I liked this, but not sure it would be aometbing I’d actively like to listen to for pleasure. U enjoy the raucous nature of the music, it’s wild and feels loose, like anything can happen. Not sure if it was recorded live but had that vibe. Lots of background hollering and interjections that give it a “performing with an engaged crowd.” Clearly performed by people who are the top of their game. Blues music for me feels like stuff I’ve heard again and again, though, similar structure and patterns repeated across artists and songs. And the predictability is comforting in some ways, but can get repetitive and boring to my ears.

I really do not love Talking Heads. The whole vibe of the music feels a bit goofy, a little off to me, but not in a way that I can jive with. I don't love David Byrne's voice, which is very distinctive but comes across to me as comical. Even "Psycho Killer," a song that I have heard a lot and find myself singing, when I really listen to it, I don't love it. Talking Heads is just not for me, but I respect that clearly they've had a significant musical impact and people do quite love it.

This is a good album, based on the genre, but it's a bit "hippie" vibes for me. Clearly there's good song writing here, with catchy melody, great playing, and I really do quite like the harmonies. Favorite track was surprisingly "Silent Night," which I had a pretty negative reaction to at first. "Why is this happening?" But juxtaposed with the news, it's a really fucked up snapshot of what was happening in the world at the time, and I appreciate how that all came together. Not something I'd listen to actively, but appreciate the artistry on display here.

This one I know, and quite well. Grew up on it. Absolutely wall to wall bangers here. Influential and also holds up. This stuff still rips.

Learned a lot about Dusty Springfield from having this flagged to listen to: didn't know Dusty was a woman (didn't know what music the artist did), but was familiar with a lot of the songs and I love this vibe and genre. And Dusty is a beast vocalist. I also learned she wasn't black! Crazy.

This was actually really great. Good background music, with great vibes and rhythms. Felt really active. I wouldn't say that I'd actively listen to this in like... the car? Or at a party. But it is good background music. Lots of energy in so many of these songs.

I'm a fan of Fiona Apple, but this is definitely not among my favorites of hers. Tidal and When the Pawn definitely resonate for me more, with strong melody, rhythm, and more traditional song structures. Fetch the Bolt Cutters feels more tribal, more raw, and more freeform than that work, and while I can appreciate it, it's not for me. The result feels to me like someone reading out of a book of poetry which was written without the context of a song in mind. While that might have been true of her process for Tidal and When the Pawn, it feels more exposed here. I can hear the artistry and appreciate a lot of what's here and I'm sure the raw, exposed, and emotional nature of these songs is what sells it for some people, but I'm not a huge fan.

I couldn't get through this album. I stopped at "Blow Your Mind" which has 15 million listens on Spotify. I stopped around the part where he started scatting along with the horn. It was just... this kind of music is absolutely grating to me. Funk, light jazz, the singer's voice.. everything about it rubs me the wrong way. Not my thing at all.

Surprisingly, I enjoyed this. I don't really love Bob Dylan's singing cadence, and I could do with less harmonica. One of the things that people associate with Dylan is his lyrics, and I will be honest, I didn't really pay too much attention to them. I'm sure there are some really insightful things here, but I am not entirely sure I care too much. I don't really listen to music for lyrics, more the sounds and emotions, and I could definitely feel SOME of that emotion in his voice, but his deliver is really samey across each of the tracks on this album. So I'm not sure what his intent here is in his delivery, as a result. Some good songs on here, some tracks I was definitely vibing with. Ballad of a Thin Man is pretty good.