brown sugar should slap can't get over the lyrics
didn't realize the stones were so damn solid
sway kinda slams
wild horses is a great ballad
can't hear me knocking too long
bitch rocks
B-side is nice and mellow could grow very attached to it with more listens
fuckin CLASSIC front to back? listened a million times already. south side of the sky underrated as hell
AGAIN one i know its also lovely
plastic trees is beautiful
“just” is weirdly cunty?
its a very solid alt rock album but radiohead still isnt fuckin Radiohead at this point. love it tho
m-m-m-MID
band on the run, jet, mrs vandebilt, picasso’s last words, 1985 all good-great
bluebird annoying as fuck
let me roll it, mamunia, no words all quite boring.
insane downgrade from RAM tbh
good sound but the choice to do covers really hampered it, the compositions just aren’t as interesting. still decent instrumentals for easy listening
YEAAAAAAAAH
dust brothers can fuckin Produce man. sad we cant get samples like this anymore. the beastie boys are so damn charismatic too.
78 minutes of beats to ice skate uphill to
its lovely. sadly a lot of my reviews will be subpar cause of my work trip rn but this is really in that lovely joni mitchell vein…or was joni mitchell in a joan baez vein? i can see myself getting really acquainted with this record and growing to 5 stars but i feel like it maybe couldve been trimmed to 40 minutes? could just be me getting frustrated at how hard it is to listen to a full album while managing a convention lmao
tracklist may be a bit bloated? it may serve me poorly in some of these to be so album-brained (despite it being an album challenge) as like, not all genres *work* quite like that. generally quite good. will check it out more. 3.5 if i was able to, but i cant put it on the same tier as a lot of these other listens as a 4-star lol
would be 5 if that dumb ass student demonstration time song was cut.
hot
only knew this band from come on eileen, a song i really dislike. happy to report this album is nowhere near as obnoxious to me as that. kind of a broad-strokes palette of new wave music, hearing berlin trilogy bowie, television, david byrne, and XTC in here. i think for the most part these tracks stay in their groove for a bit too long, not shaking things up quite enough to justify the length; funny enough the longest track by far, this is what she's like, fully earns its twelve minutes to me. unfortunately though i don't think it does quite enough to shake itself free of its obvious influences. this could go up later but for now a 3.5 feels about right.
EDIT: this actually rocks. this whole thing is taking the piss out of us and we got fucking played. idk how a track about how all music nowadays sounds that same that interpolates one of the most interpolated tracks of all time flew over my head. plus the musicianship is great.
OH NO LOVE YOU'RE NOT ALONE
fantastic album weighed down by its mixing. adore those pounding drums that grind and churn like those comically fucked-up factories that seem to only exist to give cartoon characters a beating. i'm always a slut for distorted vocals. but god damn the rhythm guitar does not need to be THIS loud, some great lead guitars are all-but lost on some of these tracks...
incredible start, very unremarkable side B that starts to turn to mush in my brain. good but not the best michael jackson.
great to know about, solid but not the most impressive listen. fuck the awful stereo mix tho
stuck between 2 and 3. two good tracks (the title tracks, every breath you take is very overplayed but i have to admit its pretty good. mother is an absolute failure in experimentation that really shows why the rest of this album is so boring; if That is what happens when they try to branch out i guess i’m glad theres so few risks in this thing.
the most agreeable beatles
around the world is fantastic obviously. da funk is great, a lot of good side A stuff. alive is a strong ending. side B is just decent yet unremarkable with the only two Outright Bad daft punk tracks i can think of (rock’n roll and oh yeah) back-to-back. its a fuckin crime this is the only daft punk on this list because it just doesnt reflect their insane talent
incredibly consistent songwriting, great compositions. couldve gotten away with running longer but also doesnt feel like its missing anything significant. 2 somewhat lesser tracks (the mystery of the mystery and a better place to live) arent enough to weigh this down for me.
read on the wikipedia this is one of the first country albums to be recorded digitally. sure explains a lot about the flat, cold production. there are decent songs on here but as a whole it fails to stand out. managing to feel bloated at a relatively short 34 minutes and 10 tracks, it lacks the depth of emotion and warmth that i need from country music. i would never go as far as to say i don't respect this album, but i do think a line could be traced from something like this right into that red solo cup, beer, ford f150 shit i despise.
somewhat formulaic and any innovation it may have had is lost to me overtime but its a very consistent and fun album
was never a fan of R.E.M.'s tinny production and nasally vocalist but not a bad album. no real standout tracks but definitely pleasant to listen to. may revisit?
good! tracklist a bit too long, production felt a little off (but maybe i just need new headphones), 3.5 if i could.
HIGH 4, doesnt stand out too much in the larger beck discography (the dust brothers production is notably restrained compared to odelay or beastie boys’ paul’s boutique) but i have so much nostalgia for all of these songs
great musicianship here, excited to get to some studio albums. i despise how the record label has added more and more bloat to this over the years, the actual original tracklist really hits but the additions just draaaag things out (why is there so much pre-song yapping too?). the original cut should be rated higher but since i’m so pissed about the label making that cut so hard to experience its a 3.
good vocals. excellent production. maybe a few minutes too long? great stuff.
lush, ethereal production. gorgeous vocals. great melodies, great lyrics. two david gilmour appearances. i don't know what else i could ask for in an album, except maybe one more gilmy solo. kicking myself for not checking out kate bush earlier.
idk i just found this so damn boring!
a lot of wonderful stuff going on here. every instrumentalist is in top shape, that flute is an MVP. great lyrics all-around, i love how terribly honest the title track is towards how the average person sees the homeless, alternating between a poor helpless victim and this nasty gollum-esque creature of evil; those opening verses are just cruel and i think (or hope lmao) that its by intent. my god and hymn 43 are great anti-organized-religion pieces, "he is the god of nothing if thats all that you can see" goes crazy. going beyond individual compositions, this album is arranged perfectly, alternatively between aggressive blues rock and folksy ballads so cleanly. prog rock has always known how to use an album and this is no exception. not a fan of locomotive breath, it just felt a bit flat compared to the rest of the album. gonna be a hard choice between 4 and 5, this is really strong stuff...
i mean it's not bad enough to be a 1, i wouldn't ask anyone to turn it off in the car, but god is this dull. flat production, simple chords and melodies i feel i've heard a million times elsewhere, and an ungodly 70 minute runtime that just drags and drags. couldn't wait for this one to be over.
future edit: nah its bad enough to be a 1
masterful work. the perfect display of what sampling can do, an artform under constant attack by outdated copyright laws and record labels…
really nice stuff! some instrumentals could’ve been cut by maybe 30-60 seconds to shorten the album but i wouldn’t necessarily complain about this being too long the same way many other 70 minute+ records can slog. my mind’s not blown but its very very solid!
there are two classic tracks here. breaking the “smoke on the water” effect of a very solid memorable but easy to play riff, living after midnight is solid pop rock with a good chorus. the rest of this album just sucks. forgettable riffs that sound like they were designed for a guitar hero solo, painfully obvious and corny lyrics, a drummer doing only slightly more than the minimum to keep a rhythm going, solos just tastelessly waffle on with patternless shredding. you dont have to be old to be wise was so cheesy it made me laugh out loud. red white and blue is just plain embarrassing to me. lame as hell.
nothing mindblowing to me but i see why this was so important for its time. a great mood throughout.
i wanted to like it a lot more than i did but was just very unremarkable to me
great production! i may even prefer the instrumentals on this?
tom wait’s persona is so charming, the band is perfect, everything about the recording of this album is so fucking cool what do you mean they set up a full bar in the middle of a recording studio, so much fun but also one of the most experimental albums so far in the challenge.
a marked improvement from murmur with some actual standouts, but suffers from an overly drab and slow middle act
interesting! i like the style but most tracks left something to be desired in either songwriting or performance
great individual tracks adding up to something not quite as great album. when bunched together jt just comes off pretty rote, the formula becomes apparent and it starts to meld together. if you play any single song off this (besides sickman that one kinda stinks) ill have a pretty great time. most albums just dont need to creep up to an hour in length though
somewhat weaker, transition-period tom waits that realistically shouldn’t be on this list (i’d go for small change or even closing time) still some of the best shit ever. if you cant handle tom waits’ voice you don’t deserve art.
also who the hell drinks a pint of green chartreuse? terribly aged lyric thatd be a 100 dollar drink now
decent songs on here but fuck john lydon
yeah bob dylan rocks what else do i say
dude germans were Cooking in the 70s
bland and unimaginative.
lol. lmao even.
pretty unique sound as a whole but majority of individual tracks are unmemorable
horrifying that this is what all psych rock sounds like to people
fuck it i know im biased towards stuff i already listen to but CMON man
werner herzog likes it so i must be missing something big here
ill swallow anything if its covered in sufficiently fuzzy guitars
very cool
great live album with fun improv
🍸
glad it exists, not for me
some great tracks. some meh tracks. i like CCR but it averages out in the middle
cant beat the meatles
interesting production, not what i expected from a joni mitchell. very nice, maybe will grow to a later 5 once i can digest it more
best one yet in the challenge. high 3 this time
utterly frustrating listen. the first half is fantastic, bordering on a 5 if it stopped there. but then it just keeps on going. even on that excellent first half the mixing is just dreadful, its not "tastefully" lo-fi or invigorating abrasive, just kind of muddy and poor. i really like led zeppelin and i did not think this was going to be so hard to get through.
the record i own actually trims this down by 4 tracks (dmsr, automatic, all the critics, international lover) and i much prefer the pared-down version but this is still fantastic. those first 4 tracks are back to back hits, lady cab driver rules. its hard to make a great double album…
cool as hell
really nice stuff! finally a double-album that doesn't feel like 90% filter. great compositions, love the maximalist arrangements + production.
it sounds like a knock if i say "latin-inspired wilco" but this actually fucking rules
fell flat for me. i dont mind edginess but it was shockingly lacking in bite. music was nothing special, considering new york dolls made their break 2 years prior with a more fun and dynamic sound.
shit this might be the best new discovery for me so far. starts off so funky, almost danceable and slowly drags you down into dreary ambient madness, the manic drums and echolalia, then tucks you in with another nice groovy track. the double album curse has been broken (but likely to return, at least until we get to the wall or songs in the key of life). easy 5
very very good...it doesn't quite have the Sauce for a 5 but i really enjoyed this and will be coming back.
another half-great double album that plods through with little experimentation and left me tapping my toes until the next hit finally came in. i was worried about this only being on the list as a delivery vehicle for black hole sun but it is much better than that, at least. high 3.
not tubeway army great but still great; just not as compelling of a tracklist, though i adore metal, m.e., and ofc cars
😴
half bangers have boring. love bloopy synths tho
fun stuff! a few tracks got a little too uh, tumblr fan-edit core? AMV-core? i cant describe it or list common traits but i feel it when i feel it. still great tho
my hatred for john lydon may border on irrational. if anyone else was at the front of this project i'd adore it but i couldn't get through it. 3 stars because everyone else on this seems to be killing it.
nobody who's ever known what the hell they're talking about has ever called meg white a bad drummer. these drums are the beating fucking heart of this album. jack white's songwriting has carried him past the breakup of the white stripes but this is still the peak.
another “dads grilling steaks” 90s alt rock group i didnt know i knew discovered. its great
holy shit a pretty good REM!
this is what rock music sounds like in kids shows from the 2000s
terribly unremarkable but i wouldnt complain about it
please do not mistake me for a prude for thinking half these lyrics are foul. i hate prudes, i just hate whatever the hell is going on here even more. some catchy melodies tho
great album. wont ever listen again due to the epstein of it all
i dont wanna grow up!
when your mom says we have indie rock at home
front to back bangers…almost a 5
so cool and atmospheric cant wait for more sonic youth
very solid folk rock but man i cannot take woodstock or hippies seriously for some reason
the perfect 90's hip hop record. it'd be difficult to find a wasted second on its just-under-40-minute runtime
pretty decent beats. only good thing i can say really
woo hoo
hope theres more tom petty cause this is a fairly solid debut. not the most consistent track record and a bit too “white guy blues” at times but its got stand-outs for sure.
pretty close to 5 again, very very solid new wave
that bassist carried. but didnt carry enough…
it's not stevie's strongest but god damn is it good. i've been on an early synthesizer kick lately and stevie wonder knew how to make the moog, clavinet, etc fucking soar.
pretty neat. the 1998 release date is shocking considering how much stuff from the late 60s-70s early electronica era sounds exactly like this. not very remarkable to me but i'd definitely check it out again
its perfect. lush production, great melodies, evocative lyrics, every track in its right place
hey, you all made me think this was going to be way more abrasive than it actually was! there are still some horrific, evocative sound collages on here. i won't be forgetting about hamburger lady any time soon.
nothing bad could possibly happen
if you leave your dog in a hot car
i have no prejudice one way or the other
SO SO close to a 5, the only time you’ll see me on here wishing a record was longer. i felt like we were just getting started here!
love this album cover of a bunch of sweaty dudes laying on top of each other in a pile, very heterosexual, dudes rock
this album deserves to be on here, and i am glad to have listened to it for the same reason werner herzog proudly watches honey boo boo on TLC: “a poet must not avert his gaze.” its important to be informed on whatever is going on in the cultural zeitgeist (granted this thing is like 6 years old at this point, but pandemic time doesnt fucking count and if anything swift is even more in the zeitgeist).
i have always been suspicious in a lot of the inherent misogyny in taylor swift criticism. it is often uninformed, reactionary, dismissing it not for what it is but for who it is for. i can confidently say this album is not vapid, it is not *solely* a corporate product. there are choices made of passion, this is a holistic work that builds towards an aesthetic. i just think that aesthetic sucks! sucks far too much for me to ever want to dig into what all of this astronomical success means for our culture.
musically, this thing is white room torture. in isolation, each track is just fine. the lyrics are cheesy, the melodies competent but sometimes grating, the production is decent and atmospheric (possibly the only unique thing i think this has going on as a 2020s pop album), but combined into an hour-long onslaught it dulls the senses and turns to mush.
great early punk, almost feels like the roots for late 90s/early-2000s pop punk
very sad i didnt like this more. first track is pretty good at least!
this may be queen’s only great album. even on this they struggle with consistency (i hate that stupid car song) but stay consistently interesting, free-spirited and experimental.
solid consistent prog but didn't blow me away.
5 decent tracks hidden in a pile of trash
i love johnny cash but this one didn’t grab me
