My first exposure to two-tone! Punk/ska/reggae fusion. Immensely jam-able album. Favorites: Man at C&A, Pearl's Cafe, Sock It to 'Em J.B., International Jet Set, Rat Race. (Actually hadn't put together that I'd heard Rat Race before.) Great start to this project!
Lots of familiarity with Talking Heads' later discography, and also their debut, which I'm pretty sure Dad had on vinyl rotation for many years. Hadn't heard of this one, though, despite having heard Take Me to the River thousands of times over the course of my life so far. Finding myself getting closer and closer to my inevitable Intense Talking Heads Phase. Favorites: Warning Sign, The Girls Want to Be with the Girls, Artists Only, I'm Not in Love. EXTREMELY danceable and grooveable - you can hear the kernel of the later sound starting to germinate. I love how weird David Byrne is as a vocalist - trite but true. Something so refreshing about it every time despite his being such an iconic voice - I'm growing weary of cursive singing, I think. Would spin again gladly.
Already familiar and know I love this one!
Another revisit - had forgotten about the live show framing throughout.
Back to "new to me" albums today, or at least "I've been meaning to spin that one" albums. I'm familiar with Neil Young, obviously (both through CSNY and Harvest), but I haven't investigated any of the later stuff, and certainly not anything from the Crazy Horse years. Favorites: Powderfinger, Thrasher, Sedan Delivery. A "sorta live" album - side A is much more acoustic and folk-ish than side B, interesting way to structure the album. Love the bookend tracks in both styles.
I have some passing familiarity with Christine and the Queens, mostly from the Girls soundtrack. I'm not a massive art-pop/synth-pop fan - something about it is slippery in my listening ear, becomes a little mall-like if I'm not listening intently. I acknowledge the huge influence and list of influences, its pillar place in queer history and culture, but the edges are too slick for me to grab onto.
Grooveable, for sure. I feel like I'm 7 years too late to this one - 2018 me would have loved this. Interesting to have read Redcar's Wikipedia article - it almost feels like an intrusion to be listening to work that an artist has so completely detached from on an identity level.
My first Sparks album. Knew *of* them but hadn't heard much *from* them. Almost has a Siouxsie and the Banshees flavor to it - you can see a few roots of that sound here, anyway (since this precedes Siouxsie by ~5 years). Some tracks also clearly are some small part of the substrate from which Jack Stauber emerged (Talent is an Asset). Strange, carnival-tent, tasty. I REALLY enjoyed this one - scratched all the right places in my brain. Would absolutely spin again.
Haven't listened to a Wailers album in full in a long time - baggage attached to the band that doesn't have to do anything with the band itself. Finding myself regretting that I have to listen to these albums digitally (don't have all of them on vinyl, and my turntable is in storage for a while) - uncommon and delicious for an album to flow track to track in this way. Obviously very groove-able, a genre former and informer.
I know my dad has this album on vinyl - I've seen it in his stack - but I don't think he's ever spun it in the 30 years I've been around. For a long time his stated position was that he HATED Boston. He was a hipster before there was a word for it - if it was getting too much radio play when he was in his high school, it was something he hated, no matter the genre or the actual cultural value of the album. So Boston felt off-limits for a long time. But now I'm a grown up and I buy my own records and I can steal this one from him with impunity.
Lou Reed and associated projects have always been hit or miss for me, and I've never been crazy about any of it in any case. Another case where I can obviously see the taproots of other genres and artists and sensibilities rising up from the earth of the work, but I do have to "be in the mood" occasionally. Not sure how much of a plebe that makes me, musically. This album is also a mixed bag for me, and it didn't help that Spotify (that old chestnut) played it on shuffle for the first half.
Had heard bits and pieces of this album in isolation but never the full thing. Really enjoyed this, would spin again.
Another one that I already know I love. I have this one on vinyl and it got so much play in high school. I love it, no notes. RIP Jeff.
Really enjoy Brian Eno but this was a bit of a mixed bag for me.
Very familiar with this one.
Talk about album openers! Obviously an iconic track, but I don't think I've ever heard the rest of the album before. Which is mortifying, given my whole thing. Not crazy about Jimmy Jazz, but the rest of the album is solid.
I'm new to The Lemonheads (outside of Big Gay Heart). Pretty good - would probably spin again.
Really enjoyed this. Album Zero for so many others that I love.
Man... I just really, really love Duran Duran.
I think the kids are calling this "older brother core" these days. I like it - strong sense memories of childhood. The mix on the album is a little hard on the ears - too high overall. Liked it but probably won't revisit.
One thing about me: I fucking LOVE Echo and the Bunnymen.
I can't honestly say I've ever listened to a Coldplay album. I've only ever encountered them on the radio, 15-20 years ago, when they felt more solidly within the zeigeist. Now their memetic reputation precedes the music, in a way. I've never been crazy about Chris Martin's voice, but sonically I think the band is interesting enough. This is atmospheric in a pretty delicious way. To me it's "mall music," which I don't mean as a marketing or moral indicator, just that this is what the mall sounded like during my formative mall-going years. It's a good thing. Not sure I'd spin it again, but I wouldn't smash "skip" if it comes up. Still not a fan of The Scientist.
Favorites: La femme d'argent, Talisman, Remember. An extended jam - I like it, it's ambient and atmospheric and groove-able, but some of the grooves do overstay their welcome just a tiny bit. But perfectly listenable!
Have this one on vinyl! Loved it in high school.
Another childhood classic. Dad loves this one and so do I.
I've long suspected that I might be a Jeff Buckley fan, and it looks like I was right.
Really enjoyed this, would spin again.
It's almost got an early-days Pink Floyd flavor to it. I had no idea what to expect from this one, had never heard of it or the band before. Pleasantly surprised. Another where the ambient jam might overstay its welcome occasionally. Not sure I'll be spinning it often but glad to know it's out there.
Music for a vampire rave. Definitely "mood music" - gotta catch the vibe as it comes. But when it does, nothing scratches the itch like it. (It also stresses my cats out to play too much of it at once.) Formative for a beloved genre, but not one I revisit often.
Oh my god, what a favorite of childhood. Someday my dad will be gone and this whole album will make me cry and yearn for one more game of pool. It's unfair to rate my formative texts so highly, but here we are. Love this one.
Loved this, will spin again.
Easy. One of the pillars of my life.
Mental Beat is incredibly Clash-lite, a Finnish impression of Joe Strummer. Really like the strange intro and production interludes, the oddly blues-y harmonica and jazzy piano flourishes, the lurking synth. It's a fun album but it probably won't be heavy in my rotation.
