Jenny Was A Friend - Very solid. Nothing apart from the bass really stood out to me, but still a very solid opener. 7/10 Mr. Brightside - It's Mr. Brightside. 10/10 Smile Like You Mean It - Could easily see this one being played in the background at a Khols or something like that. Sounds very safe. Good, but safe. 7/10 Somebody Told Me - Groovy. Packs a bit more of a punch. Would dance to it if heard at a party. 8/10 All These Things That I've Done - I got soul, but am not, in fact, a soldier. Could easily see this playing over a shot of the main character driving down a freeway towards an unknown but comfortable future as the credits roll. 7/10 Andy, You're A Star - Killers + slow = eh. 5/10 On Top - Think I heard this one a few weeks ago in an outlet mall. 6/10 Change Your Mind - Drums were pretty cool. 7/10 Believe Me, Natalie - Kinda unique-sounding with the horns and reggae-ish drums. 7/10 Midnight Show - Electric guitar gets the spotlight. Could see a college band playing this at a party. Would dance to if heard. A shining light amidst a sea of meh. 8/10 Everything Will Be Alright - Slow, generic, bleh. 3/10 Glamorous Indie Rock and Roll - Again, Killers + slow = eh. 5/10 Overall, 6/10. Without Mr. Brightside, 5/10. Not bad, just much more average than I was hoping. Was expecting this to be "Mr. Brightside, The Album" but instead got "Mr. Brightside and some songs you would hear in the background of a Khols". I'm personally not a big fan of the slower, more vibey stuff, which is a decent chunk of this album. Competent, but would probably listen to other rock albums before this one.
Rating Distribution
Rating Timeline
Breakdown
By Genre
Top Styles
By Decade
By Origin
All Ratings
Don't Know Why - From someone who doesn't really listen to "Bossa Nova" all that much, this is a great gateway to what that genre is. Not a bad opening. 7/10 Seven Years - Will probably add this one to my acoustic playlist. Need something to calm you down after a long day's work? This will suffice nicely. 8/10 Cold Cold Heart - This wins the award for "Most likely to play at the end of the night at a jazz club as everyone leaves". Again, perfect for what it is. Not my personal go-to, but perfectly alright. 7/10 Feelin' The Same Way - Country-ish. Would play while driving down a road in the middle of the flatlands alone in the middle of the night. 7/10 Come Away With Me - Again, country-ish. Almost too slow for my liking, but if I ever needed a kid to go to sleep, I would probably have this, or something like this, at the ready. 6/10 Shoot The Moon - Is this a country album? Cause I think this is morphing into a country album. Similar to Come Away With Me, but I would probably pick this one if given the option because there's more stuff going on for me to get lost in. 7/10 Turn Me On - Sike, we're back to jazz. Hereby awarded "Most likely to be played at the wedding during the part towards the end when everyone slow dances with their partner after all the hype songs have already been played and everyone's sweaty and tired and ready to go home". PFWII(Perfect for what it is, thought I'd acronym it at this point). 7/10 Lonestar - Wait, actually sike again, we're back to country. A bit more on the basic side. Would probably skip this one the most. Still kinda decent, but, in my opinion, a bit more boring than what I've heard so far. 5/10 I've Got To See You Again - Back to jazz again. Love the risque, kinda suave feel of this one. Probably the most interesting listen so far. 8/10 Painter Song - Wins the "Most likely to be played by a guy sitting on his porch on the plains at night as he looks at the stars and reflects on his life". Also, a harmonica. Frick yeah. Paint analogy that is worded and blended into the song beautifully. Frickety frick yeah. Find me in 80 years playing this one on my old, worn-down guitar with my wife on harmonica on the plains of Wyoming. 8/10 One Flight Down - Back to jazz again. Kinda basic drum beat brings this one down a bit. Decent for what it is. 7/10 Nightingale - "Hey, drummer, give me your best groovy fill stuff". Heck. Yeah. Kept my attention more than any other song here. As a drummer myself, this is the most entertaining song on this album. 9/10 The Long Day Is Over - A bit too slow for my taste, but would probably play at the end of a long day(hence the name). 7/10 The Nearness of You - Piano's time to shine. Pretty nice ending. 7/10 Overall, 7.5/10. Not a bad one. As someone who isn't really into lighter, slower stuff, this was a pretty nice intro into the world of light, slow stuff. The mix of country and jazz throughout added some nice variety. Would probably put this one on one day if I need some help going to sleep or studying late at night.
About A Girl - Pretty solid out of the gate. Could easily see some other band covering this. 6.5/10 Come As You Are - It’s “Come As You Are”. 9/10 Jesus Doesn’t Want Me For A Sunbeam - Never expected Nirvana to cover a song like this. Surprisingly well done. 6.5/10 The Man Who Sold The World - Again, not a song you’d expect from these guys. Also surprisingly well done. 7/10 Pennyroyal Tea - Ah there’s that depression and pain I’ve been waiting for. 6.5/10 Dumb - Thought this one was about a guy who feels inadequate and how he tries to get over those feelings through the help of a partner of some sort. Then I remembered that Nirvana was singing it and realized that partner was drugs. Pretty nice arrangement. 7.5/10 Polly - This one probably has the most depressing story behind it so far. 7/10 On A Plain - “What the hell am I trying to say?” Same man, same. 6.5/10 Something In The Way - Batman. 8/10 Plateau - Nirvana’s gone country. 6/10 Oh Me - Personal favorite so far. Could probably relate to this one the most. 8/10 Lake of Fire - More pseudo-country stuff. 6.5/10 All Apologies - I forgive you Kurt. 7.5/10 Where Did You Sleep Last Night - That scream man. Damn. 7/10. Overall, very VERY decent. Feel like I might need to be a bit more depressed for this to hit as hard as I know it can, but I can’t deny how legendary of a musician Kurt was. You could tell all this music stuff actually meant something to him. Everything came from a real, deep place within him. The deeper he got, the better his art. And by god did he paint some beautiful art. Makes you wonder what else he could have given us today. 7/10
Djed - “What if Pink Floyd was less stimulating and had, like, xylophones and stuff?” That glitch-out at the 14-minute mark got me. 6.5/10 Glass Museum - Could feasibly be played by a band. Has the potential to be a headbanger, but some weird time stuff prevents it from being so. 7/10 A Survey - A couple of electric guitar people play electric guitar outside in a forest somewhere. 5.5/10 The Taut and Tame - This does, indeed, feel rather taut. Gets somewhat tamer as it goes on. Best drum stuff so far. 7.5/10 Dear Grandma and Grandpa - Old ambient technology sounds. Don’t really think I’d call this music; it’s more of an interesting collection of sounds. 3/10 Along the Banks of Rivers - Almost sounds like background music to a 1940s spy movie when the main character is in a bar talking to his partner about a case he just got. Almost. 6/10 Overall, 5/10. This kind of thing isn’t really my speed. It’s basically Pink Floyd but less stimulating and more vibey(apart from Taut and Tame). It’s good for what it is, but I don’t think I’ll ever find myself listening to this again, besides maybe Taut and Tame.
Move Over - This seems like my sorta thing. Upbeat, groovy, soulful rock-y stuff. Heck yeah. 7/10 Cry Baby - A bit slower. Very much a “last song of the night at a wedding or a bar or something” kind of song. 6.5/10 A Woman Left Lonely - Another slower jam. Less drive to this one. 6/10 Half Moon - Aaaaand now we’re back to the groovy stuff. 7/10 Buried Alive in the Blues - And we’re stayin’ groovy. Most groovy song so far. Sounds like something that could have been on the Baby Driver soundtrack. 8/10 My Baby - And we’re back to the slow jams. This is the most “stadium anthem”-like one. Like the one you would play at the end of a concert, with everyone’s hands swaying back and forth. 6.5/10 Me and Bobby McGee - “Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.” When people talk about how good music used to be, this is the kind of stuff I assume they’re talking about. Helluva track. 9/10 Mercedes Benz - If Buried Alive in the Blues showed how good the bad was, this showed how cool of a voice Janis had. Will have this stuck in my head for a while. “That’s it.” 7/10 Trust Me - This sounds like they sorta ran out of ideas and just jammed out while Janis just made up some stuff on the spot. 6.5/10 Get It While You Can - The fact that this was released posthumously makes this one hit a little harder. 7/10 Overall, 7/10. What a voice. Honestly though she was way older than she was. Shame she was taken so young. Never heard of her before this, but this proved to me why she was so well regarded.
The Headmaster Ritual - Decent, basic upbeat smooth rock stuff. 7/10 Rusholme Ruffians - Very Woodstock-y. Doesn’t really exceed any expectations. Perfectly fine. 7/10 I Want The One I Can’t Have - Very 80s guitar. Dang, this might be the most perfectly fine album I’ve heard yet. 7/10 What She Said - Is it just me, or is the mix on the instruments unusually quiet on this specific track? Other than that, it’s, you guessed it, perfectly fine. 6/10 That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore - “Last song of the night” kind of song. Fine for what it is. 5/10 Nowhere Fast - Probably the most perfectly fine one yet. 7.5/10 Well I Wonder - I think you know what I’m gonna say… 7/10 Barbarism Begins At Home - Good lord, these guys have cracked the code on how to create the most perfectly fine album ever made. 7/10 Meat Is Murder - Pink Floyd called, they want their opening back. Most interesting song on this whole thing. 7.5/10 Overall, 7/10. One of the most perfectly fine albums ever created. Seriously, if you looked up “a good album” in a dictionary, this album should pop up.