I recognize the artistry and contribution to Hip Hop, and the rhyming was quite impressive. However, this just isn't my cup of tea, personally, and none of the songs really grabbed me.
This was a 3 at first; although in the first half you can clearly hear the influence Depeche Mode has had (especially on Lady Gaga with "Strangelove," but also Muse, the Killers, about a dozen other indie rock bands, the entirety of Techno...), I have to say 80s synth is not my scene.
Things got way more interesting in the second half, though, with "Stjarna" and DM's take on "Route 66" being particular favorites of mine. "Pimpf" was also a unique standout, reminiscent of dramatic music soundtrack, although I don't know how I feel about it being heavily inspired by Wagner. Beethoven, of course, gets a 5 for his composition.
In the end, 4 stars overall.
I will say that this album feels very ahead of its time, and I know that it's later songs and acts that build on this one, not vice versa. But it was just very meh, especially in comparison to R.E.M.'s later songs. Nothing stood out. Theoretically I like the genre and style, but I can't tell you anything about what I listened to.
Honestly if there were half stars, this would be a 2.5 because I didn't mind listening to it. There just didn't seem to be much to this album other than historical significance.
Didn't mind listening to it, and "Black Magic Woman" is a great song. But it turned out to be more boring than expected. At least it was short.
Things I was not expecting to hear on a Neil Young album: Battle 2 from FFV.
Things I expected to hear, based on other reviews of this album: Neil Young's Kermit the Frog voice. (Sadly, there was no Muppetry here.)
Things I did not hear: Any melodic standouts. Disappointing for an album that featured the London Symphony Orchestra on not one, but two tracks.
Inoffensive listening for the most part, but I'm actually quite disappointed. Thought I was going to like this one more.
What is this wannabe Brooklyn-ass nonsense.
It was fine. Message In a Bottle not enough to bring the meh up in this album... I never really liked it, compared to some of their other stuff. Just not my thing.
Noah Kahan gets four stars.
The Beach Boys have some catchy tunes and a very distinct sound and harmonization. On paper I really should like them — and I do love a number of their songs. But while I'm not usually a lyrics person, there are some questionable, misogynistic, and frankly bad lyrics on this album. So much so that this got pulled down to a 3, when it could have been a 4 or even 5.
So I did some reading on this album, because otherwise I didn't understand its inclusion on the list. And well, respect to Devo for being angry leftists churning out satire. They get an extra star for their Ramones-like vibe. Unfortunately, the thing about satire is that it has a tendency to fall completely flat if the context is not present... And in this case, not only has the context not been preserved, but it has all aged like milk. If I can't listen to a song in public (and I'm pretty sure, for example that the term "Mongoloid" has been out of fashion since before I was born), I don't think it belongs on a list like this anymore. But maybe it's just too deep for me, and I'm the de-evolved one.
I can hear the influence of this album, but apart from "Where Is My Mind" the vocals make for a challenging listen. Fun guitar, though.
I never knew I needed the Beatles doing 90s boy band vocals over medieval bhangra, and yet apparently I do. A pleasantly easy listen filled with interesting compositions. Some hits, some misses, but this album was far better than expected (although disclaimer that I'm a sucker for both orchestras and the Beatles sound). "Your Dictionary" lyrics were so awful, they actually became entertaining. I'm actually kind of disappointed they're not properly on any of the streaming services.
Some fun guitar riffs (which then reminded me of Guitar Hero), but ultimately this is not my thing. It wasn't completely bad to have on in the background, though.
It was... fine. I could see this being played at a wine bar. She has a lovely voice. Nothing, however, stood out. She gets three stars for the vibe.
Highway to Hell was fun. The rest of it was similarly high energy, but nothing else really stood out. This one is a high 3 star.
"Can't really sing" singers don't really do it for me.
If I can borrow one of the words used in this album: it's doodoo.
Not what I would have personally chosen to listen to, but I hear the heavy influence it's had on later music, and it had my kid dancing.
This was a waste of the instrumentals (which are what get this its second star). Though at least Van Morrison didn't use the word "doodoo" in his lyrics, like the guy two albums ago. I think.
This was my first time actually listening to Black Sabbath, and I gotta say, this wasn't remotely as corrupting or frightening as all the breathless evening news reports made it sound. I'm honestly disappointed; I was expecting Satan in his palace of brimstone and instead, I even got a song that was Satan on holiday in Spain.
Outside of that, though, this was an oddly enjoyable listen. RIP Ozzy.
Another meh album, but Layla gets it an extra star. Not really incentivized to go higher since Eric Clapton sucks as a person.
Black Hole Sun is such a good song.
It was fine. The melodies were pleasant to listen to, even though I'm not usually a fan of country (or country hybrids).
Stars for being different from the dad rock that we normally get. That said, I was hoping to like this a lot more than I actually did. It was a bit boring.
90s Skrillex and his weird noises meet the one-man version of several group acts, many of which didn't exist until after this album came out. I guess that means Beck's really a visionary, although based on what I've read about him and the creation of this album, he's probably the kind of genius that smears himself with cake and films himself doing interpretive belly dancing to an internet dial-up sound (I mean... he ends this on "Computer Rock"...).
The songs are all over the place, and I don't know how I feel about the whiplash going back and forth between styles between each track, but I didn't hate it all. I actually like a few of the songs. Personal standouts were "Derelict" (reminded me oddly of Muse if Muse did anything with sitars) and "Jack-Ass" (but I guess I'm too smooth-brained to get why it's called "Jack-Ass").
This is definitely one where my rating went up over time.
I'm not a big jazz fan, but this album was nice background music at dinner. And Miles Davis is a legend.
Meh. It was fine, but halfway through it started pissing me off that this list managed to find the dad rockiest counterculture ever. So it lost a star.
I happen to like music that sounds like a video game soundtrack, but I do have to wonder why this album made the list. I'll probably annoy someone by saying this, but this might actually break the list-makers' "no classical music" rule; it's hard to bucket this one into a genre but I think an argument can be made for modern classical.
Sigh. Had to find a random upload of this album on YouTube to avoid giving this guy any money, since I've never actually sat through one of his albums. Pretty clear he's always been full of himself, because this album is way too long. Anyway, I've never been super interested in him, but he's got some zingers in the lyrics, and he's incredibly influential, so a very conflicted 3* from me.
It was fine. I'm always down for some loud guitar, so I had fun, but I just don't see what's so special about this one.
This album doesn't have my favorites on it, but they get brownie points for outing cheating executives.
I think I just don't get jazz.
I didn't hate it. But I didn't love it, either. As a fan of later electronic music, though, I have to rate it on the more generous side.
This is the musical equivalent of those endless loop videos of spirals at the modern art museum.
Is it too much to ask that these albums contain music?
I really tried to like it, but I suppose it's not my thing. Kashmir has a cool intro; that's about it. I'm told I should recognize the guitar talent, so 3* it is.
Is this what it feels like to be forced to listen to Axe Body Spray: The Album?
I got to Jailbait and just... Oh no.
I don't know if I'd listen to this one from start to finish again (because it's just a tad too weird for me), but they did some cool stuff in here. Definitely an album of its time, complete with the beep boops you'd expect from the early Internet days. Standouts for me were The National Anthem, Motion Picture Soundtrack, and Idiotheque.
No soundtracks means no soundtracks. The album was inoffensive but utterly unremarkable... why is it here?
"I Want You to Want Me" and "Surrender" are a catchy vibe. But this recording is ass.
WTF WAS "KIM."
***
OK I thought about it more. It's kind of like reading the Unibomber's manifesto. There are parts where you're like, "Wow, you're definitely a genius." But then the whole is like, "The fuck is wrong with you?"
I'd like to go back to only knowing his greatest hits, please.
***
Comments before "Kim" came on:
To be completely honest, if I didn't know this was Eminem, and if I didn't already like some of his "milder" songs and know that he's not the persona depicted in these songs, I would probably have been freaking out the whole time and given this a 1.
As it is, the violent misogyny and bigotry in the lyrics is hard to get through. It reminds me of the angry, outcast white boys in middle school who loved Eminem, and makes me wonder: were these their true thoughts? Did Eminem give voice to what they really wanted to say? Or worse, did he plant this anger in them and others like them?
But that just makes Eminem an extremely accurate (and therefore disturbing) mirror or engine -- or both-- of our broken society. And there's an artistry in that and his mastery of language, even if I hate what he's saying.
I need some more "Respect" in my life, but this album was fine.
Someone said this was like the Beatles x Monty Python. That's not necessarily a bad thing. It was fine. More interesting than a lot of the albums on here.
A couple of the songs weren't bad, but what is with this list and shoving singers that can't sing at us?
An extra star for a couple bops, and I'm a sucker for that '80s sound. But no more, because he sucks as a person.
It was fine, but the songs got way too long.
I don't get it. Did my streaming service go out of tune?
A couple catchy tunes here or there. It's fine, but didn't really stand out.
Always pleasant to have Frank Sinatra crooning in the background, but I prefer his earlier stuff.
Definitely more folk than country, which is a good thing in my books. Nice to have on in the background.
The opening riffs of Iron Man will never fail to psych me up.
Hmm. Needs more extended roars to be worthy of Aggretsuko's karaoke. ⟨ꐦ৲`⌂´⟩⁋
I like the genre and the artist, but this album isn't their peak.
Look, my taste in Western music is whiter than the freshest of virgin snow, and I love Simon & Garfunkel. But the pretentious interview on side A and the random mishmash of previously released songs on side B is not what I came for. Give me one of their actual albums.
It was fine. +1 star for the witchy vibe and lyrics.
Look, I love Andrew Lloyd Webber, but I didn't need a guy pretending to be the neckbeard version of the Phantom hitting on me non-stop.
