I’ll never forget the people scream singing Mr. Brightside on repeat at 3am while camping at the Renaissance Faire. Going over to yell at them to shut up and finding all of them completely naked will forever be burned in my brain when I think about this song.
I was thinking this sounded like Reggae Elvis Costello, and after finding out that he produced this album I feel vindicated in my earlier judgement. I am not an Elvis Costello fan at all, and this album isn't doing it for me.
I feel like I'm back in 2003 with my sister blasting this as she was going though her edgy middle/high school phase. Fun fact, the album Bella from Twilight is thought to be listening to is this album. She listens to it over and over again in an angst filled rage as she is trying to not think about Edward, who is avoiding her. She deconstructs it until she finally falls asleep. I think that encapsulates exactly what type of nu-metal this is - so accessible that it appears as an "edgy" moment in a vampire romance book. That is to say, I think tween/teens can really identify with this music because everything about it screams melodramatic and has big feelings that only puberty can really bring out. When everything that happens both positive and especially negative feels like the biggest thing that will ever happen to you.
I think that this album is one that you kind of have to be in that age group to really see and feel the merits of when you first listen to it, otherwise I think it's hard to put yourself into that mindset. I wasn't much of a nu-metal fan, though there were a few times I angrily put on a couple of songs when I was going through a bad day. 3/5 because I can really see why this became popular, but it's just not my personal taste. I would say .5 of that is personal nostalgia of listening to it with my sister, and those moments where the worst thing that could happen to you was you had a breakout that wouldn't clear up and your crush was into someone else. Now I have bills.
I don’t really get why this is on here, but is good background music.
This album is effortless cool. One of my favorite albums before this project. I am so glad its on this list. The mixing is great, the lyrics are top notch, the vocals are clean, and this is nearly a perfect album for me.
I think this was worth a listen, and I get it, but admittedly I find this type of music hard to listen to unless I'm in a particular mood. It will go on my playlist for when I am in that mood, but I'm rating these on a personal scale of likability. Depending on the day, I'll either love this, or wonder why I ever did.
3/5 - True Neutral
Playlist Pick - Bazooka Joe. Weirdly, I've heard this one before.
Funnily enough, I only knew Common People from the William Shatner version. Otherwise had never heard of Pulp, but then again, I'm not from the UK and it appears this album didn't sell an insane amount of units in the US. That being said, great album! I do think some of the songs are creepy and it did take me two listens to enjoy the speak/whisper singing. But it's a tight record and I gotta say I get the appeal - but I don't think it resonates with me like so many others.
3/5.
Playlist Pick - Common People. Man I love this song so much!
I enjoyed this, and there are some songs that I love - but overall? I don't quite see why its on this list. It's not bad, in fact it's good, but I think others did it first and better. Pretty sure its on this list due more to the drama surrounding the band members rather than the album being a must listen.
Playlist Pick: Narcissist. hits my ear just right,
Really interesting album. The Duchess I can absolutely see as a barrier to listeners - it would make Schoenberg proud. I think if you can get past that, and his singing voice (which I hate to dog on for anyone) then I think this album is really a surrealist lullaby. I believe the concept behind it is based off of dreaming, and I think if you take it as the phases of sleep you can really see what he is going for.
To me Heaps of Sheeps is the trying to fall asleep song - still upbeat and coherent that drifts on and off towards the weirder parts of trying to fall asleep. The Duchess reminds me of those kind of falling asleep but still being half awake and dreaming about what you're hearing. Like falling asleep to TV and bam, you start having dreams based around the dialogue snippets your unconscious mind is hearing that your still semi conscious mind is trying to make sense of. Then you finally fall asleep and have the pleasant Maryan type dream that gets you in the groove for the rest of the night. At least that's how I read the first 3 songs.
I am a sucker for Subterranean Homesick Blues and the Bob in Blues Minor really tipped this album to a 5 I think. I don't know if this is right time right place, or my rather recent tolerance for experimental music. Either way, I had decided to give each album at least 2 listens, once in the car on my commute and one active listening, and I found it good for both.
Also, now adding one song an album to a playlist for this project, and that honor goes to Blues in Bob Minor.
This album rocks. Really really love it! I know a few Van Halen songs but haven't listened to a full album but I get It. I get the hype, I feel the energy. I love that a lot of these were live takes - it shows that they had played together a ton before recording this. You can close your eyes and imagine you're at a live show. But the sound quality is great! The guitar is clear, and the vocals don't get lost in it all. What a great album.
5/5
Song added to playlist: Feel Your Love Tonight. Hard to choose just one for the playlist, but I really think this is the catchiest besides Runnin' With the Devil, which was a close second.
Oh man, my first Radiohead album and it's pretty mid. I have admittedly only listened to Radiohead in passing, and never a full album all the way through. This wasn't bad and had some really good moments, but was all kind of one note and not super interesting album to me. Maybe it's just the hype surrounding this band (see the fans proclaiming they're better than the Beatles, which may be true but ask the general public here in America to name a Radiohead song that isn't Creep and I'd be surprised if you get another song) but I just don't quite get it. That being said, this is apparently one of the lower regarded albums in their catalogue, so maybe I'll have my mind blown.
It is an album I'll listen to again due to the political nature and current events that are eerily similar to what led to this album. Curious if I'll change my mind on this album due to that, but I am trying to rate these within the week I listen to them.
3/5. Song added to playlist - 2+2=5. What a banger of an opening song, though the rest of the album was just okay to me.
This is going to be a short review for me. Not my style. Really hard for me to get through with the singing though I hate to complain about that kind of thing. This reminds me of a really drunk bar band singing their hearts out, which is much better in person and also really, really drunk. It doesn't make a good album for me. And I love the fiddle and vibe with some country!
Song added to playlist: Flitcraft. This was the most listenable to me out of the bunch and one that was mostly in tune.
Well, I enjoyed this one. Some of them were songs that I've heard a million times - I come for a bluegrass background and if you haven't heard Knoxville Girl or In the Pines a million times, are you really bluegrass enough?
I get that it sounds old-timey - very much a product of it's time. But that's what I enjoy! I love the tradition of folk music. Fun fact - it is believed that the popular form of the murder ballad came from something called broadside ballads. These broadside ballads were essentially one page newspapers that contained memorable ballads about current events or folktales. In the late 1800s (though there are plenty examples before this time) , they started printing a lot of true crime related ballads. This gave way to the modern murder ballad - a murder would happen, and they would write a ballad surround the who, what, and why and those selling the broadside ballads on the street would sing verses in order to sell their newspapers/broadsides.
An example from this album is Knoxville Girl. It comes to Appalachia from Ireland, from a tune knows as the Wexford Girl, which in turn came from an English Folk song, The Oxford Girl (the Shirley Collins version is great!). I don't quite remember the origin date if any, but I can tell you that every traditional murder ballad has three elements - the event, the victim, and the killer getting his just desserts - oh and the subtext that women should be moral and not do anything out of line with what is traditional, otherwise they'll be drowned at the river.
As you can tell, I like the traditional music. I like the history and how these tunes can span centuries. I like digging into all of them and seeing if they originate and can link back to the Child Ballads, or what Roud index number this song is. I think all this is neat.
So the music - the mandolin is played really well and I can hear what was kept and improved upon through the years after this album came out. As a mandolin player, really great example of the instrument and it's role. As an really bad guitar player, this was simple no frills guitar - but effective in it's role. And some context to the singing - the high lonesome tenor is the traditional way of singing these tunes in the Appalachian tradition, and the harmony is not a complex one. I don't think this album was supposed to be "innovative" - rather a straightforward collection of songs and music. I think we get lost as music lovers hoping for something to blow our minds every song or album. Sometimes, songs are just songs and people are just singing them. Also the super religious songs at the end I honestly don't care for as much so I totally get that. Hard to be nonreligious in the bluegrass world sometimes!
All that to say, the Louvin Brothers are formative to the bluegrass movement, and as someone who already loves this music, I gotta give it 5 stars. But I get why a lot of people don't gel with it. I'm just a folk nerd. Oh and if anyone actually reads all this, kudos and I hope you learned something kind of cool.
Song added to playlist: In the Pines. Man I love this version! And I love the Nirvana version - another example of these traditional songs crossing decades.
What can I say about this album? It does seem to be made for me in a way - I don't mind improv and long winded solos, and I love blues, but man, this one was hard for me. I listened to this while stuck in traffic. Echoing other's opinions, once I arrived to work, I thought "wow this album must be over soon, but the songs are decent at least for that 45 minute drive. Where is Layla?" and opened my spotify to realize I was only 30 minutes in and there was still over an hour left before I even got to the title song. All that to say, this is long winded and repetitive enough that I cannot give it another listen unless I want to fall asleep at work.
Not to say it's bad music - It's fine, some great guitar work! Then I look up who is in this band (don't judge me, I might have been raised on late 60s and early 70s, but that isn't to say my parents were Clapton fans until Tears in Heaven) and I see it's Eric Clapton. I'm young(ish) and American and even I know Clapton has a.... reputation to say the least. I'm glad I found this out after listening to the album because it at least gave me a clean slate at listening to the music.
And now that I've been as long winded as this album was, I gotta say, this is solid blues music. I enjoyed probably the first 3 minutes of every song - the longer it went, the more the solos blended together. Coming from a bluegrass background, I don't mind solos, and the more creative the better, but these were not entirely creative past that 3 minute mark. I think the longer guitar solos go on, the more they sound like nooding. I could not pull a melody to hum after listening to this album - well besides Layla, so this wasn't memorable to me either.
Was it a good album? yeah, it was listenable. Was it world shattering? No, but Layla is admittedly great. Would I listen to it again? Yeah it's decent background noise if I can find a secondhand copy for like $1 (for those artists of dubious moral character, I try to only listen to on spotify once and otherwise get secondhand if I liked the music enough).
3/5.
Song added to playlist: Layla. Come on, its the best song on the album.
Wow. I cannot believe that I have never listened to a Bowie Album all the way through. I was raised on the late 60s early 70s and I even live in the state where he gets his stage name from, but I guess my parents either didn't know about him or didn't vibe with him. But this album was fantastic!
I know a few of his songs but the album was well laid out to keep you listening to it. The song that stands out as the outlier is Kooks but even that was comparatively good to a lot of other music I listen to. I loved Oh! You Pretty Things (spoiler, that's my playlist pick) and Queen Bitch. I really enjoyed Andy Warhol and the back half of the album where Bowie pays homage to other artists. Eight Line poem really stuck out to me as well -This is an album of hits for me and no misses really.
5/5, adding the whole thing to my rotation
Playlist pick: Oh! You Pretty Things. CLOSE second is Life on Mars or Queen Bitch. I could add all three but trying to stick to one for this playlist and Pretty Things caught my ear immediately
I am not going to go on about the politics - it's been talked about enough. This album doesn't scream political to me. I am going to give it the stars for the art, not the artist.
I didn't love Modern Life is Rubbish and thought I just didn't love Blur, but I really enjoyed this one! It scratches an itch in my brain for poppy indie and I actually appreciate the heavy British themes and accent.
Alright. Look I don't hate Neil Young but man I just think he's kind of average. My parents love him but I struggle with anything above "ah yeah this is music that is as unoffensive as can be." I guess that's good for an artist? I have 3 of his albums left, and I am only 139 in. I had gotten the first 3 in the first 20. I think I'm just suffering from fatigue.
Alright, well this album really fuels my nostalgia. I had a choir teacher in middle school that was obsessed with this album and would play it on repeat between albums. We also sang the (remixed) version of Back to Life and that is a core memory with my best friend. With all that saccharine nostalgia, how could I hate this album? Is it my favorite; no, certainly not. But it has a solid and constant groove the whole way through and I can totally see this put on at a party for cooler people than me. I really enjoyed the listen through, but I don't think I'll be putting on much other than Back to Life - club music just doesn't capture me as someone who is a dedicated introvert. That being said, I can hear a lot of influences that have come after this album and appreciate the groove that is just infectious.
Playlist Pick: Back to Life (However Do You Want Me). I know it's the remix and not on the og but I love it.
This isn't my usual style at all. In fact, I was dreading listening to this album. I think it was my preconceived notion of Bob Marley that I really underestimated just how good of a front man and music he and his band could create. The lyrics were much more socially conscious than I expected, the beats much more varied that I thought they would be, and the songs much more distinct. I really was worried that the album would be really one note, as that plus a prevalent bass can literally make me fall asleep, but it held my interest all the way through. That being said, I must admit that I probably won't come back to it and it will never really be part of my rotation. Reggae just isn't something that has ever clicked with me and grows old fast, though this has been really listenable on the whole. Shout out to Bob Marley though - I get why this one is important and why he is considered a great and revolutionary and want to acknowledge that he brought a voice to these struggles. For that reason it's a 5/5 album, but for my personal record, I have to go 3/5.
Playlist Song: Revolution. Really caught my ear.
I really enjoyed this one. It's up my alley - a folk tradition, just a man and his acoustic guitar. It's profoundly sad, but I really like it. I can hear a lot of traditional folk influences particularly in the instrumental interludes. I had no clue who Bert Jansch was, but I will absolutely be going through his catalogue.
Playlist Pick: Angie. Does anyone else hear "Work Song" about 1:15 into it?
This is a sad album. A really sad one. Beck obviously had some issues with his breakup and decided to bleed out on the pages of this album liner. His lyrics are honestly the most coherent I have heard at this point and I really appreciate that as I can only take the tongue in cheek absurdism that he usually writes for about half an album. You know, I really like this one. I have only been familiar with Lost Cause before (shoutout to Beyond: Two Souls for introducing it to me, you were a mixed bag of a video game) and it has become a breakup song that I put on every now and then. Beck has a great ear for music, and as much as I have mixed feelings on the first listens of his songs, they usually always grow on me after another listen. This album was a much more immediate enjoyment of the album - I think that everyone that has ever dated or have had a lost love can latch onto the sadness of this one. To me, Beck's other albums are a mix of emotions and you can have a sadder song followed by a bop that you want to dance to. This album is a bath in sadness, thick like honey that will take a while to shake off once you're done with it. I really enjoy it.
Playlist Pick: Guess I'm Doing Fine
Miles Davis does it again, and I think that he is truly one of the best artists of all time. This is just a great, great album that I need a physical copy of, yesterday,
I enjoyed this but man does it get repetitive and boring to me after a while. I get it, I just think my ears were too tired to really continue with it.
Sometimes I worry that I just don't get electronic music - and I think that is okay! I enjoyed this one and and can hear a lot of influences, but will probably never listen to this one again? I don't know! It sounds both ahead of it's time given the year it came out and incredibly dated in a way that I cannot separate.
Really see what people say about this list having a lot of "generic, boring British music." I think I just kind of like this type of music! And I really loved this album - I think I honestly will add it to my rotation, it just has great vibes. I might just be in a really good mood today, who knows and who cares!
This was the perfect Monday Morning album. Just full of hits, and truly I am not like a die hard ABBA fan - but I have found that I am becoming more of one. I dated and loved someone who was very dear to me - a Danish man who admitted that ABBA was the best thing to come out of Sweden, and he truly did not like the Swedes in the way Danes normally do. He LOVED ABBA, and every time I listen to them, I think of him, and I am filled with a bittersweet happiness that I think ABBA often brings to the table. IDK I guess I'm just being sentimental! Either way, you should listen to the Spanish version of Dancing Queen.
Here’s my deep cut - this sounds like the soundtrack to the America’s Next Top Model game for the Wii.
This is a super mid album, but not offensive at all. I might put it on again, but I honestly doubt it. It sounds like Lou Reed lost any edge and really wanted to just talk earnestly about everyday observations.
Loved this one and went down a woman led punk rabbit hole.
Oh man, I don't know if I am just a bit tired of Jazz right now, but I enjoyed this one but didn't find it incredibly special. Overall, not upset I listened to it, probably won't seek it out.
There are times that I wish the songs were longer and times I wished the songs were shorter. I get what they were trying to do by making every song a little over a minute long but I don't think it worked overall, at least when I listened through it. This was also hard to listen to with how lo-fi it was, and I usually don't mind it as long as I enjoy the songs.
Robert Wyatt, I don't know why I like you, but I really, really do. I got Shleep first and loved that one - this album is also quite good but juuuuust misses something that gives it that extra bit to really make me wanna put it on repeat.
I never thought I would give a Neil Young album 5 stars but man, this one was amazing. I think this is his best album - I should know, this is my 6th in less than 170 albums. Harvest was also good, but this has to be peak Neil Young.
My Spanish isn't the best, but it doesn't need to be - this album can get you nodding along or shaking your foot without having to know a lick of the language. That is what good music should be able to do - transcend language. This album transcends language.
I think I may be a single only Queen fan - at least that's all I've really listened to before listening to this album. I like News of the World and think I have listened to it in the past, but I find myself skipping to the singles and get to the "good stuff." I am really glad that I listened to this album all the way through though - it really has opened up my eyes and I'm ready for the deep cuts. I love how theatrical and unashamed Queen was when writing their music - they found their audience.
Was this bad music? No. Was it uncomfortable to listen to and made me feel bad? Yes. Will I listen to this again? Hel no.
I can hear the influences this album and the Pixies had on a ton of my favorite artists. I have never listened to the Pixies (shhhhh dont tell anyone, that makes me a bad music nerd I think) but I have listened to Frank Black earlier in this project. Really enjoyed and will be giving it a listen again. And again. And may bump this up to 5 stars who knows.
Wow, I never heard of Joan, but boy did I enjoy this one. It is a bit R&B a bit singer songwriter and just a smooth album all the way around. I really loved this - such a gem and the reason I do this project!
I like this album a ton. I love Ol' Blue Eyes, and I enjoy lounge music. I like every one of these songs individually. Sadly, I am not sure if listening to these back to back on my headphones at work on a Monday is the best way to listen to this album. However, I can see myself putting this album on after a breakup and connecting with it more. But in this vacuum of this sleepy morning, I'm fighting to stay awake through it and don't think I would ever really listen to it outside of a break up or this 1001 album project.
Enjoyed this one overall but man do some of the guitars sound shrill throughout this album. I liked it more than I didn't and while nothing really caught my ear that would make me want to listen to it more than a couple times through, I don't think its bad music. Just not.... necessary to listen to as the book this is based on would suggest.
Wow, this was unexpected! I had never heard of this band and oh boy did they blow me away. I wish I had seen them while I lived in Austin. This is as jam band but modernized with the heart of indie folk. It rocks, it swings, it has some nasty hooks that just keep you listening, all with the voice of someone who sounds like Bon Iver's older brother. AKA, this album and band rock, and its an easy 5 stars. I'm going to be listening to this and their other albums all day!
Ahhhh Billy Joel. I know you either love him or hate him, but he has too many bangers for me to be a hater. This album has pretty much nothing but great songs. No one writes a musical vignette like Billy Joel, and he is truly a great musician. Also, She's Always a Woman is on this album and it might be my favorite Billy Joel song.
Note: The star rating reflects my personal enjoyment of the album and not my support of Kanye as a person. I despise Kanye.
That being said, I adore his first 5 albums and like his other ones. I think he is a production genius. His rap tone and style work for me. I like his musical ear. But his personality and well, everything else about him as a person make me cringe to listen to any of his music.
When it comes to separating the art from the artist, I think it really is up to individual interpretation of what that means for them. Like JK Rowling, I choose not to support Kanye financially. I have bought a couple albums secondhand (and his early albums I already had), and have converted them to digital files so I don't have to even give him a penny on spotify. I refuse to see him in concert. I rarely listen to him - occasionally I'm in the mood and put him on, but I go out of my way to not support him. I understand a lot of his issues is mental illness in some ways, but I think fueling his ego and not actually holding him accountable limits the ability for him to truly change his life so I choose not to aid in his self destruction.
And still, I have a hard time when I listen to him not turning the song off because I know it's Kanye. He has left such a visceral bad taste in my mind, that it limits my enjoyment of his albums. I know this one might be a masterpiece, or at least a very, very good album. But man, does it hurt me to listen to it. I thought I could separate the artist more and expected to give this 5 stars. But I'm gonna go right down the middle.
Hell of an album. Every Blondie hit is in this one, and while there are for sure dated allusions, it really is quite timeless. Debbie Harry is just so good as a front-woman and her backing band keep the groove tight and steady. That being said, the only reason I am taking away a star is for my personal taste - if anyone reads this, this is for my enjoyment only and I rank as such. I really like this album, but I know it's not a "play it again for me" album in the sense that my ears get tired of it quickly and one listen is enough for a while.
Oh man this one sounded the same every song for me. I liked it okay, but I cannot say that the sound or a melody stayed with me at all. This one may be a repeat listen album that will grow on me, but I try to go off my first listen through for every album. I also think other artists did it better. Is it a must listen? I'm not quite sure.
Truly the Genius in this album title is accurate. I really love this big band style, and I think Ray Charles is one of the greats at this format. I also don't think there are too many people who can say he isn't a hell of a musician, artist, piano player, and singer. There is a reason that so many artists wanted to collaborate with him. He oozes credibility, professionalism, and pure passion.
I knew I listened to a lot of Jefferson Airplane growing up, but never really past when my parents would play it around me. Really hit me like a ton of bricks when I heard hit after hit on this album and realized where a bunch of formative songs and melodies actually came from. True flower power album, and probably in the top 10 of the 60s.
