"Hoping my friends also see the peak in this."
I have been slowly introducing subliminal statements in favor of one day going out to see Radiohead with my friends. A band as afraid of stagnancy as many hundreds more are afraid of change, this album is part of that artistic obsession and boy is it a trip. Jazz, electro, rock, wonky time signatures are all in some way present in this melancholic album that speaks about death, depression, and the cycle of suffering. (This album also got sampled by one of my favorite 2023 albums `Let's start here` by Lil Yachty)
I think Radiohead sometimes catches some flak for their tendency to occasionally push out music that could be seen as pretentious. However, they approach it with a level of honesty that someone high off their own ass fumes could simply not emulate. I love this band and I am glad that one of their more underrated albums got chosen.
They ran so that bands like Coldplay could walk (Love them both). Certified heat.
Haters will say I only rate highly. To them I ask, why are they only putting heat on this?
It's Led Zeppelin, it's got funk, folk, blues, rock-and-roll, amazing vocals and a sound that would in some way be attempted but never perfected by every rock band that came after. Directly for the next 20 years, and indirectly for the rest of the genre's life in the spotlight. They are the artists that took rock into the late 20th century and it shows.
This is not my favorite album of theirs but it holds a special place in my heart. "Kashmir", the album's leading single, was my own harsh lesson never to put your favorite song as your alarm. "In my Time of Dying", a beautiful mess of shifting time signatures and pained lyrics that re-imagine the classic folks song. A great showcase of the aforementioned paradigm shift pushed by the band.
I like Led Zeppelin, even if my dad rock phase is behind me. Light 4.5 but we're doing 5 for the haters (I made them up)
Mostly pop-ey sounds from this one. Not my jam though I could see how if you were raised with this band you could look at this back fondly. The post-punk tracks break up the monotony of an otherwise pretty mid experience.
I see how the lyrics could be controversial and challenging for a contemporary pearl-clutching British censor, but it does not really translate to me.
I have a bit of a love-hate parasocial relationship with Bob Dylan. On the one hand I do think that there is a disproportionate amount of glazing for his music, poems, and ideas. Anything that he graces with his artistic attention is elevated to the annals of American myth. For me, that always rubbed me the wrong way, since he is by no means the start or end of these ideas. Music is a continuum, it gets iterated, reimagined, remixed and outright stolen and that, to me, was the way that it should be thought of. Good artists borrow, and great artists steal is a more accurate statement than one could bother to analyze in their day to day. To me Bob Dylan was someone that stole, not in the outright reprehensible, violent way, but in the more dismissible and ethereal way, in a way that overpowers but still gives back. I would be lying if I said he doesn't do it right. Throughout his long career he was someone that spoke truth to power in a way that artists to this day are afraid or contemptuous of. This is part of that. And it's great. I've never been a huge fan of folky stuff, but this is so lyrically rich and so relevant even now that it strikes you even when you want to deny it.
I think there are better Bob Dylan albums and I realize now I am probably have to recalibrate considering this will be 1001 albums that are either good, relevant, or both. So I will keep it measured and go for a 4.5 on this.
This shit is fire, I fear
I think Rap has a tendency to age badly because of its positioning on the cusp of underground culture. If something differentiates itself by way of being controversial or norm-breaking, then as it ages and culture assimilates it will inevitably lose its edge. But this is one is one iconic sample after the other and its rhythm and rhyme are satisfying. Plus, I think we are over the hump of late 80s and early 90s being cringe. Plus now my algorithm thinks I like 90s era Rap and I've been vibing like I'm the gen X gig worker that is blasting OutKast when they pick you up from the airport. Perfection.
I enjoyed it, though it is honestly not my cup of tea. It's jazzy, folksy and he's got a style and poetry to it. Though the subject matter is universal (love, spirit, and growing up) it didn't resonate with me so personally as it has perhaps many others, but it wasn't a bad time.
I think Radiohead is peak and I am tired of pretending it's not.
I do think this one is one of the more controversial albums. Mostly because it is a bit experimental, even for Radiohead. That coupled with the usual glazing that Radiohead receives it can frustrate listeners that aren't necessarily into their sound or just avant-garde, admittedly pretentious, music. I do think this album is overrated, but in the same way that the Beatles are overrated. They were influential and they consistently attracted attention, which inevitably gathers detractors.
I believe this plays with soundscapes and ideas that still feel different and fresh after all this time. Is it an album you would play in a long drive? Probably not, but I would play this alone in an indirectly lit room with a warm drink, preferably with the sound of rain pattering at the window? This is what I did yesterday I actually, and it fucking hit. 4.5/5
Alright this was a really fun album. I have something for the frenetic rock and falsetto male vocalist combo, and the first song (not including the moody intro track) opens with that full-heartedly.
There's not a single member of this band that doesn't put their everything into this album and it shows. From the bass and guitar countermelodies, to the powerful and at times jazzy flair from the drummer (Who I found out is Jon Theodore for this album, a drum legend!!!), the funky rhythms, and warped vocal harmonies they play with in the later songs.
Moreover, the production spares no effort, where a paradoxically deft and heavy hand on compression and pedal effects that would normally create mayhem, seem to line up at moments of much needed musical catharsis. All of this making even the more chaotic and experimental pieces a joy to listen to.
The fact that this is from 2003 breaks my mind a little bit, since this feels like a lot of the prog rock you would see surface and become mainstream in the late 2000s and even early 2010s. They are by no means the first to produce a sound similar to this but they do feel pretty unique. Like a synthesis from several highwaymen coming together to make something chaotic and enjoyable.
Pretty great time listening to this. 5 Stars.
(Also I just looked it up and the Bassist for this Flea)
Steve Earle is a GOAT. He is bleeding heart citizen of the world, and he has always been a legendary individual. But I cannot do country. It's not Steve Earle, it's me. This album IS country, if you are into country this is the album you should listen to. There is a reason why he is in the Nashville hall of fame: a singer, a poet, and an author. But in keeping with the "personal" aspect of this project I want to rate this based on my time with the album, and it was not good. 1.5/5
Pretty fun romp. Notes of Rock and Roll, New Wave, and Beach wave. I might be a nice album to put on a beach day or something. Had a fun time but it's not exactly something I would play regularly. 3.5/5
Beautiful album with warm sounds and melancholy themes. I listened to the A side of the album and not always is a breakout album a success or even as independent from their previous work. The sounds are familiar if you have listened to the Beatles obviously, but this feels like George stepping out and talking about his own passions, philosophies, and spirituality. It's nice.
It was cool, a bit corny in a sense but I think that's mostly because so many artists have done something like this or inspired by this. Bro can shred.
I liked my experience with the album. Had a lot of fun listening to Us V. Them and Watch the Tapes. Overall I wouldn't seek this out again but I can't say I would turn it off if someone else put it on.
Fela Kuti is a legend. The sounds are an eclectic mix but fun as all hell to listen to.
