1001 Albums Summary

Reminiscent of the soundtrack to Goncharov (1973), but without the distinctive character leitmotifs that made the former so iconic.

You had to be there (college during the Obama years).

I’m pretty sure all of the reviews saying he started “saying slurs for no reason” are being willfully ignorant. There’s a legitimate critique to make about the inclusion of specific slurs given the artist’s own positionality as a white American and that might cross someone’s personal line for enjoyment of the project. Unfortunately, that’s not what I’m reading in most of these responses, and the knee jerk homophobia in some of these reviews is telling.

How nice of him to try and cover Adele.

Not to be a shameless homer, but the first four tracks remain a generational run.

I really vibed with this. Loved the wordplay, loved the electronic influence, loved that he read Boston for filth in ways only a local could.

I don’t do the right kind of substances to enjoy this album.

Aisha was the high point. Between Iggy Pop’s spoken word vocals, that scream, and the TARDIS noise in the background, I might even dare to call it camp. There are a couple of skips for sure, but the songs I liked really sunk in.

I legitimately cheered at this reveal. Minutemen is one of the bands I’d go to see if I had a time machine.

I can’t believe I got two stone cold 5s in a row after a fairly humdrum couple of weeks. I listened to it on my drive home and then again on vinyl this evening. “So Far Away” remains my favorite track but there isn’t a single skip.

Not only was this a live album, but it wasn’t even a live album where the band innovated or improved on the album versions.

Some songs are so good, and yet the misogyny (and more specifically the misogynoir) is running rampant everywhere else.

Despite Layla and Bell Bottom Blues being god-tier songs, the rest doesn’t hold up very well.

I saw the reveal and immediately reached out to a former roommate to relive the year that this was in heavy rotation for our shared commute. Starlight and Knights of Cydonia are both S-tier tracks, and thankfully I don’t associate Supermassive Black Hole with Twilight.

It’s 6:30am and I press play on this album just before putting my car into gear on my way to work. Within seconds, I realize I’m in for legitimately the most interesting listen I’ve gotten from this list in weeks. I’m deliberately writing this before reading anything about the album or any other reviews because I can imagine it’s a polarizing album, but I really liked it. Each track felt like it was the length it needed to be, whether that was one minute or seven. I wish I knew German to better dig into the lyrical content, but the (literally) industrial soundscapes and harsh electronic beats set the scene effectively enough on their own. I’m giving this 5 stars, not because I’ll necessarily be revisiting the full album regularly (which is my usual criteria) but because this is exactly what I’m hoping to get out of this project — an album I wouldn’t have otherwise listened to, but which so clearly rooted in a DIY ethos, just not quite in a way that maps into the (comparatively) mainstream evolution of punk. Update: I guess polarizing wasn’t the right adjective, since I’m in the distinct minority of people who enjoyed this lmao

Reading the reviews for this has reminded me that most people’s level of exposure to heavy music is minimal because this is so much more accessible and melodic than I expected. Most of the A side would fit into any hardcore or metalcore set I’ve seen in the past couple of years. Not to mention that most of the riffs wouldn’t feel out of place on an Iron Maiden album, they’re just shorter. It doesn’t have to be for everyone, but while metal and hardcore are frequently two sides of the same scene today, it doesn’t take much digging to learn how significant this album was on bridging the previously massive gap between them. That alone earns the album’s spot on this list. Update: Just listened to Converge’s new album right after and the influence can’t be denied!