1001 Albums Summary

Opening with Block Rockin' Beats was a bit of an own goal, in that the album never manages to reach the dizzying intensity of its opener. Dig Your Own Hole is nevertheless a triumph of techno and big beat. It blends electro with pop sensibilities effortlessly, and towards the new millennium that was a recipe for stardom. The opener may be its high point, but other standouts include the deep techno masterclass It Doesn't Matter and the devastatingly disorienting closer The Private Psychedelic Reel. It could, however, have done without Noel Gallagher, whose crooning on Setting Sun detracts from the brilliantly utilised vocals throughout the rest of the album. While I very much enjoy this album, I still think Music for the Jilted Generation did it better and more persuasively three years earlier.

A coming of age album for many people, including myself, who reached their teens in the late 2000s/early 2010s. There's a quiet melancholy to the sparse guitars and light electronics here, which cosily contour the sensual lyrics. But with the exception of Intro, there aren't any songs with staying power and more than a decade later XX is a somewhat drab and underwhelming listen. Unfortunately this is a pattern with a lot of the indie-electro British scene in this era: not much of it has stood the test of time.

One of the best jazz records I've ever heard. When your brain is ready to take it in, it hits with an intensity very few pieces of music can match.

French.

Two albums by the same band in ten days? Okay then. Anyway, this is a considerably more interesting album than XX or Coexist - the soundscapes more memorable, the lyrics more evocative, and the range of influences more expansive. On Test Me, there's a sharp floaty synth that is transporting, like gliding over the cosmos; Dangerous features an infectious off-kilter jazz-house beat; A Violent Noise strikes a perfect balance between noise and silence. If The xx ever release a fourth album, I hope it leans even further into the band's maximalist impulses, because that's where they shine most.

For some reason autoplay was enabled on my streaming app and Suzanne came on after and it was so much better than anything on this album.

I'm not going to sit through the full 2+ hours of this because I've heard it enough times before. The Call of Ktulu is easily the best rendition here because the orchestra lends some dynamism, not so much elevating as recontextualising it. The nature of the track - inspired by Lovecraft and lacking lyrics - gives the orchestra freedom to breathe. That can't be said for many of the other renditions. The other classic Metallica tracks sound claustrophobic with the addition of orchestral elements, and the Load/Reload era tracks simply aren't good enough as they are. Other than Ktulu, the standouts here are the Black Album tracks, which have a floaty quality that lends itself well to the fullness that the orchestra provides. Lastly, I think - Human (Metallica: please stop trying to be clever with track titles) is a pretty poor song but I have a soft spot for No Leaf Clover - it's got those Unforgiven vibes that I'm weak for.

Do Your Thing rips so hard, goddamn.

Death Grips for boomers (complimentary)