I'm no hip hop expert and gansta isn't my favourite sub-genre. Scans as more east coast than west, but that makes sense in context. I find he gets stuck/comfortable in a particular cadence, but the departures from that are the standouts. Body Count is amazing.
The intros to almost every song in the first half sound like things that came before, but that familiarity probably isn't viewed as a bad thing. On the other hand, it's definitely RAWK MUSIC, but different than what came before it. Ah, dichotomies. Fun listen mostly.
Even if it weren't compositionally important, they're tight as hell and the recording generally sounds great. One of those albums that I like every time I listen to it, but that I don't choose to listen to very often.
Made my buttocks want to move of their own volition. That's always at least a 3.
I enjoyed this more than I expected to after generally trying to avoid prog rock for most of my life. Musicianship is obviously top notch, some of the melodies are exquisite, and the lyrics and vocals are nowhere near as bad as I feared. Definitely completely lost me a few times though.
This was fun music, fun performances. Lyrics were less "fun" but I think that's a big part of the point. Am I exactly the target audience or am I exactly not the target audience? Probably both, depending on the tune and the take.
I'm a bit of a sucker for plenty of piano holding down the bottom end, but that really only took me so far. Utterly inoffensive.
Okay, I get what the fuss was about. Holds up, too.
FWIW, this is the first time I've ever listened to a Kanye album. May be the last, too.
Pleasant to have on in the background, but pretty repetitive for active listening.
This is fine, and largely fun, but there were a couple of times when I thought to myself, "y'know, I could just listen to Tricky or Bob Marley." That may say more about me than the music, but I think it still says something about the music.
One of the best to ever do it doing it loud.
I get that this is probably The Smiths' best album, but it's not my favourite. Also, Morrissey, ugh. But also Johnny Marr, yay. Sounds like it was recorded in a broom closet, but at least those killer basslines are mixed up where they should be.
I am of an age where I grew up with the shadow of Elvis. I wasn't old enough to have any strong feelings because none of his stuff was played much anymore, but he was absolutely a mythical icon and clips of him would appear in lots of places. I'm most familiar with the 50s stuff and the later Vegas stuff. This album is interesting to me because it's neither of those. There's no old school Rock 'n Roll here, nor does it seem like the caricature that was the Vegas era.
The band is killer and the tunes put me in mind of folks like Tom Jones, Georgie Fame, George Jones, and the Righteous Brothers, which all make sense in context. The gospel-style backing vocals on some of the tracks bring a bit of the 50s forward. And whether you like him or not, that voice is iconic and he absolutely knew how to use it.
Definitely an album that had me in a contemplative state, and I enjoyed it more than I expected to.
Daddy Don't Cry is a fucking trip though, innit?
Man that’s some slinky guitar and vocals. Some of this is decent, some of it delightful.
It aint' Loveless, but it helps explain how they got to Loveless.
Who knew there was an entire album around There She Goes?
The name "Armatrading" rings a faint bell, but I was not at all familiar. I enjoyed this quite a bit, and I bet that band would have been tonnes of fun to see live even if it almost certainly wasn't a touring band. I hear echoes of this in some of Yola's work, and that's a compliment in both directions.
I know this album is huge for a (sub-)generation of folks that came after me; I was aware of it when it came out, and know the singles fairly well. Someone who resonates or resonated with the emotions of it probably rates it higher, but I certainly enjoyed a fair amount of it. It does leave me somewhat dreading what else from that era may be on this list though...
A less frantic, but no less intense Iggy than I'm used to.
So much fun. Kinda can't believe this came out in '81.
I'm a latecomer to Nick Cave. Been making up for it.
Didn't offend my ears, but didn't particularly excite them either. There was some fun instrumentation on a couple of them. That last track though, did someone lose a bet?
Probably my least favourite Zeppelin album. Might be JPJ's best bass album though.
That is some heavy music, and yet danceable. Would love to have been in the room to feel this band move air.
For no reason that I can explain, I never explored Slade. I was aware of them thanks to the Quiet Riot covers and the two hits from their 80s resurgence, but I'd never checked out an album. They write and play way better than they spell. Killer guitar tones, tough riffs, and some great rock piano as well. I'll listen to this again.
Although I am not a learned man when it comes to hip hop, West Coast Alternative is in the wheelhouse. Some fun samples and turntablism.
Love me some Elvis. Years of listening to the Greatest Hits has made me forget there's lots of worthy cuts I don't know even if they're not "hits."
This is one of those albums I'm sure has cultural significance that I'm not aware of. Catchy punk rawk, with some fun additions and divergences. What's not to like?
Honestly a little surprised at how dated this one sounds. Considering it's damn near thirty years old, it shouldn't be a surprise, but it is.
Ian MacKaye telling the world who he was and not giving a fuck what the world thought. Bonus: a lot of it is pretty catchy too.
The band smokes; some sweet ass guitar tones and Hamilton and Kramer are locked in.Steven Tyler has always been my stumbling block with this band, and this does nothing to change that.
I remember as a kid always pausing on this record when flipping through my Dad's collection. Never listened to it, but always found the cover striking. Didn't realize I probably already knew half the songs even then.
A reminder that there's such a thing as "proto hair metal." Some decent riffage (e.g., Beating Gets Faster) and the Mott guys producing is probably responsible for the solid use of keyboards. I might rate this higher if I'd seen them live in a club in 1984, but I'm also sort of glad I didn't?
I was big into Gish, Siamese Dream, and Pisces Iscariot, but I had moved on by the time this one came out. I was wondering whether I might find a new appreciation, but this was really a lot of listening to confirm that 1979 is still an all time great tune. Sure, there's a some other fine songs, fun guitar tones, strong playing, but like most double albums, what this needed was to be an LP.
I remember this one hitting like a bomb when it dropped. Crazy that it was so completely outdone six months later. I think time has been kinder to this one.
I remember seeing them on SNL in '88 and wondering WTF I had just watched/heard. I consistently forget how great the bass is on Birthday.
Reminds me in good ways of Tool and Mr. Bungle. A very fun ride.
Starts and ends well, but pretty lean around the middle. And I never need to hear that version of Across the Universe again.
This is the one where they sold out right?
Delightful 80s synth pop. I suspect spending time with it I'd find a whole lot more going on lyrically.
I’m not exactly a U2 fan, but if I’m going to listen to them this is probably the one I’m going to listen to.
Great pairing of performer and producer.
I'd never heard of this band let alone this album. Thoroughly enjoyed and will listen again.
Pleasant and upbeat with great production.
This album might well be the turning point for hard rock as we knew it in the 80s, the "peak" that marked the beginning of the decline. Richie Sambora was a way better player than I ever gave him credit for and the keyboardist reasonably decent. The rhythm section was dire (and got no help from the production). Jon Bon Jovi's vocals? Did the job that needed to be done to get his face on MTV, I guess. Now I'll hopefully go another thirty or forty years before I have to listen to it again.
Missing the Tainted Love / Where Did Our Love Go mashup, but I've always enjoyed the synths and snark combo.
Hold me closer Tony Danza
Haven't heard these guys since high school when I bought a compilation on spec. Fun then, fun now.
Did I enjoy that more than the other King Crimson album? I think I did. A whole point more? No.
Doesn't have my favourite Furs songs, but is probably their most even album (although even "remastered" it still sounds pretty terrible.) I dig Richard Butler like I dig Jarvis Cocker: I wouldn't want either of them writing a song about me, but I very much enjoy hearing what they've written about other people, including themselves.
There's probably another timeline where I was a huge Elliott Smith fan. This is not that timeline.
A reminder that many bands are way better than that one hit everybody knows.
Less dance-y, more poppy, like it all the same.
This is better than I remember it being when it was released.
What a pleasant surprise that was.
Everybody in this band was a gun player, but Elliot Easton may be one of the most underrated guitarists in rock.
I can't believe an all-timer tune like "This Woman's Work" was written for a Kevin Bacon movie. (Also a John Hughes movie, but not one of his better ones.)
There was some fun stuff in there, but Christ there was a lot of there there.
Better than I expected by a fair amount. Kids is a classic track.
I know this is an important album and obviously, it's Frank Sinatra, but my appreciation for bossa nova does not extend to this much bossa nova in one place, and certainly not this much Girl From Ipanema in one place.
One of the few 90s bands that cited punk as an influence and actually sounded like it, at least on this record. Caught by the Fuzz / Mansize Rooster / Alright is a great run of tunes.
Love Tracey Thorn's voice. Shades of 10,000 Maniacs and Cowboy Junkies. This is one of those albums that I suspect if I'd heard at just the right time in my life would have been a favourite.
Weird not to hear "American Music" because the cassette my friend made for me when we were teens had that on there, along with Ugly and Gimme the Car. Brian Ritchie's bass looms monstrous over the proceedings. There have been times in my life where I'd have rated this a five and others when it'd have been a three. Averaging that out...
