Fascinating dive into the separation of God from religion, painting portraits of various characters and their intersections with morality, spirituality, and organized religion. The acoustic ballads gave a nice contrast to the heavier riff-heavy rock. Gotta love the flute too!
Crazy vocals, post-punk guitar with a little thrashy cymbals. Definitely a classic album, but probably not one I'll be coming back too any time soon.
Definitely a poet, less of a writer of melodies. I generally like Leonard Cohen but this isn't necessarily his best album. My favourite from the album is probably Bird on the Wire. I also like jaw harp, but it usually shines as a unique texture used sparingly. Not as enjoyable when it's just constantly going on in the background.
Little bit of psychedelia added into Cream's blues-heavy rock sound on this album. Sunshine Of Your Love is a classic and probably my favourite track on the album. There are some other good ones too, but also a couple duds in my opinion. Not a huge fan of how the drums are mixed on this album either, but overall I will likely listen again.
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Beautiful textures and layers of harmony. I enjoyed the changes in tempo and style throughout the first track. The album is made even more enjoyable and impressive knowing the backstory of this concert.
There is admittedly a lot of repetition and heavy use of ostenato, but I personally really enjoy repetitive musical ideas that morph over time so this album really did it for me. I knew of Keith Jarrett, but I'm surprised I hadn't heard this album before. Also just psyched to have some jazz on here.
Bonus: the phrase that starts at 3:30 into the first track ends with The Lick™
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Lots of great songs on this album, although it kind of drops off after The Boxer. I've never been a huge fan of the song Bridge Over Troubled Water, but the album as a whole is quite enjoyable.
Something I particularly enjoyed about this album was the variety and breadth of the instrumentation. Strings, bass harmonica, and all kinds of different auxiliary sounds provide different textures throughout, keeping things fresh and interesting. Contrast that to the recent Leonard Cohen album that abused jaw harp in the same way on every track. That was cool, but this album did it better in my opinion.
Listening to this kind of felt like watching a Baz Luhrmann film. Nice Bolero reference in the first track, Oh What A World, fitting of it's rather orchestral arrangement. Not too often you hear oboe and bassoon in a "pop" song.
Very cute that his mom played the banjo part on the 8th track, 14th Street.
Listened to this one in the car, and I liked it! The title track sounded familiar to me but I couldn't place it. As their first album, this was a strong start for Television.
GOBBLESS AMERICA
At first I couldn't tell if some of this album was satirical or if Randy Newman was just delusional. Political Science made me laugh out loud, and wasn't just because of Newman's voice. Definitely getting gospel and jazz vibes from this album, but some tracks also have an orchestral or cinematic feel to them as well.
Hidden gem of the album for me is Maybe I'm Doing It Wrong.
Overall enjoyed this album, it seems like a classic from its time. Definitely some uncomfortably creepy themes surrounding consent or lack thereof throughout the album that I didn't love. Musically enjoyable, and some of the songs were pretty fun lyrically too.
Some highlight tracks for me were Common People, Disco 2000, and Bar Italia.
Really interesting to hear the different takes right after each other. For example, Take 3 of Gloria's Step sounds much more lively rihht off the top than Take 2 does.
Didn't listen too deeply to this one, but I would probably listen again.
Very atmospheric, evoking late summer nights and hazy afternoons. Reminds me a bit of a darker, more atmospheric and moodier Oasis. Lots of phasers, tremolo, delay, and other effects on guitars and vocals especially. The title track, Lost Souls, was giving me a "rock show at the haunted carnival" kind of vibe. Definitely getting some Foo Fighters influence in the sound of Catch The Sun too.
As an enjoyer of instrumental music, I appreciated the tracks that were fully or mostly instrumental. A lot of the sounds I hear on this album really sound like they are either from 90s grunge or the more psychedelic indie rock of the 2010s. The producer, Steve Osborne, also worked with groups like New Order and U2, which makes the post production effects and layering make a lot of sense to me as well.
Overall really enjoyed this album! Fave tracks for me are probably Catch The Sun, A House, and The Man Who Told Everything.
I recognized one song, "Where Is My Mind?" Other than that, this album didn't leave much if an impression on me. I struggle to really enjoy music like this, which seems to be much more about the "energy" and delivery of lyrics than making musical decisions to get the point across. Also wondering how they got Mickey Mouse as the guest vocalist for Broken Face.
My picks are Gigantic, Where Is My Mind? and Vamos.
Glam rock party time. Not overly inspiring. I did end up enjoying some of this album, but I don't know if I will be coming back to listen soon.
It makes sense that I enioyed this because I grew up listening to U2, Genesis and Coldplay which, in some way or another, have all been Touched By The Hand Of Eno. It was just weird enough and complex enough for me to really appreciate the different sounds. I imagine it must be challenging to write music that has many odd sounds but still is catchy and has a groove to it.
I really like the wackiness and energy of Kurt's Rejoinder and King's Lead Hat. By The River is absolutely beautiful and even makes use of word painting in the phrase "underneath a sky that's ever falling down, down, down, ever falling down." As Eno repeats the word "down," the melody mirrors the lyrics, descending towards the last repetition of "down" which happens to be the lowest note Eno sings on this track.
Before and After Science gets my first 5 star review!
Certainly a classic! Before listening to this album, I didn't realize how sad and horny Muddy Waters was.
Atmospheric, moody, and pretty bare overall. Portishead appears to have the somewhat unique ability to use heavy sounds in their music without the overall tone of the music being heavy. Interesting use of instruments and musical choices that remind the listener of R&B and surf rock at times. There is something unsettling yet comforting about this album, both instilling a sense of anguish and discomfort, yet reminding us that we are not alone in these feelings.
The depth of space created by reverb and delay effects on the beat in "Magic Doors" was truly impressive, and the added piano hits to punctuate the sax line really make the track shine.
It was fun to hear a sample of Link Wray's "Rumble" at the end of this album's 9th track, "Small". That track also has a really enjoyable 'drop' with a slow build up throughput the song.
My track picks are "The Rip" for it's haunting melody and meaningful lyrics, "Plastic" simply because I liked the quintuplets, and "Machine Gun" for how the bit-crushed beat deepens and becomes more complex throughout the song.
There is something rather Medieval about the tonality of this album. I like me some good 13th c. rock and roll.
The sitar and clawhammer banjo on House Carpenter!!
Of course I have to mention the fretless bass first – Bakithi Kumalo killed it on this album. It's very cool that Simon brought together various South African and American artists for this album, and it really does sound like it. I also never knew until this listen through that the inspiration for the title track was a visit to Elvis's home in Memphis after Simon's marriage to Carrie Fisher fell apart.
holy grunge
whiny vocals that occasionally turn into tortured screams
more distortion than there is guitar at points but the tone is still rich and fuzzy
Song picks: No Bones, They Always Come, Budge, and The Post.
Honestly truly disliked this. So hard to listen to for me. Felt like if Stevie Nicks decided to try cabaret jazz.
This album is one of my all-time favourites. Chameleon and Watermelon Man alone are standalone stars but Sly and Vein Melter really got more of my appreciation this time around. The drumming on Sly is just nuts — Harvey Mason really drives the feel of the track and keeps everything mocing forward. Bennie Maupin playing bass clarinet on Vein Melter really makes it stand out to me, although it is less engaging than the other tracks on this album. Can't review this without mentioning Bill Summers playing the beer bottle in pygmy flute style on Watermelon Man.
It was fun hearing a reference to an album that we have already listened to in this group! The track "20 Dollars" lyrically references the Pixies song "Where Is My Mind?"
Two things stand out to me for this album — the percussion and the choice of samples. There were some clearly intentional choices made to bring the sounds of music from cultures with roots in parts of Asia and Africa to this album, and that choice is one of Kala's greatest strengths.
Song picks for me are BirdFlu, 20 Dollars, and of course Paper Planes.
Listening to this again reminded me of how sick the riff on Let Me Roll It is!
I can't believe I hadn't checked this out before! John McLaughlin's tone on In A Silent Way is just so beautifully rich and open. I really like the format of both tracks too — their soft, slow intros opening into more lively jams that then return to their opening themes to wrap things up. Really interesting mixture of major and minor modes in the keyboards on the title track when Miles first comes in.
Man some of these songs are really hard to listen to. I think if I was miserably depressed and cynical I would maybe enjoy this album more, but I just wasn't feeling it today (which I can't complain about). Nirvana was definitely doing their thing right on this album though, and I respect them for making music that many people would probably call "vile" for the song titles alone. That being said, Rape Me—arguably the worst song title on the album—is actually a pretty catchy little tune.
Lyrically, I would classify this album as Expressionist because it truly digs around in the appalling, greasy, gritty corners of human existence. I have a soft spot for Expressionism because I believe that the dirty, disgusting, uncomfortable and outright horrifying parts of life and humanity also deserve representation in the arts. Without bands like Nirvana singing about owning a pet virus whose shit is your milk, how would all the freaks and weirdos out there plagued by intrusive thoughts ever feel seen or understood?
First listen
I was unfamiliar with this particular album of Monk's, and I'm so glad it came across my path. I already knew I liked his music, and this album only served to solidify my appreciation of his unique style.
This is an album I am probably going to listen to many times—already I have replayed the first 30 seconds of Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are at least six–seven times just to figure out what's happening in the last four bars of the head. I did the math—because it's fun, of course—and instead of four groups of four, Monk splits the last 16 beats into groups of three and two: 3 + 3 + 2 + 3 + 3 + 2 = 16.
Second listen
Monk's solo on Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are is a good example of his unique style. He uses tritones to add tension and dissonance in his improvised melodies, straying from the key just long enough for it to almost feel uncomfortable before bringing us home again. He also moves between registers of the piano with whole-tone scale runs, briefly obscuring the key each time. I also really liked Monk's use of simple voicings and "walking" lines while comping for the other solos.
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I also wanted to include a comment from the YouTube video for the title track:
"Haven't heard this album for several years, and yes it is indescribably brilliant. Probably have a few hundred listenings racked-up between my ears, and hearing it just now after a long break has blown my head clear off, reduced my body to a puddle, and sent my soul to Godknowswhere."
– @TommysHandle, YouTube user.
I first heard of The Flaming Lips when I received the SpongeBob SquarePants Movie Soundtrack CD at the age of 9 or 10.
Cool album, I like the layering. Track picks include Are You A Hypnotist?? for the drums, Ego Tripping At The Gates Of Hell, and Do You Realize??
I don't have a ton to say about this album, but I really enjoyed listening to this album while working throughout the day. The influences of African and Afro-Cuban music added a great rhythmic energy to the album overall.
Song picks are Minawa, The Big Apple, and Maseru.
I unironically love the guitar tone on this album. There is something about the palm-muted staccato runs, wide vibrato on bends and whammy-bar dive-bombs that just scratches an itch nothing else can.
I have heard Pour Some Sugar On Me too many times to be able to enjoy it anymore, but the rest of the album was pretty fun to listen to in the background.
Track picks for me are Women, Hysteria, and Gods Of War.
I enjoyed the flute, but honestly there wasn't enough variation on the album for me. This album did lead me to look into Steve Winwood more though, so that's a plus.
Great album, Queen pretty much can't miss. This album is also so much more than just the one with Bohemian Rhapsody! "Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon" has such a fun piano intro and the classical influence throughout the song is iconic Queen. "I'm In Love With My Car" made me laugh out loud, especially thinking about many people I know in this city (no offense, but cars aren't all that great). It's also just so anthemic, I'm sure it would feel great to cruise along a highway and blast this song.
There truly isn't a single song on this album that doesn't have it's own special reason for being top-tier. "'39" caught me by surprise with its folky, scrubby acoustic guitar and jug-band bass line — and I can't forget about the whimsically sad lyrics based in Brian May's understanding of the theory of general relativity.
Song picks for this album are just all of them. Listen to all of them.
Also crazy that, at least on YouTube Music, Bohemian Rhapsody currently has 2.7 Billion plays...
Depeche Mode's new wave instrumentals combined with Nirvana lyrics and B-52's hysterical vocals. I don't have a ton to say about this because I mostly listened to it in the background, but I could see this growing on me over a few listens.
Song picks: Party Fears Two, Club Country, Australia, The Room We Sat In Before.
U2 really began developing their sound on this album — you can hear traces of what's to come in most tracks on this album. Amazing that "One" was initially improvised in the studio, especially with it being one of the band's most popular songs. What surprised me the most about this album, depsite listening to U2 since I was probably 3 years old, was the lyricism! With lines like "in my dream I was drowning my sorrows, but my sorrows, they learned to swim" and "... you left my heart empty as a vacant lot / For any spirit to haunt" there's more meaning to Bono's lyrics than I realized. This is coming from the guy who sings "uno (1), dos (2), tres (3), catorce (14)" a decade later on How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb.
Song picks: "One", "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses", and "Acrobat".
This was more poppy than I was expecting, and I enjoyed it overall. I didn't listen very deeply but I enjoyed driving to and from work with this album playing. I'll definitely consider listening again.
Scottish Oasis?
Genuinely enjoyed this album, and it was funny that they mentioned " a wonderwall" in the track "Slide Show".
Track picks for me are: "As You Are", "Driftwood", "Luv", and "Slide Show"
IDK about this one. I listened to most of it and no track really caught my attention. Maybe I'm missing something but I didn't get much out of this listen.
Strong start with "Absolutely Cuckoo", a tongue-in-cheek sort of humorous little tune about being a challenging romantic partner. Wow, there actually are 69 love songs on this album. Another win for vocalists with low voices — I'm always surprised at how refreshing it is to hear a dude with a low voice singing anything other than opera or country.
I overall really enjoyed this album, and I can't believe I actually listened to the whole thing too. There was a lot of fun wordplay and an intentional disconnect between the length of lyrical phrases and musical phrases that entertained me at times. It makes sense that Stephin Merritt was intending the album to lean towards the musical theatre side of things, and I honestly enjoyed that aspect of it. Not all of the singing was particularly well done but each vocalist seemed like a good choice for their song.
"The Book Of Love" was probably my favourite track from the entire album. It's one I am sure I will come back to again multiple times. To me, the lyrics acknowledge the complexity of the concept of love and how it means something different to everyone. It's also fun that one of my dad's favourite artists, Peter Gabriel, did a cover of "The Book Of Love".
Great album, I don't have much to say about it but I just love the winds and brass here. There's something so rich about the band's tone — it really warms the soul.
This wasn't bad, but it also really didn't stand out to me. I wasn't really taken on a trip anywhere, surprised, or impressed by anything I heard on this album. Solid 5/10 for me
Classic Korn album, not much to say. I enjoyed it and will go back when I have more time and motivation to listen more deeply.
What an album, how could anyone not feel great listening to early Beatles?
My parents used to play The Beatles a lot when I was a kid, but I haven't listened to any of their older music intentionally as an adult. I'm glad this album crossed my path again because I really enjoyed it!
The whole album is great, from the surf-rocky "It Won't Be Long" to the acoustic Latin Jazz-adjacent "Till There Was You" — With The Beatles shows off some of the band's versatility. Just don't pay too much attention to Ringo's bongo fills ┐(‘～`;)┌
This album generator thing is one the highlights of the year for me — I can't believe I could have potentially gone my whole life without knowing Skunk Anansie. This album rocked my world from top to bottom, with its awesome combo of electronic influence, brit rock and genuinely metal guitar riffs. It's all topped off with Skin's powerful yet sometimes delicate vocals. After spending about 18 hours finishing two assignments over the last couple of days, I don't have much brain power to gather my thoughts on this album, but I know I liked it and will for sure listen again. I also listened to the 25th Anniversary extended edition of the album, and the live recordings at the end made me realize how awesome Skunk Anansie must be live — if I ever get the chance to see them I certainly will.
Song picks after one listen:
Charlie Big Potato, We Don't Need Who You Think You Are, Lately, Painkillers
This album was pretty... pretty boring! Honestly, it was both beautiful and monotonous. White Winter Hymnal is of course really catchy and enjoyable, and it's not often you hear a round on a contemporary album so I'll give Fleet Foxes that much. By the end of the album, though, all of the tracks had sort of blurred together.
What's the deal with the mixing on this album? The vocals sounds like they are way too low in the mix — I feel like I'm listening to a band performing in a train station, and not in a good way. I can understand why this album is on the 1001 Albums list, but it just isn't for me. I like the ethereal wash of sound to an extent, but after maybe 5 minutes of listening to this album my ears started to fatigue. The constant assault of white-noisy distortion and cymbal wash made me feel like I was in a high school band room at lunchtime — it might just be my own personal experience, but that isn't a positive thing.
If Dinosaur Jr. records shit songs that still somehow sound good, My Bloody Valentine filled "Isn't Anything" with shit songs that also still sound like shit. Is this album innovative and creatively inspiring? Sure. Did it inspire me? It inspired me to not listen to it again, if that counts.
Song pick: the most bearable tune on this album for me was the last one, "I Can See It (But I Can't Feel It)".
I like ambient music so this was a nice one for me. Nothing too unbelievably special in my opinion though. I'll probably come back to this album when I'm looking for music to study or read to.
I remember listening to this album on my Sony Walkman CD player as a kid, and I have to admit this album still hits the same. Nice nostalgic pick this week!
To nobody's surprise, I enjoyed this album. I like Ornette Coleman, whose 1959 album "The Shape of Jazz to Come" is generally regarded as the first free jazz album. I think I can hear the melody of "Lonely Woman" from Coleman's album on "Spy vs Spy", specifically in the 7th track, "C&D".
These shorter, absolutely hectic vignettes are really fun — I like how thrashy they are and how evocative each track is. This isn't the kind of album I would listen to every day, but there are times where listening to some saxes, bass and drums just going all out is exactly what I need.
Insane how young he was when this was recorded.
