt at the mall. But it sure is cheesy and over-polished, and maybe that's a good reason for punk kids from the 80s to reject this music. 50 years later, this holds up surprisingly well, but realistically I probably won't be revisiting this any time soon. I cannot even imagine what it was like to be a member of Van Halen in 1978. DLR is basically waving his dick around on the album cover.
If I ever travel to India, I hope to have the opportunity to hang out in a village somewhere and listen to a band shred on the tabla and sitar. Otherwise, I'm afraid I will not be listening to this at home. Reminds me of the time I tried to convince myself that I was into Ravi Shankar because some dude who knew a lot more about music than I did worshipped him. Oh well.
This was fine. To me The Cars are just so defined by their hits, which I'm so tired of. I think I just missed the boat on this band.
I'll always have a soft spot for Joshua Tree because it's the first album that I listened to on repeat over and over and over on my little yellow Sony boombox, but I'm pretty sure this is U2's best album. The raw energy that comes through in this record is so palpable. Bono is so intense and the band sounds so much more mature and purposeful than they do in their first couple of recordings. This is the sound of a band that has something important to say and is still hungry for an audience. Listening to it after all these years is still fun. There might be a weak track or two, but I don't see the point of naming them. This album is solid, SBS is an epic opener and 40 is an epic closer.
If I could choose to be one of these dudes for one week in the 80s, it would definitely be Adam.
Wild. I'm having trouble reconciling the way these guys sound with their appearance (was band practice before or after their Dead Poets Society meeting?). This must have been so edgy back in 1965. I love all the wailing and the lo-fi grit. Really sounds like these guys just wanted to jam and have a good time. The lead track, "The Witch," was definitely a standout for me. The darkness and moodiness...it really sets the tone for what garage rock evolved into. And then they get into some of those covers which aren't bad by any means but not as much fun; they give good context for where these guys are coming from.
The cover of "Night Time is the Right Time" was a little distracting, though it sounded great. It just made me think of Bill Cosby, which is never fun.
I have absolutely no idea what it would have been like to be one of these guys in 1965. If I had to choose one, I suppose it would be the dude with the fuzzy sweater and the bowl cut. He looks like he's ready to kick some ass.
Taken on their own, not everything on here is worth listening to. I'm not going to fire up "Vera" because it's a great song (it's not). But obviously that's not the point, and I'm not going to take away points because of that. While it's true that I almost never listen to this anymore, it does hold up very well, and for me it's probably the most obvious example of a concept album that works. "Comfortably Numb" in particular stands out as a great track, deserving of it's stand-out status on the album behind only *that one other song.*
Lots of people were stoned when they listened to this. And if you ever watched the movie, you were almost definitely stoned at the time. If I spent a week as any of these dudes in 1979, I probably wouldn't remember any of it now because I was too drugged out.
Fun anecdote: Ben and I saw these guys on the Division Bell tour back in 90-whatever at Rice Stadium. During Another Brick in the Wall, it started to rain/thunder/lightning like crazy (like it only can in Texas). The thunder and lightning somehow managed to hit right at all the climaxes in the song (at least that's how I remember it). By the end of the song, the stage was starting to collapse and they had to call it. It was such a dramatic end to the show, that it almost wasn't disappointing that it had to end early. Good times.
This wasn't as much as I was hoping for. The hits are great without a doubt. The rest of the album.....not so much. I think it was "I Believe" that really turned me off. 2.49 stars.
This wasn't quite as painful as I thought it was going to be. There are some hooks here that I don't mind. But no way am I revisiting this. I can't really deal with how the vocals sound on this album. And that cover. No.
2.49 stars.
This is the album that got me into Johnny Cash. I really wish I could have seen him before he passed. What a missed opportunity.
This is an epic live album. The mood is so intense. You can hear how starved-for-entertainment these guys are; they're so happy to be having a good time, and their vibe is infectious. All the between-song banter is great, especially the bit about the cup of water. And then at the end they bring up the warden and everyone boos him, and the album then just kind of ends unceremoniously as everyone is dismissed to go back to their cells.
It would've been great to be in the crowd for thi----actually, maybe not.
Not sure what to say about this album. It just didn't hit me at all. Maybe I need to listen to other DS albums to see what the fuss is? Or maybe it's just not for me. 1.51 stars, rounding up to 2.
I've resisted getting into the Pixies for some reason. Not sure why. Every time I've listened to one of their albums it just hasn't stuck with me, and I think to some extent they started to fall into that category of, "I'm just going to decide I don't really like this band mainly because everyone keeps saying I should like them." So Frank Black sort of fell into that same category. But I like this album! A little long.
Pretty easy to listen to. I like the little bits of funk here and there. Why does it seem like I like funk more than I thought I did? Kind of unsettling somehow. I wish I could give this enough of my attention to get a better sense of what she's singing about.
Surprising amount of instrumentation here for what appears to be a singer-songwriter album. Could do without the sax.
I mostly tuned out for the second half of the album. Nonetheless, I could tell that what I was hearing was heartfelt and well-crafted.
Lots of intensity here. I really don't care for "Bobby McGee," probably because I've just heard it so many times. But this album has a lot of energy. You can feel how intense she must have been live.
Of all the tracks, "Mercedes Benz" really caught my attention. Despite it's kind of silly lyrics, it does an amazing job of showcasing her voice, which is awesome.
Realistically, I won't revisit this, otherwise it would probably get five stars.
This was fine. Feels like you really need to listen to it in the context of the movie to better appreciate it.
Let's go, H-town. This was way more tolerable than I was expecting, almost enjoyable. I like the lo-fi album cover, the relaxed drinking-at-the-bar vibe. It feels very authentic to me, like you're just hanging with a few dudes from Texas (not always a good thing). It does make me curious if their later stuff is a little more polished or even glammy. Realistically, though, I probably won't dig any further into their catalog. Glad I listened to this, though. Solid 3.49 stars.
I would happily spend a week as one of these dudes hanging out in Houston in the early 70s at some dive bar. Probably on Westheimer next to a field full of cattle, in someplace that is now considered the "middle of the city," surrounded by parking lots and strip malls.
Hard pass. I don't really know how to get into the right mindset to appreciate this. It didn't annoy me, so at least two stars, but otherwise didn't care for it.
I enjoyed this. I think to really appreciate this album, you have to be young and drunk and reckless, but nonetheless it's still enjoyable from here in my suburban bedroom.
I enjoyed this quite a bit. I guess this is the experience I was hoping for when Culture Club showed up, just 80s-tastic fun. I saved this to my library and will probably revisit this. No idea though if their later material will hold up...I may give it a try.
I didn't hate it. I actually saved it to my library, but realistically I'll probably never come back to it. He wasn't as mumbly as I was expecting...I guess that came a little later. He does do words pretty good. 2.51 stars.
I liked this. At times, I felt like I was having a profound cultural experience, other times it kind of sounded like I was in a cabaret somewhere in New York. "One More Dance" was hilarious.
Lemmy would not have given the slightest shit what I think of this album. Nonetheless, five stars. Minus one star for Jailbait because I'm a dad. Four stars.
Many years ago, I was at the grocery store and I nearly ran into some kid who was with their mom. I said, "whoopsie, excuse me!" And in that moment, I just really wished that I could have been someone else. And I imagined that if Lemmy almost ran into some kid at the store, he wouldn't have said, "whoopsie!". He would have looked at the kid and just snarled. And the kid would have run away crying. And sometimes I just wish I could be that guy. At least for a little while. I think about this particular scenario more often than I would like to admit.
Most humans would not survive spending a week as Lemmy in the 80s, or any other decade.
I like Wilco. They're always a good listen. For whatever reason, they do tend to fade into the background for me, but only in a pleasant way. Rarely do I intentionally seek them out. Not sure why. 3.49 stars.
