There are multiple ways to reduce substance abuse. There is the "scare the shit out of 'em" method, think Requiem for a Dream. You could also try creating an environment where there's more to live for, like the Icelandic prevention model. Another option to consider is to have people listen to the drivel these English drug-hound dorks made.
I wanted to like the album, my inner contrarian and all, and honestly I was wondering why the album was so loathed at the beginning. The first two tracks weren't that bad! But it did get worse. "How does it feel" was the tipping point into an endless cascade of uninspiring droning music.
Remember: don't do drugs, lest you become an embarrassing "dude drugs lmao" band. Be like anti-drug artist Frank Zappa and consume five cartons of cigarettes and a gallon of coffee every day instead.
This album had the advantage of being released around the time when the first list was made. While it was considered essential in 2005, I would not expect it to be on the 1001 albums list if it was made today. This album is not Lindy.
The music proper is fine, but nothing I would want to listen to again. My favorite track was the hidden one. I liked the spacey synth and the old novelty of hidden tracks.
Little gem of a folk album. The album could get repetitive in sound and even in tracks (Sally Go Round the Roses x3), but the songs I liked, I liked (Lyke-Wake Dirge, Hunting Song, Once I Had a Sweetheart). I'll be taking a few of these songs to make a winter tavern playlist.
Just okay for me. Good lyrics, well produced, but not my type of music. I do dig "I am Stretched on Your Grave." It sounds like it would fit well in Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines (so late night LA Vampirecore).
Four for memories of dad driving me to karate classes, especially for "New Kid in Town."
The album didn't click for me. I have never cared for the early rock albums that sound like this. I will patiently wait for the Pinball Wizard and CSI: Miami guy albums to arrive.
I am loving the mysterious spacey ambience in this one. There are sounds of dread and uneasy hope, as well as mysterious space birds and intergalactic galloping horses. The title song could have fit well as a secret track to the PS2 Red Screen of Death. That screen was terrifying enough.
I reason my criteria for a 5 is if the album made me want to listen to the rest of an artist's discography. I spent the last evening listening to their other works.
This album rules. I won't be getting in the Grime, but I will replay this album every now and then.
I'll give points for the Eisler/Lang connection. I found myself drawn more towards learning about Eisler than enjoying Krause's renditions of them.
Never listened to a Talking Heads album until now. If some of the songs had a brass section, it would have been some top ska. Great album!
I have learned that R.E.M is more of a 'hits' band for me. I did not care much for this album. The album reminded me of They Might Be Giants, but without the enjoyment I get from listening to TMBG.
This album needs an enema.
There isn't any other hip-hop album that sounds like it. I am a sucker for jazz and soul in hip-hop, and the album reminds me of undergrad. True classic and true essential album.
I'm throwing fives this week. Steely Dan is the Champagne of Dad Rock.
Pleasantly surprised with this album considering that it was a recent release and the low monthly listeners.
I wish the album had more instrumental than vocal tracks, I found the vocals more distracting than complementing. I really wanted to give the album a 3, but the second half dragged it to a 2 for me.
This album was all over the place for me. The intro was priming me for a 1. Most of the songs sounds like they would be used in a trailer for a quirky action family movie. The slow melodic songs in the middle (Whipping Tree/Green) I enjoyed a lot, but they are not the main feature of the album.
With all that being said, I did enjoy the album and it was cool discovering a band that I have never heard of.
Go! Frank! Go out and Zappa to the extreme!
Solid jazz fusion album- the 2018 Youtube algorithm has kept me on Casiopea, but I am happy to have this album in the rotation now.
I feel like I may have summoned this album by listening to Tyler, the Creator's Goblin this weekend. Same edge, and even the same fondness for cartoons (Eminem: South Park, Tyler: Adventure Time).
Review: Basically what Brandon said. The highs are highs (Stan, Real Slim Shady, Criminal) but the album is way too long. I never knew Em has beef with ICP, and now I had to listen to a Juggajob skit with allusions to NWA's "Just Don't Bite It."
The first two-thirds of the album had 90s vampire bad boy vibes, tracks 8-10 was the freak section, and I don't even know how to classify 11-12. Needless to say, I didn't care for this album.
Costello's voice was too grating for me. His inflections, pronunciations, and nasally voice was an unpleasant combination to my ears. The instrumentation was bland to me as well.
I am going to temper my newly found prejudices whenever we get to early Costello, but this album was not a good introduction to him for me.
I started listening to Morrissey/The Smiths in 2020. The moody melodies from songs like "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" and the Russian rock band Кино (Kino) kept me sane during that year.
Despite listening to him for a while, I've never delved into Morrissey's personal thoughts until now. I now understand that he is a full-fledged dramaphile. It seems you could make an entire political compass out of Morrissey quotes with each quadrant somehow associated with animal rights activism. I am waiting for Morrissey to cover John Sakars songs like "Go Vegan Muthafucka" and "Carnist Roommate."
For the album proper, I liked it a lot. I like Morrissey's 'dulcet' voice (thank you for that $5 word, Brandon) and 'Everyday is Like Sunday' is the official party anthem for dreary gray days.
I liked the album when I listened to it, but I can hardly remember any track. I'll still want to replay it only to forget it every now and then. I do not 'not like' it, but for some reason it doesn't stick.
Excellent album art and excellent music. Fela blended the instrumental with the vocals well, a rarity compared to some previous instrumental-heavy albums we have listened to.
I would have likely never found this album without the list. I read the album's history after listening, and yeah, it added a greater appreciation for the album. Some people make music for fun, others for money... Fela's musical critique on the Nigerian government resulted in his commune getting razed.
Rough road listen, the 'Blues Deluxe' is what sent this to a 1-star. Maybe the song would have been good in real life, but it became clear in recording that Beck and his band could not figure out how to change notes.
I was excited for Brian Eno since I Iove his relaxing ambience albums. This was not relaxing, nor was it good. Too repetitive and the vocal samples were too distracting.
Pretty good; didn't know or listen to Sam Cooke before this, but I liked what I listened to. I found myself responding to "Chain Gang", so the live album engaged me.
My high school girlfriend liked Elliott Smith, so the rating will already be low. The songs sounded fine enough, but they are sleepy sad-tinged mellow. If that is what you want, than it is a good fit. The album was nice paired with the grey skies and rain-snow sludge outside. If you don't want that vibe, than this album is not for you. I don't care for the album art either... I can smell the stale urine and cigarettes.
This album is truly a 3 for me, but the bad high school memories and stinky cover art brings it to a 2.
A surprise four for me. I had low-expectations, (2000s, low monthly listens, British) but Hawley's soothing singing was on loop today.
5/5: Yeah I am flipping this to a 5. I have listened to this album too many times to be a 4.
Great music to clean your car to, although I don't remember a single song. You should consider TPE or rubber car mats, the elements are kinder to them... I had to put my mangy manufacturer carpet mats out to pasture.
The album is inoffensive and nice sounding, I give it a "will listen to when I deep clean my car again"/5.
All the music I like points me to Tribe, yet I haven't listened to a full Tribe album until now. Surprise, surprise, I enjoyed the album a lot. This is an easy 5 for me.
The first notes on the first track petrified me. I listened to Spaceman 3 two days ago, will I have to do it again? I skipped to the second track and was pleased to know that it was not the case (and the first song changed its tune when I gave it a fair listen).
I didn't care much for the sounds, but it sounded like they wanted to do something fun and it was not too insulting to the ears.
Hot Rats got me listening to Zappa, so I was looking forward to this album. The album was interesting from a historical perspective, but the sounds weren't for me.
I entered the album disinterested. We have listened to two out of the four R.E.M albums already, how are we getting a third? I was resigned that R.E.M was only a hits band to me, but this album won me over. The album had a good, consistent, energy for most of the album (last few tracks were a little sleepy). I liked the lyrics as well. Readied myself for a 2 or 3, yet leaving with a 4.
I honestly never gave Amy Winehouse a fair listen in the past, my main memory of her music was "Rehab" playing 24/7 on every radio in 2007. This album is great, Amy had amazing vocals!
I forgot about this album for a while, happy to hear it again. The album is not as cozy (so not as 'folk' folk) as I remembered, but it still hits for cold fall/winter days.
I listened to it a few times today. I enjoyed it the first time, but the dark energy got taxing when I had the album on loop. I'll still throw it a 3; feeling jolly this week.
Teetering on a 2 just from how long the album is, but the sounds were overall good. It took me a few times to fully listen to the album.
The title song is a banger, simple as.
I had a great time listening to this album. A lot of artist sample, but few makes albums that are nothing but samples. It is a small niche, and I like it when it is done right. I wish it was on Spotify, so I don't see myself coming back to this album as much as I would want to.
I can't bring myself to give it a 🌽 since I wasn't annoyed listening to it. I can't give it a 🌽🌽🌽 since I didn't like it. 🌽🌽 it is...I liked Coming Undone back in the day, but this album was not a bountiful harvest🧑🌾🚜.
Pretty good. I wasn't captured by the album, but I enjoyed listening to it. I wish Meg sang more, as I enjoyed "In the Cold, Cold Night" a lot.
Pretty good. I don't have much else to say!
Digital Underground is like a proto-Turquoise Jeep with the aggressively raunchy lyrics and ridiculous alter-egos. Even the pill is turquoise!
Despite the seemingly silly concept, there was heavy thought involved when creating Sex Packets. The guys designed an alternative reality where sex packets leaked onto the streets of San Francisco, they made-up a Sanford professor who invented the sex packets for astronauts, and they even distributed pamphlets about the perils of sex packets throughout the city. In their press release, they remained ambiguous on if sex packets were real or not. All of these antics were subtle commentary regarding street drug epidemics and casual sex concerns post-HIV/AIDS. "The Complete Story of Digital Underground’s Sex Packets" by Peter Lawson is worth a good skim if you want to read more about it.
Gutsfest 89' and Freaks of the Industry were pushing too much on the freak side, but the amount of depth and thought that was put into the overall album got me.
Will I be listening to this album a lot? Probably not. Will I listen to this in-public with mixed company? Never! Did I greatly appreciate learning about this album? Yes!
I was coming into the album a hater. I don't care for grunge music, the word grunge sounds stinky, and Kurt Cobain ocassionally looks stinky. Needless to say, this was not a grunge album and I am now open to hearing other Nirvana albums now.
It was admirable to play mostly deep cuts and covers, and somehow I have heard "The Man who Sold the World" more times from Nirvana and Midge Ure (MGSV) than I have from David Bowie.
I don't know much about Nirvana's whole story, but I can tell you that I had this album on loop. I am a reformed Nirvana hater.
I had no idea about this album, but it was a great pairing with the emergancy $5 gas station breakfast (sausage croissant, hashbrown, and an 8.4fl oz Red Bull). The album sounded like other groups that I enjoy, and it has a positive dark energy. A pleasant surprise!
This album was a 1 and a 4 at the same time (long,sometimes annoying, fun sounds). I liked it when I wasn't focusing on the individual tracks, so the overall album gets a 3. The album art rules.
Love an album that is strong and to the point. I can't wait to listen to socially conscious Gaye and ex-husband Gaye in the near future.
I'll be a pedantic dork. I like this album a lot, but one of the reasons I like it is Now or Never. I remember driving into Chicago with my sister and the chorus felt so right with the night skyline. Now or Never is on the deluxe edition, however, and we are reviewing the standard.
Without Now or Never: 4.5
With: easy 5
Other favorites:
Poetic Justic
Swimming Pools
Compton
I don't care for the Beatles, and I remember feeling like everything wanted me to care about the Beatles in the late 2000s. iTunes got the Beatles catalog, 'Across the Universe' pins were adorned on messenger bags, and 'The Beatles: Rock Band' was the game to get. There was all of this, but the hits I would hear from their albums did not click (except for Sgt. Peppers, that is my Beatles carve-out). I think my tepid feelings for the Beatles also stem from not liking John Lennon, but that rant will be saved when we get to Imagine.
Now that I have to listen to the Beatles, I can say that I liked this album a good bit. I liked the songs with unique sounds (such as the sitar in 'Norwegian Wood' and the sped-up piano in 'In My Life'). The album is close to a 4 for me, but I am not willing to shake my past sentiments as easy as I did with Nirvana. The deduction is also for ending with such a weak and uncomfortable song. Sure, they have mature and thoughful lyrics like in 'In My Life' but they end it with the "Daddy is going to kill his little girl" song.
It was a fine sounding, yet forgettable album. Each song sounded the same, which isn't bad by itself, but there was nothing that stood out.
I liked it, nice ambient-like rock sounds. I also like that the artist uses the same cover (with little variation) for all their albums.
The guy sounded like he didn't want to sing any of these songs.
Good big band jazz, I don't have much else to say!
Fine sounds but the album was way too long to keep me personally interested. I do enjoy the "Da Da"s in 'Howling For You' though.
I have never listened to a full album Elton John album until now, I liked it! The album started strong with Tiny Dancer, and all the songs that followed were great too.
I like California Dreaming, and I don't remember the rest of the album (nothing too bad or too great, just good listening).
The low-listen albums are a gamble, and this one paid-off well. I liked the light electronic sounds in the album. It was a nice contrast to the dark synth sounds from yesterday's album. This record was a good discovery for me!
The album was a little too sleepy for my ears when I listened to it. I'll give it a second try since people find value in the album (Hannah told me that this was the only CD in the lab truck she drove for her MS research).
Now that I have to listen to Beatles albums in full, I am realizing that I like the Beatles just like how Squidward likes Krabby Patties.
I enjoyed it, it was some good fast driving music.
Album was a nice mix of blues, country, and even some bluegrass songs, albeit the songs were not memorable and the album was way too long.
This album is everything I want in a Tom Waits album. It is the missing link when he sang like a (somewhat) regular person in the 70s but still with the storytelling that was strong with his 80s - 90s music. Listening to this album has made me realize that I need to listen to more Tom Waits as well, since I have been sleeping on a lot of his other albums.
Good jazz album; the recording and singing was so nice that I would ocassionally forget that it is a live recording.
I am teetering between a 2 and a 3, the sounds just aren't doing it for me. I hate saying "it all sounds the same" as a critique since the true critique is "it all sounds the same and I don't care what it sounds like." I could listen to Mac Demarco all day and all his songs sound the same.
I'll take Wonderwall and some of their other hits, but I don't think I need an entire Oasis album.
This is a vibe review. I would have given it a 2 or 3 other weeks, but the double Stooges in one week was too much for me. I will put on a shirt in defiance of Iggy Pop.
The music reminded me of the Aquabats and it turns out the Aquabats once opened for the B-52's!
The intro and parts of "Fuck Shit Up" reminded me of friends blowing out their mics in Ventrilo. Hard pass.
Fine folk ballad compilation. I wouldn't be able to discern it from other folk ballad albums, but it does well.
It's okay, but it didn't catch me. I listened to the UK version and wished I listened to the US version cause 'Paint it Black' is on it.
Shoulda stuck as an instrumental band.
This is an album I love listening to by myself, but I know that I would feel awkward listening to it with others. It is good chaotic music to relax/drive to.
I wasn't hallucinating that they were singing about welfare mothers.
Never heard of the album until now; was a pleasant suprise!
More of a 3.5 for me. Obviously influential album, but the album was too long for my personal preferences.
First I was thinking of a 3. Than I was thinking of a 4. But when "There is a Light That Never Goes Out" played, I have to give it a 5.
A fine album. I like the sounds but it didn't stir much in me. I was stunlocked when I heard 'Coconut'...the Lime Coke ads tormented me in the past and I never knew it was a real song.
Kind of Blue was the easiest instrumental 5, and Pet Sounds is the easiest vocal 5. The album is more than a 5 to me, as the songs have been a soundtrack to some profound lows and highs in adulthood. The simple sadness from "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times" was both comforting and depressing in Undergrad, and "God Only Knows" was played on strings for my wedding recessional. It was great to see Brian Wilson perform the album a decade ago (shoutout to Brandon and Jordy for also being there), and I will still be listening to this album for more decades.
RIP Brian Wilson, I hope they have Norbit (4k UHD, Criterion Collection Edition) in Heaven.
Similar to some other albums, I would have preferred that they were an instrumental band. The songs would start with some strong ambient soundscapes, but the singing ruined it for me.
The keyboard solos went hard.
Good, but didn't hit as hard compared to Zombie.
A "getting harassed by the college radio at 10AM on a Saturday" type album.
Sorry Bros, Oasis doesn't do anything for me. I can tell it is well made, but it was a chore to get through this album. I need other songs interspersed to enjoy Oasis, I can't handle full concentration Oasis!
The first part was hard to listen to when slightly hungover, but everything else was nice. I could see this album evolving to a personal 5 for me with additional plays.
I am amazed that Gabriel and Collins sound the same- it makes me second guess if I have been mistaking the two all along. It was nice walking around to this album while wearing Koss Porta Pros; a Patrick Bateman afternoon.
This is nice. I can't describe math rock, but I know it when I hear it, and the math rock jams were really nice in this album.
This album was dissapointing. I was expecting some fast prog jams (like the last Yes album, Fragile) Instead, we got a sleepy album.
I knew I wouldn't like this album just from the cover art... it looks like a dramatized version of the South Park ginger kids. There were some sparks of Weather Channel jams within the piece, but nothing fascinated me.
I wanted to like this album, but the bouncing genres was too noisy for my preferences. This week has been good at securing my low average rating for UK albums.
I was about to give this album a 1, but the simple cheeriness of "Council Meetin'" stopped me in my tracks. The instrumental reminded me of another song, but I don't know its name (like a MGMT song or some 2010s summer indie pop).*
Council Meetin' melted my Grinch heart, but not enough to warrant an album relisten. I liked individual tracks ('The Paris Match', 'My Ever Changing Moods'), but the whole album felt disjointed- it sounded more like a rough playlist instead of an album to me.
Like that one dork who reviewed the Black Keys 'Brothers', goodbye forever The Style Council.
* I found it. It reminded me of Peter Bjorn And John - Young Folks (never knew the name of that song until now).
