Previous to this, my only jack white exposure was the popular White Stripes songs that got a lot of radio play as I was growing up. Those songs are super nostalgic to me and kinda exemplify what rock sounded like in the early 2000's in my mind. I really ought to listen to a full white stripes record here soon. As for this album, I enjoyed it a good bit. It surprised me to look again and see that it came out in 2012, it sounds much earlier than that, but that's again probably just because in my mind the 2000's sound like Jack White. The lyricism is really strong in parts, the opening track especially brought really strong imagery to my mind that set a good tone. The tracks where he's kinda just whining about how evil a girl is felt a little weaker to me though haha. It's clearer to me that a lot of the rock I didn't enjoy from 2000's-2010's was just poorly copying jack white. His use of strings and piano on some of the songs reminds me of what I heard Coldplay trying and in my opinion failing to do. I think the closing track in my favorite. Speaking of influences, I can imagine that Geese heard this one and took a lot from it. The vocal performances, the keys, and especially that guitar solo in the middle really do it for me.

Before: my only access point to ZZ Top is that there’s a few times Stephen King references them in his books. I think it’s actually kind of a major plot point in one of them haha. I assume they’re just classic rock? Idk much what to expect. After: Immediately this album made me laugh. “ Give me all your lovin, all your hugs and kisses too” cracked me up every time they said it. And there were just like flourishes all over the album, like the ad libs on the song sharp dressed man that made me actually laugh out loud. I feel like growing up, this is what I imagined most classic rock was like, and that made me steer away from it. Lately I’ve gotten more into groups like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin and wondered what had made me hesitant. I think stuff like this album is what made me hesitant haha. The vocal performance and lyrics are cheesy to me, and there’s something about the rhythm with which they’re sung that make it even worse. Legs was the first time I really started to enjoy the instrumentation. The guitar really broke loose there and started doing some interesting stuff. I didn’t catch anything else on the record I enjoyed quite as much as that. La grange auto played afterwards and that was so much better than anything found on this album

Before: I have no point of reference for this album other than the Wikipedia saying it’s post punk. Interested to listen. After: I dug this one. I feel like it really put me in it's place and time. It feels rebellious and moody and experimental. I love the chunky guitar and bass tones, and the vocal distortion really elevated the performance. Some of the lighter synthier stuff like the song Bloodsport sorta took me out of it. There were moments I was hoping the record would lean heavier but it instead went the opposite direction. I guess that's why it falls more into post punk than punk. 3.5/5

Before: No reference point for this. From the name, I'm thinking it's some sort of samba or bossa nova? After: Absolutely loved this one. The opening track, and all those with vocals are definitely the strongest for me. But I kept being constantly surprised by the places this album went. All the dnb, Latin, electronic, even middle eastern influences all really blended super well and made for just some really smooth listening. This is definitely my favorite album so far and one I'll add to my rotation from here out. 4/5

Some decent dance grooves but nothing that really stood out to me. Not much to say here haha

I had fun with this one, but the tone never struck me quite right until the closing track. That one felt the most experimental as far as sound and lyrical themes to me. I think I usually just enjoy a bit of a harder punk sound than this offered.

I'm a pretty big sucker for any and all blues guitar I can get lately. So those portions of the album really struck me. I'm guessing that was Ry Cooders contribution. I really enjoyed some of the singing melodies, but there were long stretches that all got sort of washed out. I'd revisit it and maybe on a fresh listen it would grab me a bit more. 3.5/5

Before: I'm glad this has come up, a couple weeks ago I mentioned I really don't have much perspective on this era of rock, and ZZ top left me so disappointed. I know this is considered heavier than that, but I'm excited to investigate deeper. After: I feel like a ding dong for comparing this to ZZ Top at first haha. Anyways I really liked this one! The guitar tones had me hooked, and the clearness of the drums in the mix really stood out to me. I also appreciated the range that the vocalist brought. He was giving different and interesting performances on every track. It suffers a bit from cheesy lyricism at points, but at others, the imagery was strong and fun.

Before: I've heard Nazi Punks Fuck Off, and well as KGLW's cover of Police Truck with Jello, but other than that I haven't listened to any Dead Kennedys. I'm expecting raw, rough sounds and lots of political commentary. After: What a sick record! Jello is such a great vocalist, he brings so much weird high energy to every track. I love when they dip into other vibes like the patriotic song or the surf rock one. This is the first punk record I've heard through this project that's really connected with me. I'll definitely dive deeper into the Dead Kennedys

Everything about this one was repulsive to me. The vocal performances, The melodies, the instrumentation, the fact that it's three fucking hours long. I got through most of the first hour and just couldn't do it anymore. I'll give it two stars instead of one because Logan tried to make the argument that it is a satire, and I guess I can see that. Still wasn't fun to sit through for me though.

Before: I knew a lot of these songs individually. Black dog, rock and roll, going to California. But I've never heard them all together as an album. Looking forward to it. After: Yeah this album is great. Each track brings something totally new to the album and they all work together so well. This feels like such a huge moment in Rock and roll history.

Before: I've heard the name Carlos Santana a ton, but I think the only song I'm really familiar with is black magic woman. After: Wow! Two amazing days in a row. This album is so incredibly smooth. This is the perfect mix of rock, jazz, and Latin music to me.

It's hard to offend me but this record did it. Ice Cube never sounds cool or clever in my opinion. The lyrics about fucking bitches and discarding them or wanting to hurt them are delivered with seemingly no tongue in cheek or even creativity. There's no turn of phrase or metaphor going on and I didn't catch an overall message. All of these hyperbolic stories seem to be there to make you think Ice Cube is cool, but it mostly just makes me disgusted. And seeing as he is now the star of shitty movies and procedural crime dramas, the stories also just ring very false. It really could be that I'm missing some implicit storytelling or commentary but I don't think I care to listen more to catch it. Also NWA had way cooler beats on their tracks.

I had such a fun time listening to this. It was crazy to hear how much of this I recognized even thought I never knew where it came from. I feel like some of these tracks have been used a lot in movies and tv. It draws from lots of genres, rock, funk, samba, jazz, and it shows once more just how connected all these types of music are to each other. The percussion is the obvious highlight here but the horns stood out to me as well. A special shout-out goes to the legendary grandmaster flash remix of Apache. Such an iconic track in hip hop and break beat history, it's impossible not to dance to.

I really like how groovy they are able to play these hardcore sounds. I quickly warmed up to the vocals, I appreciate how he can sing like a punk front man one second, and then do something very low-key and seducing with his voice the next. The combination of reggae, funk, and punk music stylings is so interesting to me. I suppose on paper, that sounds like ska, but these guys are able to do that and also set themselves very far apart from ska. Overall a fun one! 3.5

Man I love Frank Sinatra. He's not someone I seek out often but when I hear him by chance I always really enjoy it. He just puts me in a relaxed, contemplative mood. If there's anything that hurts this album, it's a lack of variety.

I have little to no experience with German music. It makes me happy that every type of person in this world has the opportunity to combine all the things that has made an impression on them and spit out something unique and worth experiencing. That said, this one did not click with me. I found the marching rally aesthetic to be campy and over the top, the slow plodding drums and guitar got old pretty quick. There were moments I enjoyed where the guitar got a little more technical though.

Before: The radio hits on this one are super nostalgic to me. Around the age of 5 or 6, this California and even larger west coast rock aesthetic really dug it's heels into my brain. I slowly began to love bands like the chili peppers, incubus, green day, sublime. I think my love for rock music can be traced to a lot of these bands even if I mostly only had access to them via radio. Excited to dig deeper on this one! After: A bit disappointed by this. There are some absolutely rocking moments, like the opening of the album which reminds me a lot of the opening of heart of the sunrise by Yes. The guitars and drums all over this thing sound great. He has his moments for sure, but most of the time when Anthony Kiedis opens his mouth, I find myself wishing he would just let the instrumental ride. ("Ding dong ding dong ding dang dang") The radio hits are undoubtedly the strongest tracks on the whole record, especially Scar Tissue and Californication. Californication works really well as a seeming thesis of the album. It's really where the song writing has the most to say and Kiedis' performance is the strongest. Porcelain is a nice surprise to me, it shakes up the sound of the rest of the album, and the metaphorical lyrics vibe a lot better with me than some of the more literal songwriting. Overall, it might be mostly nostalgia talking, but I don't think I was missing much having already heard and loved Other side, Scar Tissue, and Californication.

I was surprised by how much of this album I knew already, and the ways in which they fit into the album as a whole. I had heard the songs Starlight and Supermassive Black Hole on the radio a a hundred times growing up, and knew Knights of Cydonia from Guitar Hero. Once I recognized Starlight, I was surprised with some of the heavier directions this album went. In my mind, that song is so closely related to Coldplay and 5 seconds to mars, that I didn't expect much range out of this group. I had a good amount of fun with the rest of the album, I like the trippy synth effects they use, and the spacey sound works great most of the time. The vocals sort of stop me from buying into the aesthetic as a whole at points though. Glad to put some more childhood music into context!

This is so close to something I'd love. The rhythms and beats are so intriguing to me, but the aesthetic and sounds just slightly miss the mark. My favorites are speedway and one love. They just have so many layers. This type of EDM clicks with me way more when the sounds are more lush and layered. I can appreciate how stripped back and industrial most of this record is, it's just not my favorite.