Decent start, I remember doing a video editing project in high school that I tried to do in the style of "The Hardest Button to Button" music video. Wish I still had it. I think I remember a Conan O'Brien podcast where he describes Jack White as having the aesthetic of a 1960's Batman villain.
Nice, starting the week off weird. I remember listening to Perfect Day a lot in undergrad. It somehow succeeds in sounding both depressing and uplifting.
Jefferson Airplane is the "Ship of Thesius" of bands. They went through two different name changes, had a completely different sound, and replaced all of their members by the end. Hard to believe this is technically the same that does "We built this city on rock and roll." Decent album, but the light acoustic numbers were not the wake up call I needed this morning. Also, I think with "White Rabbit" & "Somebody to Love"from this album, and "Seven Nation Army" from the White Stripes album, we should have our bases covered for songs used in movie trailers.
Nice, I'd been thinking about getting some jazz records to listen to while I do stuff around the house. This was the vibe I was looking for. Bit of a choppy start with the Star Spangled Banner and the priest reading off all the names of people and where they came from (this isn't the book of Genesis pal), but they won me back pretty quickly. I also like that the interlude before the encore of the first show is called "riot prevention." You could hear how upset the crowd was that the band was planning to leave. There's a pretty cool mural of Duke Ellington in the alley by my old apartment behind Rhombus Guys.
Hell yeah, not the first time I've listened to this one and won't be the last. I'm a sucker for anything that bounces. Makes me want to dust off the bass in my closet and make another attempt at learning how to play. I think Bootsy Collins might be my favorite bassist of all time (with a possible exception of Kool from Kool and the gang). Great cover art on this one too. Saw it at Orange Records recently and seriously considered buying, but got Metallica's "Kill 'em All" instead.
Radiohead is one of those late 90's/ early 00's bands that I hear named fairly often, but don't actually know that much about. I do remember hearing something from a media production elective in high school about them challenging traditional record companies, but couldn't remember the specifics. Looking into it now, it sounds like they released this record directly from their website without a record label and it was the first major release to be "pay what you wish." Pretty cool. I definitely have to be in the right mood for ethereal/ atmospheric stuff, but this was still pretty enjoyable. "Weird Fish" reminds me of some of the music I'd listen to with my cousin driving across small town South Dakota to the video game bar in Aberdeen late at night.
Was feeling a bit sluggish this morning, and this is exactly what I needed. I've listened to the "Thriller" and "Bad" albums quite a bit, but have actually never tuned in to this earlier one before. I'm glad I did. Plenty of funky baselines and I feel like even the songs I hadn't heard prior had top 40 potential. If I had one note, it could always use more "hee-hee's."
Here's an artist I know basically nothing about. I had only heard the name from the cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" that they used in Shrek. A little melancholy at times, but listening to the folk, orchestral, almost cinematic vibes while eating breakfast and watching the sun rise was a nice experience. I may need to check out more of their work.
Another new one for me. I've only ever heard the name. I dig it though. She has some Florence and the Machine/ Ingrid Michaelson vibes, but jazzier. Will definitely listen to more from her. I'm really enjoying learning about new (to me) artists with this project.
Another unknown for me. I've never even heard of this artist prior. Kind of had the vibes of something they would play in a low budget, late 90's action movie. Made me feel like I should be relaying information on a brick cellphone or hacking into the Internet. Decent background music while I painted my chest freezer downstairs, but overall wasn't super interesting for me.
A lot of new artists for me this week. This one might be my favorite out of them though. Love the melodic vocals. Reminds me of Karen Carpenter. There was a guinea pig named Joni Mitchell on a show Tally and I watched last month. Didn't realize it was named after a musician.
This one was fun. Had some early 60's American Bandstand, Austin Powers vibes. I'd heard some of these songs and heard the name Dusty Springfield, but never put two and two together. The second track was my favorite. I like the smooth intro.
Stevie Wonder is one of my go to's for feel good music. I usually listen to "Songs in the Key of Life" or just some of his hits, and hadn't heard this one before. Not quite as upbeat, but I still enjoyed it and there were some truly funky baselines on some of these tracks.
I enjoyed this one more than I expected at first listen. It felt like I stepped into a club in a late 80's early 90's movie. You could tell that the synthesizer and sound sampling had been around for a while by this point and they were really starting to have fun with them. Some of these tracks would make killer video game boss music.
Very upbeat and fun. Having "Working Girl" start playing while I was driving to work this morning made me smile. I got sent down a rabbit hole about the pedal steel guitar trying to figure out what instrument was responsible for the twangy droning notes that are at the core of every 80's country song. It has strings, foot pedals, and knee pedals. What a cool instrument.
Not much I can say about Lynyrd Skynyrd that hasn't already been said, but holy smokes, I can't believe this was their debut album. Half of the songs in here are some of their greatest hits. Also, I will never not think about that one scene in Kingsmen when I hear "Free Bird." What a gem of cinematography.
I know Drew has previously discussed his disdain for early punk rock bands, but I disagree. A lot of these proto-punk bands like Television, Talking Heads, and Iggy Pop really hit home for me. I love the sound, especially if I have it playing while I'm working on a project or something. I remember listening to a lot of this style of music in a big storage dock at the hospital while I set up the new Omnicell med cabinets. I had the whole place to myself. Some of the best shifts I've ever worked.
Another great bassist with Flea in this one. A couple of songs like Porcelain had a different sound than what I'm used to hearing from them, which was kind of cool to hear them mix it up a bit. Overall just a very fun band that got me moving in the morning and reminded me of early childhood.
This guy looks just like Weezer. Decently fun songs, but I've never really clicked with his stuff. I remember as a kid hearing some people say that Buddy Holly could have been bigger than Elvis if he had lived longer, but part of me wonders if his current level of fame is partly due to his early tragic death. Overall, not bad, but I feel like there are better artists of the genre/ era. At least from what I get with this album.
Not quite as upbeat or fast paced as the Nanci Griffith album, but had a very charming old country sound. Caught a little bit of pedal steel guitar in this one too. Sounds like something you would hear in the background of a little diner in some small desert town.
Hell yeah, this is the first repeat artist we've had and I couldn't be more pleased at which one it is. Mothership connection had a bit more experimental electronic stuff to make it sound more space-age, but this one is a bit bassier and pure funky fun. Had to use a YouTube video since Spotify didn't have this album available, which honestly, good on them.
James Brown is one of the greatest of all time in my book. The guy basically invented funk and soul, but I always think about him as one of the first artists with a rockstar presence and attitude. I love these live albums from the old clubs and theatres in New York (possibly my favorite album ever is Sam Cooke at the Harlem Square Club, 1963). They just have such an infectious feel-good energy to them.
This one wasn't really my style. I have a hard time getting into the ethereal stuff. Made for decent background music driving around town and a couple tracks got a head bob from me with a dancy beat, but overall I didn't find it super interesting.
I know someone with an SSX Tricky tattoo who might appreciate this one. Not the most melodic and usually a little goofy (the shameless plugs for Adidas and KFC were hilarious), I still love 80's rap. It's just super fun and the lyrics are fantastic.
Love the sound on this one. I've seen a few Sonic Youth albums in Orange Records before, but wasn't really super familiar with their stuff. I might consider grabbing one next time I'm in.
I might be committing blasphemy in the eyes of thousands of blue collar boomer Americans, but I've honestly never been the biggest Springsteen fan. I think something in his vocals just feels kind of monotonous for me. I will say I liked some of the more folk-sounding tracks more when listening to this album though. I think they work better with his voice.
His popularity is warranted. The sound on a lot of these is so unique I can't tell if it's rock, gospel, or country, but it's definitely Elvis. I know there's some controversy about him appropriating black music, but from what I understand, he always showed respect for the black artists who came before him and gave credit where credit was due. At one point I was going to watch that movie about his corrupt manager, but I watched the Billie Holiday one instead. I might have to revisit it though. I bet it would be interesting.
Sound was a little too experimental and lyrics a little too repetitive for my taste. A couple tracks were ok, but not really my thing.
Whew, I kind of wish we got the 3 hour one for the weekend. Six discs is a lot, but I like Ella Fitzgerald and it made for perfect background music while I was replaying Fallout 3.
Damn, I think they out-kinked the Kinks with that Venus in Furs song. I forgot to include The Velvet Underground when I was listing off proto-punk bands before, but they might be even more influential since I think they came before a lot of the others and had more of the taboo anti-society subject matter in their songs.
Just some good dirty psychedelic rock. Finally warmed up enough outside to listen to this one with the windows down on my car.
Nice and light for a Monday morning. I don't think there's really any Billy Joel songs that I haven't enjoyed. They're usually pretty upbeat and his voice reminds me of childhood (he played the dog in Oliver and Company, which I had on VHS). Good album, creepy cover.
Having a little whiplash going from Billy Joel to System of a Down. Definitely woke me up this morning. System of a Down has a sound that is unmistakably unique to them. If their vocals were in a crowded room, they would look like Big Bird. I think I actually liked the live versions better. You can kind of feel the energy a bit more.
Not sure if she'd be more or less popular if she hadn't died young and tragically, but in this case I personally love her music. It's like her sound scratches this weird itch for me and I don't think there's a single song of hers that doesn't have the same effect.
Not usually into EDM stuff, but I was kind of vibing with this one. Just need to be in the right mood for it I guess.
Nice, another repeat on an artist that I rated 5 stars. This one was really good, especially for his first album. "I'm Shakin'" and "Sixteen Saltines" are some of my favorites.
I think I've heard of these guys before. They're pretty good actually.
Yes! I've been searching Orange Records for a Billie Holiday album every time I'm there, but haven't found one yet. She might be my favorite jazz artist. I would definitely pick up a physical copy of this if they had it. They made a movie a few years back about how the U.S. government kept coming after her for performing her song "Strange Fruit." Kind of a depressing movie, but she was a total badass. I listen to her music a lot when I make coffee in the morning.
A lot of heavy hitters this week. They really go hard on some of these older tracks. Seven Seas of Rhye is one of my favorites, and I really enjoyed Ogre Fight and The March of the Black Queen as well. Really solid album throughout. I like how some of the songs transition into each other like they're chapters in a story.
Haven't heard any of his work before. Pretty good, nice vocals.
Another pretty good album by her. She kind of has some Karen Carpenter, pre-disco pop vibes. The second half of the album is a lot of repeat tracks, but otherwise pretty solid.
I'd heard the name Tom Waits before, but this was not what I was expecting. I didn't think I would like the more spoken word parts as much as I did. He's a hell of a storyteller and that gravelly voice mixed with the soft blues in the background really kept my attention.
I had a roommate who hated Tears for Fears, but I genuinely enjoy them. Their music has kind of a cinematic quality like it's coming straight out of an 80's movie. Didn't realize, but it looks like all of their biggest hits were in this one album.
REM cranks out some pretty solid hits, but I've never really been over the moon about their stuff. Although I've definitely listened to "Everybody Hurts" at a few low points in my life and made many feeble attempts at singing along with "It's the End of the World as We Know it." Also making a song about comedian Andy Kaufman was an interesting choice, but works surprisingly well.
Electronic dance music that did not succeed in making me want to dance.
Kind of had some old school hip hop vibes, so I'll place it above the last album, but still not really my thing.
With live albums I tend to prefer smaller, more intimate venues, but this was still pretty good. I like the blues and I like Van Morrison. He kind of butchered the "Bring it on Home to Me" cover (or maybe I just dislike any version that isn't Sam Cooke). He killed it with the "Gloria" cover though. Wish he had played "Moondance." That's my favorite of his.
A lot of the lower energy hits stocked in the black album (apart from "Enter Sandman"). I gotta rate this one a five. It's no "Kill 'em All," but too many amazing tracks for me to ignore.
Loved this one, very funky!
