Some compelling songs and really nice riffs, but ended up not feeling as exciting or impactful as I was expecting going in. I also never really got into the singer’s voice.
First time listening to a live jazz album, not completely my cup of tea, but def didn’t dislike it.
Fave: Skin Deep
Did not expect to like this this much. Enjoyable from start to finish, great energy, great riffs, and beautiful chaos. Probably a low 5, but a 5 nonetheless.
Very very pretty album. Definitely the kind of thing I could image spinning on a record player while just chilling out for a full night. I loved how the vibe always kept switching between beautiful and almost funereal. Unfortunately, none of the album really stood out to me or stuck with me in a meaningful way, but still pretty good nonetheless.
Low 4.
Not sure this project is going to stick with me for a long time, but it did my daily commute quite nice. Very relaxing and fun project overall and my first foray into Senegalese music.
Favorite: Maacina Tooro
Least Favorite: Taara
Mid 3.
Pretty hot or miss album for me. Some songs were excellent and others just reminded me of how corny and aged a lot of rap from this time sounds to me.
Favorite Songs: Ladies First, A King and Queen Creation, Queen of Royal Badness
Least Favorite Song: Princess of the Possee
High 3
Some pretty great songs, but a lot of forgettable ones too. Still enjoyed my experience, but I don't think most of their stuff is for me.
Favorite Songs: Almost Cut My Hair, Helpless, Deja Vu
Least Favorite Song: Everybody I Love You
Mid 3.
Very intimate and melancholy in a way that reminds me of bedroom pop decades ahead of its time. I think the rough nature of the album ends up being hit or miss for me, but there’s enough standouts to make me consider revisiting in the future.
Favorite Songs: Things Behind the Sun, Parasite, Free Ride
Least Favorite Song: Know
Low 4.
Tough to know how I feel about this one. There are a few fantastic tracks on here but also a lot that ends up feeling kitschy or corny to me.
Favorite Songs: “Ready, Able”, “I Live With You”, “Foreground”
Least Favorite Song: “Two Weeks”
Low 3.
A lot of this album unfortunately came off as very samey to me. Most of the songs just kind of melded into the same generically good 80s Southern Rock song to me. That being said, there were a couple fun highlights and I think most of the songs individually were pretty good, just a bit trying when put back to back.
Favorite Songs: “I Need You Tonight”, “Thug”, “TV Dinners”
Least Favorite Song: “Legs”
High 3.
Very fun album. Had a bit of a rocky start for me, but lots of good stuff in the second half. Wish I could understand the vocalist better, but I'm pretty sure that's just a skill issue on my end.
Favorite Songs: "I Can't Do Anything", "Identity", "Germfree Adolescence"
Least Favorite Song: "Obsessed With You"
Mid 4.
Huge gap between the highs and lows on this album for me. Throughout all of it, Terence’s performances remain the strongest parts (just listen to the shit he pulls in the final two tracks). But this album also reminded me that I’ve never been able to get into the “singing shirtless in the rain for your love” style songs and there are some long examples on this record. On the other hand, there are some fantastic standouts that just make me wish the album went harder in their direction.
Favorite Songs: “If You All Get to Heaven”, “I’ll Never Turn My Back on You”, and “As Yet Untitled”
Least Favorite Song: “Let’s Go Forward”
High 3.
Thoroughly enjoyed this album. Aside from a bit of a lull in the middle, tons of fun tracks here along with proof that Albarn really always had the sauce.
Favorite Songs: “Girls & Boys”, “End of a Century”, “This is a Low”
Least Favorite Song: “Far Out”
Mid 4.
Every song on this album is fighting a battle between being ridiculously fun and unbearably corny. Ultimately, it splits mostly down the middle.
Favorite Songs: “Take on Me”, “Hunting High and Low”, “The Sun Always Shines on T.V.”
Least Favorite Song: “And You Tell Me”
High 3.
Pretty fun psychedelia. Honestly didn't really dislike any tracks on this album, but at the same time, nothing ended up being a huge standout, so my overall score isn't too high.
Favorite Songs: "I Got the Hots", "Insanely Jealous of You", "Old Pervert"
Low 4.
Liked this even more than I thought I would. Great psychedelia from front to back and was the perfect thing to get me through a boring plane ride.
Favorite Songs: “Somebody to Love”, “Comin’ Back to Me”, “White Rabbit”, “Go to Her”
Low 5.
Simultaneously repititively entrancing and unpredictable enough to keep me on my toes. Very fun and I would love to lose myself in a club to this.
Favorite Tracks: "Ancodia", "Cobra Bora"
High 4.
Definitely some parts of this album that I like, but it's held back by my dislike of the vocalist and some very odd diversions into emo territory.
Favorite Tracks: "Psychosocial", "Gehenna", "All Hope is Gone"
Least Favorite Track: "Snuff"
Mid 3.
Honestly not nearly as in love with this album as I thought I would be. Definitely some great blues rock ballads on here, but also some definite misses that are gonna keep me from spinning this that often.
Favorite Tracks: "Wild Horses", "Can't You Hear Me Knocking", "Sister Morphine"
Least Favorite Track: "I Got the Blues"
High 3.
Very melancholic album. I think the toll that age has taken on Holiday's voice is really a double-edged sword here. It both adds a lot of emotional intensity and a sense of wistfulness to many of the songs, but it also definitely limits her range in a way that saps energy.
Favorite Songs: "I'm a Fool to Want You", "You've Changed", "The End of a Love Affair"
Least Favorite Song: "But Beautiful"
Low 4.
Maybe the most 80s album I've ever heard. I think there's definitely some misses in the tracklist (for me at least), but some of the hits really blew me away. Very sensual at times, but also really explosive. Also definitely enjoyed the second half more than the first, but that's mostly due to me not being in love with straightforward love songs.
Favorite Songs: "Sign o' the Times", "Strange Relationship", "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man", "The Cross", "It's Gonna Be a Beautiful Night"
Least Favorite Song: "If I Was Your Girlfriend"
Mid 4.
Really great album. Though I think it lulls in the middle a bit, the run of songs at the end is one of the best I've heard so far in this project. Really aggressive and creative stuff, and definitely an album I'll be coming back to to get more out of.
Favorite Songs: "Yes", "She Is Suffering", "Die in the Summertime", "The Intense Humming of Evil", "P.C.P."
Least Favorite Song: "Mausoleum"
Mid 4.
First disco album I've listened to in full, and there were definitely highs and lows. The start of this record was pretty promising, but I was really disappointed with the second half. Lots of long songs with some promise, but not enough energy to maintain my interest through the whole thing. Definitely not writing off disco as a whole because of this or anything, but not the way I wanted to be introduced to the genre.
Favorite Songs: "Le Freak", "Savoir Faire"
Least Favorite Song: "At Last I Am Free"
Low 3.
Absolutely loved this album. So much fun listening to the music switch from goofy to beautiful to headbanging the whole time. My only qualms are one or two misses in the tracklist and a couple songs that I wish were longer (DDevil and CUBErt).
Favorite Tracks: "Know", "Spiders", "Soil", "War?", "Darts"
Least Favorite Track: "Mind"
Low 5.
First country album and I was kind of disappointed after seeing how well-received the album is. While the songwriting definitely shone in parts, a lot of the album was just kind of boring to me and didn't stand out enough to leave the impression it has on other people. The back half of the album saved this from being entirely negative, but just barely.
Favorite Songs: "$1000 Wedding", "Love Hurts", "Ooh Las Vegas"
Least Favorite Song: "Medley Live From Northern Quebec"
Low 3.
Mostly boring first half, but a really solid second half.
Favorite Songs: "Guinnevere", "Wooden Ships", "Helplessly Hoping", "Long Time Gone"
Least Favorite Song: "Marrakesh Express"
Low 4.
This album really surprised me. Only knowing "We Got the Beat" beforehand, I was pleasantly surprised to hear how interesting a lot of songwriting was melodically and harmonically. Also really enjoyed the slight punk influence throughout the very poppy album. Only letdown was the beginning and ending segments of the album felt more bland than the rest.
Favorite Songs: "Tonite", "Lust to Love", "Fading Fast", "Automatic"
Least Favorite Song: "Skidmarks on My Heart"
Mid 4.
Another big surprise for me. Was not prepared for just how creative and theatrical a lot of this album ended up being. Still a few duds in the tracklist, but overall a good time.
Favorite Songs: "Gutter Cat vs. the Jets", "Blue Turk", "My Stars", "Grande Finale"
Least Favorite Song: "Luney Tune"
Mid 4.
Came into this album expecting to love it, and I was still blown away. Easily the best album I've listened to so far in this project. Absurdly ahead of its time. Heavily reminds me of peak Aphex Twin with a hip-hop bent. I've already spun this 2-3 times since I first listened, and it'll be in my regular rotation for a while.
Favorite Songs: "Building Steam with a Grain of Salt", "Changeling", "What Does Your Soul Look Like (Part 4)", "Stem / Long Stem (Medley)", "Transmission 2", "Organ Donor", "Why Hip Hop Sucks in '96", "Midnight in a Perfect World"
Least Favorite Songs: N/A
High 5.
Knew this would be a strange one, and it did turn out that way. I have a lot of issues with listening to a soundtrack for something I haven't experienced. There are a select few soundtracks (and within those only a few songs) that can truly stand on their own. In this case, however, I end up feeling completely separated from any emotional context for the music both through the language barrier and never having seen the movie itself. While there were a few interesting moments and vague emotions that rose through the music, the most I could give at the end was a disinterested shrug.
Favorite Songs: "Title Music (Shalimar)", "Romantic Theme (Shalimar)", "Mera Pyar Shalimar)
Least Favorite Song: the rest i guess...
Mid 2.
So I came into this biased, which I tried to avoid, but in the case of an artist like this, that's hard to do (God I'm going to seem like such a hypocrite when I get a Kanye album). Unfortunately, my attempts to be open-minded were defeated by how much I hated almost every part of this album. The pseudo-rebelliousness that Kid tries to portray in every song just comes off toothless and vague. Whenever he does get close to actually taking me aback or being crass, I find myself wishing that I was listening to classic Eminem or nu-metal.
The main theme of the album seems to be how desperately Kid wants to have a hit album and get the respect he deserves, which is probably the reason why every song feels like sanitized rebelliousness. There's really nothing here to get excited about or be offended by.
Favorite Songs: "Bawitdaba", "Fuck Off" (without that outro)
Least Favorite Songs: "Cowboy", "Only God Knows Why", "Black Chick, White Guy"
Mid 1.
