Ok, if his life and legacy hadn’t taken the turn that it did this album would still be a banger. It’s so smooth and silky. However listening to PYT was…. uncomfy. I can see how it took the 80s by storm!!
Janis Joplin was one of the greats, and this album affirms it. You’re telling me she had this vocal range at 24?? the feeling she communicates, the rawness to it all, but the control — unmatched.
We saw a lot of girlies shredding in their silk dresses at all things go this weekend, and I like to think it has a direct lineage to Janis. Vocals on Piece of My Heart go crazy, and the shred intro to silky vocals on Ball and Chain 😮💨
This album takes me back to sitting in the back of my dad’s blue Toyota pickup and being “educated” in all the rock greats on long drives. I’m glad Miss Janis was one of them. Changed the game, gone too soon. Also learned in my research she was the one who insisted the album cover stay a cartoon and for that she is, yet again, an icon.
easy listening, no strong feelings either way — tho largely unmemorable. however I never trust a man with two first names, sorry paul
Once I saw the yellow tinted skeleton Xray with distorted default fonts, I knew we were in for some good 90s punk. Something to Believe in, Come Out and Play and Self Esteem are an iconic three song run (and the sounds of early 2000s LA KROQ that graced my childhood) and were fun to reminisce with.
I’d say this is a solid album, but the voice is a little whiney, and lyrics are unapologetically and sometimes hilariously straightforward. It’s a bit too on the nose.
Surprised myself by how much Offspring I knew and how much I enjoyed this listen. Guess the sounds of my childhood were actually Southern California punk!
Would have given a 3.5 but alas! Surround sound at the intro to the album was cool. I wanted to like this album more than I did but I felt it wasn’t his best work. It was good! But not hugely memorable I fear. I feel like in this album you can hear him finding his sound.
Sad that you can take the political lyrics of the 60s and transpose them onto today. Particularly in If 6 was 9. Time is stuck in a loop, huh?
Ok groove queens! I had a great time listening to this album. They rocked out the gate with He’s The Greatest Dancer, I can only imagine how fun it was to hear that at a disco club at the time. “One night in the disco on the outskirts of ‘Frisco, I was cruising with my favorite gang. The place was so boring…” Truly timeless storytelling for every gal who has ever hit a club.
The rest of the album was fun: lyrics made me giggle, the beats didn’t feel boring, and above all I was walking around feeling like I had my own personal soundtrack going on. Also learned that We Are Family was recorded in one take by the youngest sister at the age of 19 🙂↕️
To have lived in the time of disco clubs!! and to make a hit album with your sisters! goals
these guys are really good musicians! I respect it, and there were even some parts I really enjoyed in the back half. Just not my thing. heard they were predecessors for the Grateful Dead
maybe I would have liked it more if I was on shrooms
honestly I remember liking this album when it came out but I couldn’t get through it this time and found it annoying 😩 sry I have no critical thoughts except that the production felt mid and I can’t believe it’s on this list? lol
Listened to it on the flight to SF and fell asleep during it 😩 it seemed fine tho
finally some JAZZ 😩 liked it!! was a fun welcome back to nyc, especially with Mr Basie’s relationship to the city. however the album art did throw me off. enjoyed this listen! however I’ve been listening to some really good jazz lately so I think a 4/5 album would have some more experimental sounds. but loved it for what it was! will def add to the work day rotation
I knew Elton John was an icon but I’ve never honestly spent time with his music — what a mistake!! This album was so much fun!! This album really rocks it on the keys, and Elton knows how to have a good time while he does it. Of course Benny and the Jets is a banger, but also found myself bopping to the second half of the album. The only really confusing song was Jamaica Jerk Off lmao.
Anyway, I see why Elton is considered a king. Hats off to him as a legend and a musician. I’ll have to go explore the rest of his discography and give it a real listen.
God I love the Gorillaz but this isn't my favorite album by them – by far. I feel like it was really long and there was a lot of space where I was waiting for the next thing to catch my attention. Clint Eastwood > Double Bass is a great string of songs, but the rest of the album is nice listening but not super memorable. It was fun to listen to this album again tho. Like Gibs said its interesting how time changes how we relate to an album. Gotta remember where all these artists came from.
Feeling 3.5ish, def see how this laid the foundation for their later work
Heard this album so many times as a kid. It stands the test of time. Led Zeppelin explore their sound so much in this album and deliver songs that are groovy, some a little folksy, some hard af. It’s the range that sets them apart — and that they deliver so well in everything they do. The fact that the same band performs Kashmir and Down by the Seaside and then The Wanton Sobg in one album, and it all sounds so cohesive!
Also had a fuckass day yesterday so it really hit to have this be the soundtrack.
I’d never heard of Elastica before but I love lady punk rock moment. Would give this a 3.5, I think this is the type of album that’s nice to listen to but that I would love if I saw it performed live. Need to see the aura of the performers to really get it! Super solid tho. Also hats off to the singer for keeping her voice pretty silky over punk sounds.
Took me back to being 16, driving down the PCH to Newport Beach with my besties under the soft morning sun. This album made us face our angst and freedom when we just figuring out how it felt.
When an album can take you back like that and STILL hold up as a good listen — pretty banging.
This album was so much FUN. I am not an expert so I won’t wax poetic about how Run-DMC paved the way for so much of the hip hop sounds we hear today. But this album is full of so many songs that just make you want to bounce. I listened to it while biking around Brooklyn and could really appreciate how funny Run-DMC is in their lyrics and how much their sounds are SO New York. I can still rap all of Its Tricky so I call that a win. Might mess around and add this album back into my “bopping around New York” rotation.
I need white men to stop making podcasts and start making music like this again.
It’s not totally my thing but I had a fine time listening. I know this man has a lot of lore but I know none of it.
yep, sounds like Radiohead
Yeah, ok album. I think this might have hit more if I was in the mood that day. There were some ideas for songs I liked on here, like Drunkship of Lanterns.
Fela Kuti has made his way onto many of my jazzy playlists. I ended up listening to this album all day, turns out it’s a great soundtrack for being lost in thought as you scurry through New York.
I want to give this a 4 because I feel Fela Kuti was such a revolutionary man in both his politics and his sound, paving the way for afrobeats and so many future artists. You can hear it on Zombie, but the whole album as a package didn’t make me want to add the songs to my playlists. So. Gonna go listen to more of his other work today (the Los Angeles sessions!)
Side note: so much good music has come out lately it’s been hard to be motivated to keep up with this. But doing my best 🫡
