forgot how strong this record's opener is, but also how tonally different it is from some of the later tracks. really great instrumentation, as sparse as it is compared to SZA's contemporaries. good shit all around; I really don't think there are any skips here. not a huge fan of Travis Scott but whatever, SZA is obviously the star of the show. I guess he's allowed to say a few words. I will never get tired of broken clocks no matter how often it's played. if you hate that song you're an idiot. it's so good. I feel like that meme of spongebob floating in the air with wired headphones when I listen to the beginning of pretty little bird. that reverb is great and with a pair of great headphones, that song is extra good. probably not a perfect album, but for pretty damn close.

i'm admittedly not the biggest Elvis fan, but i'll say that all of my favorites come from this album. I think on this record you get a really clear picture of his blues/gospel influences before they become dolled up in performance and provocation, and tracks like "Blue Suede Shoes" do a great job of paying homage to theoretical influences instead of simply regurgitating old ideas, which I feel happen in Elvis's later work. as a fan of his slower stuff, I would always listen to tracks like "I Love You Because", "I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin')", and of course, "Blue Moon". Getting this album was kind of fun because I don't know when I would have ever chosen to revisit Elvis, but it's a nice reminder of why he's so beloved and where he started (especially compared to where he'd end up, which I don't love as much as other Elvis fans).

I’m sorry to every twenty or thirty-something out there, this album is not better than In Rainbows. It’s still pretty good, though. And it gave us Exit Music (For a Film) and Karma Police, so I won’t be too mad at the Website Gods for giving us this album today

fuck you steven morrissey. not even "The Headmaster Ritual" can save this one. most of this bullshit sounds the same and you sound like a whiny fucking prick, which incidentally, you are. okay fine, "Well I Wonder" has great instrumentation, but that's not your doing. also, what the fuck why would anyone want to listen to you bark at them in "Barbarism Begins at Home" and then 2-3 minutes at the end of "OOOOOOHAAAAAHHHOOHOAOHOAOHAAAOOOHOHOHOO" fuck you morrissey racist incel loser lmfao

Honestly, it’s a great title track. The rest is fine; better than fine if you like operatic rock ballads (I do not). I still can’t imagine being a teenager in 1977 and seeing or hearing the three layers of crazy juxtaposition: the cover that says “this is metal you fuckers”, the artist name that says “wait what the fuck”, and the music that says “wait what is actually going on here?” It isn’t a bad album, it just isn’t for me. And as someone who is open about how little ballad rock he listens to, I can’t compare this to much. I mean it’s better than 90% of Bon Jovi’s catalogue, but that bar is low. I feel bad giving this a 2, but there are albums I’d rank at 3 that I like so much more. I also will never get beyond Meat Loaf’s appearance in Fight Club. “Bob’s new sweating tits that hang enormous, the way you think of God’s as big.”

People that say jazz is just “playing wrong notes but it sounds good” obviously don’t understand jazz but they also obviously haven’t listened to this album. THIS album is just a bunch of wrong notes that bills itself as “art rock” and I’m not sure where I stand on that principally, but I do know that it’s not for me

hadn’t heard of this guy at all, and finally got excited about the premise of this activity: I’d been hoping for something I didn’t know! And here it is! Smooth and a little funky, this is a great record for people (read: me) who are new-ish to soul. “Hero” is definitely the standout track for me, although I didn’t find myself wanting to skip any of them. Thematically, it’s great. It’s unapologetically self-indulgent and praises humanity in all the right ways. It’s complex and simple all at once. There’s something special on show here for anyone looking for a musical pick-me-up; give “Solid Ground” or “Light” a shot. A lot to love here. Admittedly, I’m looking at this maybe a little more scientifically than I ought to. There are a handful of tracks I’d seek out again on my own, but I don’t know how often I’d put the full record on. Hard to say on a first listen. If I were to revisit this in a week, it may score higher. If I could give it a 3.5, I’m sure I would.

I can’t imagine being 14 or 15 in 1986 and hearing “Battery” into “Master of Puppets” for the first time (which is only relevant because I was around that age when I discovered metal). This isn’t a genre I listen to a lot anymore, but that certainly doesn’t affect the rating. This album is pretty nearly perfect, and I would do anything to live out the cultural zeitgeist surrounding this release in the 80s. I can’t think of a modern equivalent, honestly. At least not one of comparable quality.

I mean it’s fine! Some tracks are pretty good, even. Real Billy Hargrove shit. Put me in a fast car and play these tunes. But I don’t know how much staying power it has for me. Musically there’s some cool stuff happening; I love the guitar work. But the rest kinda falls flat, I guess. Thematically, our last metal album was much stronger and, context taken into account, much more relevant.

this shit’s boring

Man, I hate having to do this review. Joy Division is just one of the bands you’re *supposed* to like. But I don’t. Like the album from KOL the other day, the vocalist (too lazy to google him) is uhhh not great! The the guitarist (too lazy to google him too) sounds like he learned to play a week before they recorded the album. What is that riff on Shadowplay? Really? Anyway. It’s not offensive, but it doesn’t have much staying power for me. So sorry everyone, and a special apology to all the 90s kids who wore Joy Division t-shirts in high school who I thought had some real street cred for doing so.

This is the album that makes me wish I’d been a skater

might be a little blinded by nostalgia here, but I honestly don’t think I am. Phenomenal breakout album, and it has proved hard to top. No skips.

Patti Smith is legendary, and not without reason, but I think this album is a classic example of “appreciate the impact but don’t love the music” that sometimes happens with these mainstay records. Heretically, I feel the same way about Sgt. Pepper’s from The Beatles (I’m a white album kinda boy). There are some songs here that I like, but nothing here that I love. To be fair, there’s nothing I actively dislike either, but still, I find myself somewhat unmoved by what some call music’s first punk statement. Also, she said some weird shit about Mick Jagger and wrote a crazy song using the n word a lot, which feels bizarre as fuck. Her book, Just Kids, is pretty good though