1001 Albums Summary

Highlights: Paranoia Blues, Papa Hobo, Peace Like a River, Run That Body Down Kind of a weird start for this exploratory journey. Not really my style musically but I like the themes of the lyrics. I'm just not used to folk, that's all. It has to be one of those "gets better after a first listen" deals. Still, I have found a great deal of nice songs on here. Not an easy listen, it's more of a sit-down situation. At some points the album feels like just a collection of little stories backed by a bare-bones musical theme.

Highlights: Welcome To The Jungle, Paradise City, Sweet Child O'Mine Besides the hits, I feel like this record is just a bunch of slop. It all sounds the same and the vocals get annoying after three songs in a row. For instance "Think About You" was almost 4 minutes of pure ass with no artistic or any other kind of value. It sounded vaguely similar to something I heard just 15 minutes ago. I'm just not impressed and feel like I was justified for not listening to the record in its entirety up until this point. It was kind of funny the way the record turned sexual by the end. Didn't expect that.

Highlights: Message In a Bottle, Reggatta de Blanc, It's Alright For You, On Any Other Day, Contact, Does Everyone Stare, No Time This Time Fine record, but mostly same-ish sound scattered all over the place. But the sound is good, so it's not that much of a problem. The songs where the reggae was mixed with the new wave sounds were a standout. I mean, they all sound like new wave, but some did a bit more than the others if that makes sense (for example Contact). I liked how it got a bit livelier by the end of the record - it's usually the other way around, so this was a welcome change. The lyrical content also got progressively more interesting by the end - from some suburban midlife horror, rush of the urban life to a POV of a insecure guy with a crush (very relatable 🤓). Overall I was quite pleased with the record.

Highlights: He's the Greatest Dancer, We Are Family Didn't know this was where the Will Smith sample is from. Other than that this record left no specific impression on me. It's disco, alright. It has the groove and it did get me jiggy wit it, but it was dull at the same time. As a collection of songs, I would hate to have to sit through it again. It doesn't click with me because the record rarely changes in style. But I guess some of the songs would hit the groove as intended if they were played individually. For instance Lost in Music comes off as an unimpressive song when looked at as a part of an album, but I do see it moving butts at some disco party. It's practically begging for it given the theme. But the again, some don't even work as dance tracks. How is anyone supposed to dance to Easier to Love?

Highlights: Janie Jones, I'm so Bored with the U.S.A., White Riot, Hate & War, London Burning, Career Opportunities, Cheat, 48 Hours Interesting listen. Don't like punk all that much, having dabbled in it only a little bit (mainly Sex Pistols whom I found to be quite "simple"). But after combing through this record I can say I do like the Clash. I knew I liked their post punk music (since it generally is more popular overall), but the punk also turned out great. I was amused by the overall "Britishness" of these punks. It's got a very distinct British character with all these cultural references that feel like a bygone era - domestic condom brand dispensers in a pub bathroom, mentions of Daleks and some TV talent show, dread of an upcoming Thatcher government and so on. Even so, the themes are timeless. The mid-70's were politically similar to the 2020's so the political tracks were a highlight.

Highlights: Blister in the Sun, Add It Up, Promise, Gone Daddy Gone One veeeery horny incel. The album left me wondering if this is some sort of emo parody. Half of the time it was hard to take the lyrics seriously because of the vocalist. I see why it could be considered important, but it didn't click with me. Given its ancient release date, I presume it was very influential on future incel music. It was very ahead of its time. I guess it deserves respect for that. But my distaste for the majority of its distant relatives applies to this album as well.

Highlights: Eid Ma Clack Shaw, Too Many Birds For the majority of the record, the vocals follow a certain template. Kinda gets monotone, but some songs have scarce lyrics and long instrumental parts which make them interesting. First half was noticeably stronger than the closing half. Definitely not something I will give another listen in its entirety, but it wasn't bad. Just a bit too artsy and mysterious for my taste. Also, too many birds.

Highlights: Swimsuit Issue, Drunken Butterfly, Shoot, Youth Against Fascism, Purr Love the style, but feels a bit too abstract for it to be something more than a nice one-off listen. Musically it slaps. I wish the lyrics weren't so lacking in comparison. The record oozes with cool, but alas, in the sea of other "cool" albums from the 90's this just doesn't stand out with its bland themes. Also, couldn't help but think how the female vocalist constantly sounds like she's taking a giant dump. It didn't bother me, it was just a bit funny.

Highlights: Karma Chameleon, It's A Miracle, Black Money, Church Of the Poison Mind, Miss Me Blind, Mister Man Worthy mentions from the 2003 reissue: Man-Shake, Mystery Boy, Melting Pot It's British and it's new wave - I'm a sucker for that. Lyrics are very political but also personal, so they do sound a bit preachy but you don't mind it because Boy George doesn't come off as a douche. I was surprised by how calm the record was, I expected a more energetic sound. Still a fun listen. Loving the use of the harmonica since I don't remember hearing it a lot from other new wave acts. It's just very good pop and it has grown on me more on more by each revisit. I liked almost every track on it (track 5 being the odd one out). Ultimately it did change my view of Culture Club as something more than a band with a couple hit singles.

Highlights: No Woman No Cry, Them Belly Full, So Jah S'eh, Natty Dread, Bend Down Low Strong lineup of songs that surprised me. I'm not that hot for reggae because I find it to be the perfect music for annoying white people, but I must say I like it (self-diagnosis?). No but seriously, on my soul I bet 90% of them can't name a god damn album of his but they will swear he's their idol. Musical Che Guevara. Great opening, noticeably weaker ending. Rebel Music was close to making the honourable mentions, but it's a bit too long and repetitive for my liking. Kinda sounds like it was long just because it's a closer for side A (fact check: yes). Similar take on Liven Up Yourself. It's a groovy opener, but it grows stale by the end because it relies on the bass which goes in circles. Memorable and playful refrains like in So Jah S'eh and Natty Dread are real ear-worms. Groovy sound paired with wise and horny lyrics. Sensational.

Highlights: Starlight, Supermassive Black Hole, Map of the Problematique, Assassin, Exo-Politics, Glorious I prefer it when Muse go for a heavier sound and I don't feel like there was a lot of that on this record. I guess I got that impression from the middle of the record which was a definite low-point. It's heavily carried by the iconic singles, and while the rest of the tracks aren't filler, they didn't strike me as much better than that. Mid tier alternative rock that has multiple better contemporaries. For instance Soldier's Poem and Hoodoo are just plain bad, while City of Delusion tries to go for the heavier sound but it misses something. Knights of Cydonia is supposed to be a classic and I have met people that recommended this record to me based on it alone, but I found the buildup to be way too long for my liking. The second half of the song does slap indeed, but that half is repetitive too. The song is a sandwich with nothing in the middle. A big problem for me were also the vocals - I just don't like the vocalist most of the time. And I also feel like Muse just has this unique formula of theirs that they just run to the ground. Quite often I ask myself "Why does this sound familiar?". When all is said and done I am sure I won't be returning to this space rock opera for some time.

Highlights: Rockin' Around, Breakdown Very American style. Not something I'm used to hearing a lot, but it wasn't anything special. As a record it's not something worth revisiting, but the highlights do hold up on their own. Lyrics are basic (except Strangered in the Night - wtf was that), and the instrumentals son't stand out much either. This is just a (mostly) clean version of better rock from the 70's, so it didn't really click with me. At least I'm pleased with the fact that mr. Petty didn't want to "torture" me too much so he made the record veeeery short.

Highlights: You Are the Sunshine of My Life, Maybe Your Baby, Tuesday Heartbreak, Superstition, Lookin' For Another Pure Love, I Believe Gem alert! Gem alert! Perfect record worth revisiting a billion times over. Had this on my personal favourites list for a while. The record was made back when Stevie was freshly divorced and I feel like that's what gave him the bad energy to make such grumpy songs like Maybe Your Baby and Tuesday Heartbreak (but he was even more sour on the previous record!). I read once a long time ago how he intentionally put You Are the Sunshine of My Life in front of Maybe Your Baby just to point out the duality of a relationship. On the beginning of Maybe Your Baby there is a bang, so that's like a metaphor for the point where the honeymoon (the sunshine) phase ends and a more cynical view of the relationship begins to take over. The first song sounds like a dream and then it's followed up by something that sounds like a bad, slow morning. It's not like he's all negative on the record, but overall this period of Stevie's discography felt to me more negative on love than positive. For instance You and I starts like a love song but then at the end it also twists into a post breakup whine. Side B makes an attempt at diversifying the lyrical themes by stepping into religion and politics, but love still creeps its way onto it as well. It's a sign of things to come on future records while still retaining the emotion of Music of My Mind. The record is a display of Stevie's enormous musical genius - from the brilliant Superstition, funkiness of Tuesday Heartbreak to misty dream vibes of You Are the Sunshine of My Life. If you liked the synth on this record I suggest reading up on his famous T.O.N.T.O. - one of the famous early synthesizers often used on this record.

Highlights: Gimme All Your Lovin', Got Me Under Pressure, Sharp Dressed Man, Legs, Dirty Dog A decent pick for a mindless rockout record with great hits but a good amount of filler too. Second half is noticeably lacking in that sense. Tracks aren't as good and they always close on a drawn out instrumental. It really focuses on the rockstar esthetic and therefore it's really a "seasonal" play which depends on the listener's mood. It would make a nice highway soundtrack or a gigachad hangout theme, but otherwise I would only stick to the highlights on their own. The musical style is very 80's with the use of the synths and the drum machines and I really like that part, but it's not unique to ZZ Top so I don't think they deserve any points for inventing that style. They found a formula that works and copy pasted it all over the place. I didn't expect much lyrical depth, but I was surprised by the bluntness of tracks like Dirty Dog and I Got the Six.

Highlights: Playground Love, Bathroom Girl What can I say... It sure as hell is background music! It was weird to see that Air did the soundtrack for Virgin Suicides. Never watched the movie so I didn't know. It really didn't seem like a natural fit from what I've heard of Air. The record sounds like a basic OST - it really doesn't stand out. And I don't know if better familiarity with the movie's themes would fix my view on it, but I didn't like the experience all that much. Very repetitive and it sounds like your average mystery OST. Given the release was back in the year 2000 I am sure that this wasn't all that original either with the whole onslaught of contemporary ambient music.

Highlights: Speed King, Bloodsucker, Living Wreck First time listening to the record, but I was aware of its existence because of a Jojo reference (Speed King) and a Let 3 song with the same name as Child in Time but nothing else in common (wasn't a cover but it was a reference). Love me some 70's rock with organs, so it was nice to see them make such a grandiose appearance - to the point where the record could be named Organs in Rock. For some reason Child in Time didn't click with me. It's a bit too much for my taste - both because of its length but also braggadocios solos. Actually, a good number of the tracks overall are quite long for no reason and that is a bit off-putting. I lean toward their faster tracks like Hush, Highway Star and Space Truckin', and these drawn out songs with solos feel like a whole different thing. I guess I'll like Machine Head better. The record, however, does deserve respect for being one of the foundational hard rock records, just not as much as Led Zeppelin's contemporary output. Won't be revisiting this record anytime soon, but the highlights will remain in my hard rock rotation.

Highlights: Do It Again, Dirty Work, Kings, Reelin' In the Years Nice and chill record. Definitely liked the first side way more than the second side. I believe that isn't quite a hot take given the available streaming numbers... Was already familiar with a good number of the songs on the record since they are pretty famous. I believe this is their most popular record, but I personally liked Aja a bit more. I really didn't like some stylistic choices - for instance I don't see the point of the backing vocals on Kings. It didn't ruin the song for me, but that's the kind of thing that makes me respect the minimalism of Aja or even tracks from this record like Do It Again and Reelin' In the Years. Fire In the Hole was lyrically interesting and musically minimalist as well, but it didn't stand out to me for some reason. Change of the Guard was also a close contender, but I'm not a boomer so I wasn't struck by any "rose-tinted glasses" idealism while listening to it. Overall this does seem like a good listen as a whole, but only half of the tracks can properly stand on their own. I can see myself revisiting it even though the second half wasn't up my alley, so I guess it can't be that bad. I guess I got used to listening to Aja a bit too much, so this didn't feel right because of that fact.

Highlights: Deceptacon, Hot Topic, What's Yr Take On Cassavetes, Phanta, Let's Run, My My Metrocard, Les and Ray The record is very feminist overall so I felt like a good little performative male while listening to it. Because of that feeling it's not REALLY my style. But that's ok, I'm just not the target audience I guess. As a guy I really don't understand some of the topics covered in the lyrics... Musically speaking it was dope - my fondness for the record mostly came from this fact. It took a couple of plays to click, but eventually it did. Combination of punk and these digital sounds make it a cool experience. I do appreciate the short runtime for something so experimental. It feels very of its time, but then again it's ultra unique. The sound is very Beastie Boys like, but the high pitch vocals and feminist lyrics really make it stand out. Liked the homage compilation that is Hot Topic - "You like women? Name every woman ever". What's Yr Take On Cassavetes picks someone so random to me that the meaning didn't really click with me at first, but let's say the modern version of this would be Kanye. The instrumental on Phanta kinda began like some White Stripes song lol. Let's Run was kinda a copy of Deceptacon. As the record closes it gets calmer and dials down the vocals. This is the low point of the record for me since those tracks are kinda basic alt 90s. Very much worthy of a revisit in the near future. It holds up as a record and the tracks hold up on their own. Can't say many bad things overall.

Highlights: One to Another, Only Teethin', Rob's Theme Having heard only their hit The Only One I Know, the last thing I expected was to hear them imitating Oasis. And I don't really like Oasis all that much. Heck, Britpop in general (unless it's Blur). Funny how the vocalist also sometimes sounds like Bob Dylan - especially on Get On It because of the harmonica. The album overall isn't offensive to my ears, but it isn't anything special either. It's a digestible version of Oasis and that's enough since they can at moments be better than the original.

Highlights: Victoria, Drivin', She's Bought a Hat Like Princess Marina, Young and Innocent Days Not a lot went through my head while listening to this record. Highlights were based on brainless consumption (and they kinda sounded like Beatles tracks). Didn't have the time and the record didn't mause me too much, very monotonous.

Highlights: Treason, Went Crazy, Books, The Thief Of Baghdad, When I Dream It was fine but really unimpressive. Kinda standard new wave sound with a twist of psychedelia which made it a bit less interesting and it didn't stand out all that much. That might be the point and I'm missing it but IDGAF. I don't have it in me rn to go into further detail. Didn't hate it but it was really not much.

Highlights: Miss Chatelaine, Season of Hollow Soul, Outside Myself, Constant Craving Not a genre I would go out of my way to listen to, but a couple of tracks did stand out and overall it was a fine experience. The beginning of the record is tame but the conclusion is strong. There is however a noticeable dip in quality in the middle of the record, given the monotony and dullness of the tracks. Compared to the previous records on the list, this one featured an interesting inclusion of the accordion in a couple of tracks (for instance on Constant Craving) which gave it a fresh sound. It presented itself with an air of sophistication, but at the same time there were mild country sounds (in example Outside Myself) and it was interesting to see a combination of these aesthetics. Lyrically it's a weep-fest and at some point I gave up on following the themes on anything but my highlights. The vocalist is great, but the material was more on the subtle side so she didn't get to show off as much. I don't see myself revisiting this record as a whole, but if I had to it would have to be laaate at night. This sound just doesn't click with me if I'm not in my pajamas.

Highlights: Sunday Morning, Venus in Furs, All Tomorrow's Parties The record didn't stand out too much to my ear. It was a bit too simple and the vocals sounded like they were recorded on a shitty microphone. Although All Tomorrow's Parties was a highlight I much prefer later cover versions of the song from Japan and Ferry. I liked the droney sound of Venus in Furs. I get that the record was influential at the time, but it didn't sound all that special to me.

Highlights: Enter Sandman, Sad But True, The Unforgiven, Wherever May I Roam, Nothing Else Matters Interesting how their whatever-th album is a self titled one (and not a debut), but it all makes sense when you look at it through the lens of the entry point for the normie edgy metalhead - which it is. But hate for the annoying fans aside, I found the record to be very good too. It has this edginess to it, but it is also very approachable to the general masses because it takes on some elements from 80s rock hits. It's great for what it is and I wouldn't mind playing it more often if it wasn't made by Metallica - a bunch of twats who act all edgy and cool until you download their music from Napster. The lyrics are a bit too edgy for my liking so I didn't pay much mind to them. I really don't get how this shit gets infinite praise while nu metal gets slammed for the same reason. The record for me was therefore heavily carried by its sound, which did make my head bop. I have heard more interesting tracks from their other records, so I guess this wouldn't be my favourite record of theirs based on that. This record was a bit more on the tamer side of metal. That's why I'm saying it's normie friendly. For instance, does Unforgiven even count as metal? Half of the material is more of a ballad type. I won't be revisiting this record as a whole, but the highlights will definitely remain in rotation.

Highlights: Brighton Rock, Killer Queen, Flick of the Wrist, Now I'm Here Definitely a top 5 Queen record thanks to a great opening, but it is a bit weaker afterwards. This was my first time listening to Tenement Funster and god damn, this doesn't sound like Queen at all (not just because of the change of vocalist). I thought Spotify acted up and started playing something from the Who. Lily of the Valley sounded like a teaser of their following record and I liked it but found it to be too short. Overall very rock oriented record in the context of their discography. I really like that style, which can also be seen from the highlight selection. The second half really bothered me because of many mid tier songs and obvious experimentation in styles - very inconsistent and these experiments are also often cut short (often around 2 minutes). It felt like throwing sh*! at the wall to see what sticks. But it wasn't THAT bad, it works as a Queen record, but the songs aren't something I would listen to outside of that context. Overall a great record, but I don't see myself listening to it as a whole unit all that often. If it was a bit more focused on what it wanted to be and if it didn't fall off in quality the way it did it would have been a 4/5.

Highlights: Amelia, Furry Sings the Blues, Hejira, Song for Sharon, Black Crow, Blue Motel Room Sophisticated sound paired with interesting storytelling which hides analysis of her current state of affairs... The performance isn't much vocally but I didn't mind it since the point of this record is what is said. Nice late night record because you need to focus on it, it doesn't make a good passive experience (almost fell asleep lol). Really requires you to be in the mood for it. First time listening to Joni Mitchell. I expected her to be more boring but I was surprised. Can't get the line "You and me we're like America and Russia" out of my head, it was so random and maybe even a bit cringe given the mood of the record. This is definitely a record worth revisiting when the mood is right.

Highlights: Mother's Little Helper, Under My Thumb, Out Of Time Decent early Stones record, but not thaaaat much more unique compared to the rest of the contemporary teen rock music. I did however pick up on a more southern sound on Doncha Bother Me and a couple other tracks. It points to their more cocky sounding country material from future records like Exile on Main St. There were some pure filler songs like Going Home. When I'm listening to Out Of Time I can only hear the popular Yugoslav song Bejbe, ti nisi tu by Električni orgazam - a later semi-cover (I don't think the lyrics are the same). Overall I found the middle and the end of the record to be pretty meh. Not really all that interesting besides the highlights, so I won't be revisiting the record as a whole.

Highlights: Stop Dem, Hard Life, Sorry Ain't Enough, Bow, Eternal Life Mid modern RnB record. Don't know why it's on this list, there are far better modern records that could have taken its place. I guess the author of the list has a stick up his ass so he had to pick the most obscure shit he could have found. Musically it sounds as inoffensive as a 2020 record of this genre could, so of course I liked the sound. There's a gazillion other "smooth" records that sound exactly the same and I don't see what is so special with this one. Can't say that I liked the lyrics. It felt like a shallow take on the whole race and individuality thing and I didn't find it particularly tasteful. Two tracks that really left a bad taste in my mouth are Miracles and Black. I am all for racial equality, but this felt cheap and braindead. It especially comes off as sleazy and performative because of the context it was released in (2020 BLM protests). Overall the highlights are musically interesting enough to remain in rotation on some genre specific playlist, but the record left a bad taste in my mouth and I don't see myself revisiting it as a whole. I feel like if the sound from the first half continued on the second half the rating would be better. It did get a bit monotonous by the end.

Highlights: Lights On, Pendulum, Numbers First time listening to one of her records. I didn't expect such a horny aura. The overall impression is basically that it's Grimes but hornier and less pop sounding (even more abstract - yaaaay!) + a British accent. A bit too abstract and minimalist sounding for my taste. It was pretty early in its genre though, so it deserves some kudos for that. To be honest, I find it perplexing how people emotionally resonate with this music. This thought occurred to me while listening to Give Up (almost a highlight), but retroactively I realized this applies to the whole record and kinda the genre as a whole - where is the emotion in the vocals? It's always some high pitched voice on the verge of whispering with no change in emotional expression no matter the lyrical content of the track. I guess this ASMR style is ok when you use it in a couple of tracks, but when this is your flagship sound... And yes, it might resemble the narrative aspect of folk music, but even that is somewhat expressive compared to this deadpan and arrogant attempt to come off as artsy. I don't respect that. The record wasn't up my alley thematically nor sonically, so I won't be revisiting this record, but I do see a target audience for this existing. Whether I think highly of that audience's taste however is a completely different affair.

Highlights: Tangled Up in Blue, Simple Twist of Fate, Meet Me in the Morning, If You See Her Say Hello I usually find it hard to stand Mr. Dylan and his vocal style, but here he was a bit more tolerable with a noticeable southern twang. When he does that he borders with country (for instance on Meet Me in the Morning). At certain moments on the record, his vocals can even sounded a bit like SpongeBob. I quite liked the sound and storytelling of Lilly, Rosemary and Jack, but the song got a bit too repetitive since it's so long. Heck, I liked all but two songs but a good number of them had just an issue or two so they didn't become highlights. This is usually a sign that a record will grow on me with a couple of additional plays. Therefore I must say I actually liked this record. As a whole it works and it is worth revisiting. But my view of Dylan as an overrated artist still stands.

Highlights: Intro, VCR, Crystalised, Islands, Shelter, Night Time I don't understand why the intro track has the most streams. I mean yeah, the instrumentals are kinda the best part of the record (at least in the first half), but it's not that much better than any of the tracks with vocals. All in all a very strong opening, but then it got more atmospherical which I found dull (not bad doe). The second half really leans on the lyrical content and due to it being emotionally "specific" you have to be in the mood to appreciate it, which I wasn't, but I recognize its value. I don't see myself revisiting the record as a whole, but the highlights are great.

Highlights: Kowalski, If They Move Kill 'Em, Medication, Motorhead, Know Your Rights I really loved their previous "knock-off Stones" record, but this record didn't follow that style. This sounds much more like your typical 90s movie soundtrack with that deep drugged up distortion that is typical in the dub genre. For instance Fight Club and Trainspotting come to mind. A lot of instrumentals too - way too much. This record is best consumed as a whole and preferably under the influence of something. I feel that the tracks really depend on being kept inside their genre echo chamber. Some aspects of the dub side of this record remind me of the early Gorillaz records, but there the sound is way more mainstream friendly and the songs work on their own.

Highlights: Peter Piper, It's Tricky, My Adidas, Walk This Way, Is It Live, Perfection, Raising Hell A very dope upbeat 80s hip hop record. Love listening to it from time to time, so I was very happy to see it on this list. It has a similar energy to License to Ill which I also loved listening to back when Raising Hell was often in rotation during covid. The similarity is the fusion of rock and hip hop, and it doesn't just appear on the unexpected collab woth Aerosmith. The rock is present throughout the whole record! It's amazing how cool they sound just from the beats and their rap skills - all that with minimal cussing. Heck, on Is It Live they didn't even dare say "ass" so he said "behind" - ain't that some restraint. The first half was leagues above the second. Again, I love listening to both the record as a whole, but also the tracks on their own.

Highlights: Hazey Jane II, At the Chime of a City Clock, Bryter Layter, Poor Boy, Sunday Very chill and somewhat classy sound. It was a pleasant listen. Even though I feel like not a lot of tracks stood out, it was an experience that I enjoyed and wouldn't mind repeating. A good mix of instrumentals and vocal tracks - especially because instrumentals didn't feel like filler. They conveyed exactly the same vibe as the tracks that had vocals. The vocals are dreamy and whispery, which I usually don't like, but here they felt justified. I usually rant that it comes off as pretentious, but Drake didn't because it made sense given the aesthetics of the record. I especially liked the little details in the background of the tracks like At the Chime of a City Clock's saxophone and Poor Boy's backing vocals. Overall not a masterpiece, but a worthwhile experience. It really didn't stand out but it didn't feel like a waste of time.

Highlights: Party Line, Dandy, House in the Country, Holiday in Waikiki, Most Exclusive Residence for Sale, Little Miss Queen of Darkness, Sunny Afternoon, I'll Remember Compared to the previous Kinks record I got on this list (Arthur) this one sounds more like your typical 60s pop rock. That being said it's a fine example of it. I liked it but it wasn't as good as the Beatles.

Highlights: Independent Women Pt. I and Pt. II, Survivor, Bootylicious, Nasty Girl, Fancy, Emotion The singles are dope, but as time goes on I like Survivor less and less. Especially that wtf transition to Bootylicious. Compared to that, I am liking Bootylicious more and more. First half is much stronger than the second. It goes from a very modern urban sounding rnb to a very vocal centric version of rnb often crossing into gospel which I found a bit dull compared with the first half.

Highlights: If I Had a Heart, When I Grow Up, Triangle Walks Wow, at first I thought that her voice sounded familiar, but I didn't realize she was the vocalist from The Knife. I only listened to Heartbeats, so I wasn't overly familiar with them, but it still rang a bell. Some tracks are a bit spoiled by the vocal style. For instance I liked the instrumentals on Seven and Triangle Walks, but then the vocals kinda take them down a notch for me. It was funny how Triangle Walks sounded like something from an N64 or Halo soundtrack. Overall a little bit too ambient for my taste and it wasn't all that interesting. No real earworm hit on the record either, which I expected there would be since I really liked Heartbeats when I heard that. The opening was better than the rest of the record. If it continued the way it started it would have been a 3, but then it fumbled the bag.

Highlights: Girls & Boys, Tracy Jacks, End of a Century, Parklife, London Loves, Trouble in the Message Centre, Clover Over Dover, Magic America, Jubilee, This Is a Low When I saw this as the record of the day it brightened my mood. I love Blur and I love Albarn. One of the rare 90s Britpop acts I don't detest to any degree. That being said, I never listened to Parklife as a whole, but I already had a good portion of it across several of my playlists. It just sounds whacky and cheery, but not at all dumb and simple, so I find it to be a great pop record. Found the mocking use of whatever that moog sounding thing in Magic America was to be a nice touch. Strong opening loaded with the singles, then afterwards it cools down, but it doesn't get dull. It even picks up a bit at the very end. The middle however is filled with a couple of shorter tracks (even an unexpected instrumental!) that do feel like padding, but they are just ok.

Highlights: Stop Dat, I Luv U, Brand New Day, 2 Far, Fix Up Look Sharp, Hold Ya Mouf, Round We Go, Jus' a Rascal, Seems 2 Be, Live O God damn, this was fresh! I'm not that deep into grime so this was new to me, but it's dope. His technical ability is top notch, and the production is also great and just so original and timeless. It's 20 years old but still sounds fresh af. Banger after banger. Truly an unexpected gem. Production kinda sounds similar to later alternative hip hop like Danny Brown because of the constant use of distortion (the vocal style is pretty close too). Songs do get kiiiinda samey when I think about it for a bit, but I liked the style. It stands out from the grime I've heard so far precisely because of the beats. Lyrically it's full of social commentary and criticism which was interesting. The rapper also plays this gangsta figure as well but I didn't find him to be very convincing because of his funny vocal style (combination of voice and London slang). Overall very dope, no issues with the record.