1001 Albums Summary

This is my first album that was from the generator. I probably should have stuck with my original plan of going through by year. Music is often a product of its time. When an album becomes influential, the original can sound tired and derivative even though it was the first fumbling attempt at a style. Tastes change. It is harder to see influences if you don't have the history or the musical vocabulary in which to judge it. I was concerned about all of this because I was not a huge fan of these folks at the time the album came out. How would it hold up? This is the first time I listened to it all the way through. So, let me explain... I was in my early twenties when I first heard this album. I was already steeped in early punk and glam rock. This seemed like a rehash of 80s but with a more suburban bent. Anger was replaced with boredom and disaffection. The goofier moments of The Ramones and the energy of pop came through. The music was everywhere. It wasn't intended for me -- I was from a rural area and living in a city. This seemed like a step backwards in terms of music that I was listening to. It was the year of NIN's Downward Spiral which already less angry than Broken. At the alt nights or later closing clubs in the city across the water (Gatineau), some of these songs would play and the floor would crowd. Boredom you can dance to. MuchMusic had them on fairly heavy rotation. Taken out of context and their impact on music at the time, some of these songs still have an energy that shines through. It is hard to talk about the band's impact and how it influenced many other sound-a-likes that followed. Their longevity is not all nostalgia. This album captures a feeling and time quite well. Yes, there is some datedness. Some specific notes: "Welcome to Paradise" reminds me of the Bangles "We Got the Beat" "In the End" is probably my favourite off this album. Something about it sounds rude and sarcastic while being melodious. "All by Myself" was the track I relistened to right away. Sonny and Cher vibes crossed with Muppets. Recently listened to some 50s rock and you can hear echoes of that. The hits tend to still be listenable and nostalgic in a particular way. For rating; for influence and impact, it would rate a 2.5. I am using the rating loosely as 1 - won't listen to 5 - put on heavy rotation or favourites list. So, this would rate a 3 overall. If it is at a party, might move away from the speakers but not leave the room. Would probably bop my head and dance or tap my feet to a few of the numbers but wouldn't loose track of the conversation or put my beer down.

It is the late 80s. I'm seventeen. Living in rural Canada. I have heard some rap in passed around cassettes and the occasional track on Good Rockin' Tonight or Coast to Coast on CBC. No black person around that hasn't been seen on tv or VHS movie. There is no hip hop culture here; just artifacts and flotsam and jetsam that get tossed onto the beach of a fairly homogenous culture that is different from the mainstream that is portrayed in the media at the time. We are in a protected bubble. Roseanne or any working class comedy hadn't even made it to our consciousness. Only a few channels with no real American exposure in terms of news. Something big was coming. Tv shows were changing and rage seems to be on the menu. AIDS has already told us to stop having sex. Ronnie and Maggie made austerity a thing. The War on Drugs had a new target that felt a little stilted by the D.A.R.E. program. The hype war was starting to fail. Then comes Gangsta Rap. Fuck the Police was the song we all heard about but for a while had a hard time finding. A friend got a cassette and we listened to it. Already, we were wary of the police. Not ACAB but not friends. In a small town, we knew the kids and the families of the police. Still, this song seemed to get at some truth. Something that seemed more real than being told that we were the problem and that maybe it was the leaders and the people under their control. Heady stuff for a teenager to realize that maybe we are being lied to. This seemed like someone's real life and not the sanitized versions of tv life. I still have a hard time with gangsta rap as it became the dominant genre in hip hop that I could hear without having to look too hard. It is really hard to argue with how good this album is. It is definitely a groundbreaking album, in spite of not being the first. The furor around Fuck tha Police drove this record into relevance and the folks all went on to have impactful careers. Yeah, homophobia, sexism and whatever else is part of everyday life is here. Just reality out here. And maybe some attempts at comedy. Some of the casual misogyny is more neighbourhood sniping at the girls and reflects as posturing by the guys. Other times, it seems like a warning against drug use, materialism, and just fucking around. Some standouts. 'Express Yourself' 'Fuck Tha Police' of course 'I Ain't tha 1' ...and what is that last track? Something 2 Dance 2. On another album, this would be unremarkable. On this, it just reminds me of the roots and stuff for hip hop and rap. Straight up a 4. I haven't listened to this for more than 30 years. I won't be waiting for another 30 to give it a listen again. Hell, it may have given me a chance to revisit the genre.

The Rolling Stones, when I was growing up, was the music for older brothers and cool parents. It wasn't until early 90s when I really listened to anything they did. Of course, I heard a single hear and there - Paint It Black was the theme to Tour of Duty and that was cool. Sympathy for the Devil and Mother's Little Helper played occasionally while we were swapping seats for a C64 game at a friend's house. But I hadn't listened to them really. It was somewhere around 93 when I was living with a bunch of guys and had discovered Liz Phair's Exile in Guyville and wanted to see how the whole thing was a response. One of my roommates had quite a few of the remastered CDs of the Stones. He took me on a tour of the early stuff; stuff that had departed from what they were doing at the time. It reminded me of 50s rock, honky tonk and older country (or roots) music that I had been weaned on. There was a healthy dose of blues there and songs that I had heard covered many times. I listened to Exile all the way through. Maybe it was once, possibly twice. Nothing struck me as something I needed to revisit. This album is now considered one of their best but even then with the remasters, it sounds muddy. The mix reminds of a live performance where you strain to hear the lyrics as the mix favours the instruments. I wonder how many rock albums are a result of the drugs and how it affects the listening? I hear Dwight Yoakam and so many other bands that copied the copier. This is a good rock album. I found a few that I would like to listen to again. Torn and Frayed - you can hear some of the same inspiration in bands like the Band and CCR, country inflected rock. I just want to see his face - This is gospel rock. All in all, this was one phase in the Stones career. My friend who I lived with would say it was probably their best phase. While the Stones had played it out for themselves, music still returns to this part. You have to respect that this is one of the records that keeps being pulled out to create the next wave of rock. I would give this a 4 - Relistenable. A record that when I am feeling blue about the direction of rock music, I can put it on and know that someday another band will rediscover it.

Listening to this on my computer through headphones and it is definitely the wrong choice. I know very little of Fleetwood Mac beyond Rumours and that is probably a shame. One almost perfect album shouldn't be a way to decide about a band and a legacy. This is the album after. Another double album in a row. Just finished Exile on Main Street where it is the last gasp of rock for a band who is done and then this double of a band falling apart and trying to distance themselves. Heroin for the Stones and cocaine for Fleetwood Mac. I don't have any context for this album other than against Rumours. So, here we go. Mostly thoughts as I listen. I have heard The Hedge before. Something about it reminds me of Mumford and Son. There is a brightness and trebly quality to the sound here. Definitely some production tricks with the whispers. So far not as experimental as I have been lead to believe. Might also be due to so much music that I have heard over the years. Way brighter than Exile that I just finished yesterday. This is like too much light off the water on a summer's day rather than the muffle under water. I really wished I wasn't using Spotify for this. I wish I had Tidal on my work computer. I may end up using my phone for the remainder of the time that I listen away from my home. I just found out that Camper Van Beethoven did a whole cover album of this. I will be listening to that as I really dig David Lowery. I can imagine that it will be more experimental than what I have heard so far. Sometimes these songs sound like they belong to another album. They share some similar DNA of sounds but from somewhere else. This is Storms that makes me wonder about this. I like this song. Very much jingly jangly. That's all for everyone seems like a half a song. Maybe something that Andy Patridge was working on for XTC. Something that didn't make the Beatles influenced Skylarking. Sometimes this feels like the Travelling Wilburys with more treble. This feels like a coke bender between frantic come ups and mellow comedowns, never spending enough time to fully follow an idea to an end. Either getting bored or sliding into a more mellow tune. Sisters of the Moon. Solo at the end was not as wanky as I expected. Self indulgent but only going so far. Angel feels Proud Mary like to me. That's Enough for Me reminds me that I should re-listen to T-Rex. Something Bolanesque about this one. Brown Eyes the first song that feels really experimental to me probably due to the weirdos I listen to. This song seems to be perpetually ending on the next beat; like falling forward walking upstairs. Never Make Me Cry feels like a full song. Probably the first fully formed one. I'm starting to think it isn't that bad of thing to be like this. This becomes apparent on Honey Hi which sounds like a Rumours reject. It also sounds like a rock/pop version of minimal techno with repeating phrases over simple melodies and beats. Maybe just a pop version of experimental techno? I hate the piano in Beautiful Child. I can't say why. The first song I want to skip but I hold out. Tusk - Another one that feels like an experiment. T-Rex, Tom Waits or a demo. All feel at home here. This is a wandering, meandering time of someone lost and trying to find a way. Some great production and some bad decisions. I would lean to a 3.75 for the shining moments. --- I have read a number of the reviews and while it looks as if I have been leaning towards some themes. I like to listen to records as if they are intended to be heard together and have some sort of cohesion. It doesn't have to be sonically. It could be thematic. This just seems to be a whiplash mood and wanting to do something different. I don't find it as trashy, disconnected or experimental as others. There are some cool production tricks and a definite impact of substances on the recording. I will give it a 4. I will probably dip in sometime in the future when I listen to some alt country, 80/90s prog rock or some more organic techno. --- I finished listening to the Camper Van Beethoven cover. It is a great companion piece to this. I will definitely be listening to that again.

This is the first artist that I have gotten that I know really well. I probably have played this album at least half dozen times before this re-listen. Even this time, I played it two and a half times and had a hard time making notes. Let me try and explain. The listening window for this album came around the time by personal life was exploding and then the world changed. Again. I'm not sure how much it affected my listening this time but the way I listened to music from about 2000-2003 changed. I wanted something to escape or so enrapt me in the analysis in a way that wasn't too serious. I don't remember much about the first go around here. This time, a lyric would hit and I would go off and think about it and come back. The song would almost be over and another line or two would push me away from the currency of the song. So good. Like a good lick of ice cream that slows you down so much that you can't eat it quick enough. "I can't think and I'm silenced" Or the 90s repackaging of particular sounds of Elastica and Luscious Jackson but in a new way on A Place Called Home. This is her beautiful sounds for ugly people. It marks a change in what she had been doing in terms of ugly sounds and anger. I hate to say mature because it is just different. It was the first of two Mercury's for her. I really appreciate PJ. While This is Love is one of the only kinda singalong here, the rest are well worth a listen if only I could keep my attention on the lyrics. Many listens are rewarding. This is why I think this is a 5 for me.

This is white soul for the next generation. In 2006 was when I stopped being current with music. I listened to very little as fatherhood, relationships and work took up most of my time with small moments being left on the mornings when no one was awake, or while the evening routine gave me an hour or two. And while going to work I was left with reading and barely that. I stopped collecting my CMJs because I could barely get through the one CD each month. So, my exposure previously to Winehouse is on the hits that played on the radio. This feels like a nostalgic trip in some senses. Her voice is great. The arrangements don't add a ton but if you can rely on the voice to carry some of that, it is great. I don't have a ton to say. Grew up on 50s rock and this feels like a lot of those early times but updated. Her influence is obvious in the 2000s, along with folks like Sharon Jones. This is why we have so many soulful pop tunes. I'm giving it a 3

This is not a band I have listened to other than hearing singles on the radio. This is the first band that I have a slightly negative view towards since starting this journey. It may be a slog. I ended up stopping a few times while listening. I get the repetition; I love some types of electronic body music. I can even get into drone or shoegaze. Having said that, there are a few notables by the time I finish this. The context that I have for this is that it is somewhere along the continuum of Led Zeppelin (cock or stoner rock) to modern psych rock (Warmduscher). I should like them but find that this album has a lot of connective tissue that is too gristly for me. It is a good steak cooked poorly. "If Only" - okay, this one catches my ear a bit. The one-two of "These Aren't the Droids You're Looking For" and "Spiders and Vinegaroons" feel like an update of Led Zeppelin. Unfortunately, not enough of this type on this record for me to go back to as an album. Maybe not enough meat on it. There are definitely the germs of an idea but maybe not fully formed. "Spiders and Vinegaroons". A little bit of experimentation here. But it got me thinking... A night time around a firepit with booze and smokes. Soft chatter and snicks of sparks shooting into the dark. A few folks are outside the circle, the day's warmth coming off there swim suit clad bodies, are dancing. Hands about their heads; beer in one hand and a cig in the other. Sparks falling. The kaleidoscope effect of flickering flame and rising heat as the night gets colder shapes the dancing figures into more expressive shadows. Nothing to note that summer won't last forever. Just the knowledge that we are here in the perpetual Saturday night of a summer long weekend. If it wasn't for grunge, maybe these folks would have become the torch bearer for rock. Instead, they become an alternative history that occasionally gets revisited. I would give them a 2.5 but since we need to round, they get a 3.

Not super familiar with this band except as a note from other bands. Not quite sure what I was expecting. From the opening notes, I got the idea that this was going to be skronk jazz; the kind of music that those steeped in John Zorn and his games would be familiar. The first number had parts that made me think of Jethro Tull. It moved along with noise and floated into pieces of musicality that felt very jam band like. How much was improv and how much was this free flowing stuff? Not quite 50s cool hep cat stuff but something going forward. There was a section in Slightly All the Time that smacked of Stereolab. The instruments, the fuzz and the occasional droning. Maybe even that joint that they did with Nurse with Wound. Not sure that these guys come from music concrete because I don't hear anything that isn't instruments. Moon in June. Did Art of Noise listen to these guys? Maybe Peter Gabriel or Pere Ubu? Many may have taken from this scene if not this band. The last cut of Out-Bloody-Rageous is like primitive Binaural Beats or ASMR freakiness in parts. The whole piece feels a numbers of snippets jammed together without making a whole. So, this won't be a lot of folks cup of tea. To me, there is a driving force through each song. Sure, there is some meandering but it is like a dog off a leash following his master's trail. It more or less goes somewhere without being super structured all the way through. Some pieces have a direction that is understandable to untrained ears while others feel cobbled together. This went by fast but I could see how some folks would find this interminable. There is something to knowing where something is going that is helpful. It is relaxing and feels moored and not so noisy. I liked this album. I didn't find it too noisy. It does feel a bit dated. Not like a new band reaching back but rather something of its own time. I don't think this is super brilliant nor just a piece of trash noise or just sounds. It is musicians doing their thing and reaching a moment where they feel confident. This is what pleases them. I'll give it a 3 although I may put this on at some type of swingers orgy to sort the wheat from the chaff, if you know what I mean.

Smooth Operator was everywhere when it came out. I feel that it was around the same time as Kenny G, Alison Moyet, and Simply Red. A whole lotta of adult contemporary music when it seemed that was done. Some 'romantic' music to get down with. I wasn't the demographic then and this smooth jazzy and R&B inflected stuff was not my bag. She was definitely before Erykah Badu and Macy Grey. I remember stepping into a cocktail lounge -- I am sure there was a mix of swing, exotica, Harry Connick Jr and Sade. I had my first chocolate martini "hated it" and promptly left after trying an expresso martini next. Drinks were expensive and I wasn't ready for this level of BS. Unfortunately, this is my association. Only cocktails and exotica survived that era for me. Anywho, I put this on and the first song, "Smooth Operator", it has this preamble. Never heard this on the radio. I wish I had, it makes the song better. This sounds a lot better when you are only hearing it once and awhile and it is when you want. A lot better. I have already heard half this album and the other less overexposed songs are familiar and good. Maybe I have finally gotten to a place in my life where I can appreciate this stuff. This is sultry and cool. This album is a great album. I think I may give it a 4. It deserves a bit more but not enough to push it into the 5 territory.

This is a band that I listen to often but I have never listened to a whole album. It is a dance band. It is fun. I do think that there is often a difference in a song versus an album and I feel that this project will show some of those moments. An album is often a capture in time which may show trends or musical preoccupations. I am not sure that this is a cohesive set of songs to put together. Thematically, they do seem to hold but there isn't any that have to be there. That isn't to say that this isn't a good album just that it seems more of a bunch songs that they were doing at the same time. I hear inspirations of the 80s; Thompson Twins, a song or two that wouldn't be out of place on an XTC record, or even Erasure. Less produced than the 80s and so it doesn't feel rehashed. Sampling of birds was done by Art of Noise and the Orb and doesn't feel out of place here. A few times I found myself wondering about whether there was a connection to LCD Soundsystem and I wasn't too surprised that there is one. There are a few more thinky songs and that's okay. I mean from the top with Motion Sickness, you can tell that the lyrics can be fun. Night and Day reminds me of a cheesier Fischer Spooner in places and was one of the songs that made me wonder about and LCD Soundsystem connection. I mean dance and sex goes together. Flutes is a standout. Flaming Lips comes to mind. Maybe it is some of the lyrics and vocals that draw this parallel to me. Now there is nothing is the XTC lite track I was thinking about. Maybe a reject from Skylarking album. Some 70s feeling cheese here. AOR stuff. Like an Alice Cooper dance tune. Let Me Be Him with the steel guitar sound and birds reminds me of KLF and the Tammy Wynette alternates. Look. Sometimes you just want to dance and don't want it to be so vacuous and vapid. This is a time to put on some IDM or something like this. It can be cheesy and interesting at the same time. Not sure this feels like a necessary 1001 album but you could definitely pull worse examples. As I said, I often put Hot Chip on. That makes it start at a 3 unless the album had songs that would make me turn it off. Nothing has swayed me to put this album on versus others nor has it made me want to pick this band over a dozen others, so I guess it stays at a 3. Now, I didn't add any of the songs to my favourites list. Not quite sure what that means. I will have to sit on that as I develop how I mark these records.

Nico. Her name conjures up NY, heroin, the Factory, Velvet Underground. I hear her bored voice in my head, along with a faint idea of a bunch of folks hanging at some after hours cafe. Maybe Andy is in the corner. Smoke everywhere and each person, by their interest, talks about what they have been doing. Maybe they take to an open mike. This is the age of folk, drugs and experimentation. Somehow I think of Laura Nyro. This is what I bring unbidden to the listening of this album. I have heard some of the stuff with the Velvet Underground. So, the voice isn't a surprise. The sparse recording could be more sparse in places. It was a pleasure then - could be a Magnetic Fields song and should have a better arrangement. Chelsea Girls is a standout. I can see how some Stereolab singing got its influences from the delivery here. I keep trying to find a connection between Ute Lemper, Nina Hagen and Nico. This is the problem with listening to these randomly. This is definitely an album that is part of a scene and I would love to understand what it is in conversation with. Not that Ute and Nina were part of that but there is a kind of cabaret element and humour that tie those two together that is missing from here. I just wonder who is in the conversation. Or maybe I am trying to hard. This is a great album that could definitely be improved but I'm not sure that disqualifies it from being a 5. It may end up being a 4. I am not sure that I will listen very often. And I think I am saving those 5s. This does come close...

This will be a relisten. It was an album I had put on quite a bit when it came out. I had just been ordering my first few cassettes from Columbia House (first two albums I bought Peter Gabriel So, and Art of Noise's In Visible Silence). I had been working for a little bit and discovered that my library had albums. Until this time, very little listening was done outside of what my parents listened to: country, early 50s rock, and some pop music. When they went to church on Saturday nights, I would be able to listen to a different radio station and eventually got a clock radio in my room where if I kept it exceptionally quiet, I would listen late at night when everyone else was asleep. The video of Money for Nothing was on heavy rotation and was not like anything else. I borrowed the album from the library and copied it onto cassette. I played it many times. Other than Money for Nothing, the rest of the album was a bit of a bridge from what my parents were listening to and something more mysterious. It didn't fit most of the Top 40 show stuff or the more eclectic show stuff from overnight radio. It was something different that felt like a bluesier rock. I didn't quite get the whole feeling of the album. It spoke to my working class existence. Even as I noted the sarcasm and the chagrin of making fun both of musicians and the movers. I found the last song the one that when I first started listening I would consider skipping or at least be happy that it was one that was one at the end so I could maybe drift off to sleep. Now having said all that, it was time for the relisten. Sometimes as I listen, I would recognize this as being related to Don Henley's Boys of the Summer and other times my touchstone at the time would have been Honeymoon Suite. Dire Straits was more restrained and sounded less produced. The song Wave Babies is the closet thing. It had lots of space. These shared a sense of sunlight on waves in the summer and falling asleep in the sun on the dock, eyes squinting. Ride across the river has the opening sounds that I associate with Peter Gabriel's Sledgehammer. The Mans too strong feels like a standard country/folk song of frustration and revolt. This is part of a reason that the whole record feels like a working class album. I could connect with some of these feelings of loss of control and having things happen to you. Also, the comradery of being different but still working together like the last track of Brothers in Arms. Feels almost like an Irish song in places. If this was solely based on how much I like the album, I would give it a 5 and have been debating. In terms of impact; other than the production and the video, this is a fairly middle of the road album. It means more for me as a part of my formative listening. I'll split the difference and give it a 4.

Okay. My memory of listening to this album has to be sometime after the 1990 something CD remaster. I was living with a few guys and one of them was telling me about Rolling Stones. At that time, the Stones were a different beast. A little too schlocky and cocky for me. A lot of cock rock. He encouraged me to listen to Sticky Fingers. He put it one on his CD system in his room by the kitchen. We listened, drank some of his scotch, and talked about famous album covers. Sticky Fingers with the zipper and Alice Cooper and the paper underwear. I heard the blues and roots influence on the Stones and didn't hear every cut. Luke, his Maine Coon cat found a corner in the backroom and yowled to get our attention. It was a memorable night. I gained a little appreciation for what the Stones were before they became that larger than life and semi-parodic band. This was the first time in a long while hearing this all the way through. Yeah, I get it. Roots, country and rock mixed together with sometimes boredom and sometimes soul. It makes for a good listen. Sister Morphine - great cut. I really enjoy so many of these songs. While it isn't something I would keep coming back to, I can appreciate what it is. 4 stars.

This is a hard one to rate as its importance is immense in terms of rap samples alone. It was weird to listen and hear it from both sides; a cover album with bongos and a source for samples elsewhere. It was as if you were hearing two things at once. The listening experience itself was lots of fun. Also reminded me of hooked on classics and other late 60s and early 70s exotica. I like cocktail music and for this alone, this rates as a 4.

This album came out about the time I stopped listening to music on a regular basis as I was part of a family. I had kids to raise and didn't have the brain power or extra money to continue to buy releases. It was the beginning of streaming and it was getting harder to find new music. This is one of the reasons that I am doing the project. So, yeah, I have heard of The Darkness but I hadn't listened. Opening sounds like listening to Motley Crue or AC/DC for the first time. This is fun and cock rock. Dumb and fun. The falsetto reminds me of something but I can't place it. Maybe I heard them on the radio. The second song reminds me of the band Toronto. Guitar driven rock verging on parody. Motherfucker is always good to hear in a song. If you know what I mean. Another song that 18 year old me would love. Goofy, and easily singalong. Growing on me. Such an 80s throwback. Yeah, this is hair metal revisited. Sometimes you just want to play air guitar in a dark room and think about the partners you don't have. There it is. I Believe in a Thing Called Love. This is the song that I was thinking about when I heard the falsetto on the first song. I remember singing to this on the radio and thinking this is so much cheese. Banger of a number. Worth a listen by itself. Love is Only a Feeling - sounds like "This one is for the ladies". More of a slow lighter fueled ballad where you don't have to bop but sway. It gives the same gleeful experience as watching Nicolas Cage play Dracula or any of the Evil Nick characters. Super fun. Sometimes a bit over the top and you either go with it or turn it off. Makin' Out. Yup. Definite AC/DC vibes. I would go see this band depending on the opener. A good night for headbanging and drinking beer. There are a few songs that I don't care about but there would be nothing for me to turn the whole album off. It is definitely a vibes album where there are some times where it would be too cheesy and the feelings are lactose intolerant. Worth a 3.

I had a university prof in linguistics who worked under Chomsky. I took the course by VHS. I would have to go the university library and take out each session and play it at home. Every class opened with a Pixies' song played on a portable cassette player. That was my introduction to the the Pixies aside from a few playing at the alternative night at bars aimed at students. I volunteered at the local university radio station and the Pixies sounded like a better college radio band. This was music made by "smarter" people who still wanted to keep the energy of punk but wanted to say something else. This band definitely helped define the alternative sound before it matured and became a million different pieces and sub-genres. I had not listened to any of their records as a record before. I recognized a few songs off this one. If I try to pick a standout, I end up listing almost half the album but no one song says that it is a must listen. Maybe that is a sign of good album. There are a couple of songs that remind me of talking heads and a few tracks that point to followers, especially Smashing Pumpkin. Anyway, to put this in perspective, I am not going to pull out songs and give a blow by blow. I did end up laying in a dark room with headphones and staring at the ceiling. This 90s sound reminded me of late teens and early twenties of just listening to music. That's a nostalgic moment. It does sound better than most late 80s or early 90s music. I'll give this a 4.

There is so much energy on this album. This is a band that demanded you see them live. If any of you have been to a punk show, you would get the whole thing. It is not swaying or polite movements. Raw and powerful. Make some noise. Move your body. In spite of punk making a living on short songs, the last song keeps threatening to break down. I can see why they ended their sets with this. I'm not going to mythologize this band but Darby Crash, the lead singer, has it. Charisma leaks out of this record. It is the beginning of the recording of hardcore and did enough to capture the spirit. I will give it a 3 though it is close to a 4.

It is really hard to know how to review this. I have seen this movie and the soundtrack is great as part of the movie. When listening on its own, the record goes by quickly. A few songs catch your ear especially as it nears the end. Much like blaxploitation flicks, this music feels like a blackened orchestra in parts. I am not sure how well this would connect with African Americans. At least on the face, it seems to have something to offer. This seems to be the history of popular music. The music has to whitened and sterilized a bit before the next onslaught of rawer and more emotional. Frogs will leap out of a pot of water as it gets warm; it is humans that would probably boil alive. Regardless, the importance and influence rates this as a 3. I am not sure that I can go higher in terms of my overall enjoyment. Now, if we had made one album with music that wasn't intended to be incidental or maybe just shortening some of these cuts, then I could at least make it to a 4. However, it does deserve to be listened at least once.

So, this is a cinematic album, continuing from what Wu-Tang Clan did. My whole experience with this whole crew is a few cuts here and there and going to see their farewell tour last year. I listened to this album only once this time and it needs a proper relisten like many good rap records do. There is a depth in the humour and lyrics that can only be gleaned after a few times of listening. Snatches of different mob movies are throughout. I recognized de Niro but since I generally do subs not dubs, the Killer's words weren't super obvious. Replacing a lot of the Kung Fu films background, there is more orchestral elements such as appeared in Shaft. I guess it was lucky that I heard that before this one came up. I am not sure I would have made that connection otherwise. And of course, some of the "Oriental" influence made its way back into experimental hip hop. See Ninja Tunes. I let most of it wash over me, dipping in and paying close attention to several bars at a time. Also, paying more attention to the skits between. This feels like a reimagining of everyday life for them. Much like NWA, there is a honesty here while putting on the mafia or mob persona that rings true. There is a parallel of taking care of your own. The violence that sometimes exist over doing business while still trying to take care of your community and your family. This is a solid 3. One that I will go back and listen to; hopefully, to get a better grasp of the bars.

I have seen Radiohead live in concert once. A smaller venue with wooden floors. When "Creep" came on, the whole room expanded and the dance floor felt as if it was breathing. The whole room was jumping in time. I had come for the opening bands. I was not a fan of Radiohead. I found them a bit too arty for the sake of arty. Seeing "Creep" live did show me what their fans saw in them. I got it. I still didn't care for them; they were not for me. This album, when it came out, opened a discussion on the future of music sales and marketing. Much has been said and started with this album. The thing is that they weren't the first band to try doing this but they were the first major band. That's kind of how I feel about their music. Lots of folks consider them innovators, and they are. They are rarely the first ones in and rarely taking too many risks. They were trying to figure a way to deal with the bs that happened with Hail to the Thief. For that, they definitely caught the interest of the music industry and how to deal with pirates. However, they do get the accolades. This was wallpaper music to me. I recognized some of the influences and would rather go listen to those folks. That isn't to say that there isn't anything here. There is nothing objectionable and sometimes a song will hit. "Jigsaw Falling into Place" did catch my attention. This is a list of influential albums and not really based on my own personal taste. This would be a 2.5 star rating. Rounding up gives it a 3. If I was to listen to a Radiohead album, it might not be this one.

I'm a little pissed at J. Mascis, Bob Mould and Buttholes Surfers. They are kind of responsible for shoegaze and grunge. With Dinosaur Jr. being responsible for emo too. So much bad stuff that happened after. Both musically and personally for me. I disliked grunge and may still not like it but I believe this list will get me listening to some of the stuff that is good. Listening to Dinosaur Jr reminds me of the first time I dated my now former spouse. I won't get into it but at one time I was dating two women, both long distance relationships. Neither worked out but on the drive, I often listened to alt rock stuff. Dinosaur Jr was on heavy rotation. They both loved my musical taste but only one like Dinosaur Jr. Remember listening while sitting on a driftwood log on a small beach in early summer with a small pit fire. Le sigh. This album feels a like a wave of distortion hitting you over and over with guitars and a loud soft voice saying precious things to you. This was so ahead of its time that it sounds like a late 90s album. Here you can still hear clear vocals before the voice becomes more under like on Where You Been. That was a cassette that was well played for me. I honestly love this album. There are no skips for me and the impact on music is phenomenal. The bands that came from this... Some great stuff and plenty of dross. Hard to deny its impact. Poledo's singing and melody reminds me of both Liz Phair and Rheostatics. Just Like Heaven is a great cover.

What I remember of Juilian Cope. World Shut Your Mouth and a member of the Teardrop Explodes. I don't think I have heard a full Cope album. I was aware of his cult status. Lots of goths love this guy so there has to be something to him. This all the earmarks of the Brit Pop sound to follow. More about the 60s and 70s, politics, some twee sounds. When I listened to this album, I know that I will have to listen to it again. This will be on rotation for a while. Pristeen - reminds me a bit of Lou Reed. Easy Easy Rider - has a Cult sound. The song structure is a bit of something else. I keep thinking that this must have some meaning attached to CC Rider and Reggae. I am getting a kick out of remembering a band called Dred Zeppelin. Soldier Blue - I have heard this song before but I am not sure it is this version. Might have been on Much Music awhile back. Maybe they did a daily spotlight on Julian Cope and this could have been in it. The American Lite - Definitely heard this. Not sure where but yeah. I can't imagine this not influencing Brit Pop. Given that I want to listen to this again, it will be an auto 4 or 5. I think I'll settle on 4.

I wasn't looking forward to the Cure albums that I knew were going to be on here. I guess I have a bias about Robert Smith being a whiny bitch. I guess I will have to listen and see if that is confirmed. Play for Today - Lots of space. I mean, this is goth, right? Moody bedroom music to slit your wrists to. Actually, I don't find them that dark but rather feels like a big suckfest of early adult feelings. This is odd as I remember a lot of that disappearing and really feel for kids today because this is as close to the 80s as it has ever been. Hearing this after the political tunes of Julian Cope, I get why this stuff emerged. I can get into this vibe but I am so not interested in the whole album. I am glad it is only 35 minutes. I want so bad to give a 2 already but I will try and remove my bias. The Cure had a decent impact on music. Now, was it this album? I am surprised at the amount of piano on this one. And I mean, thank goodness for the echoes. I guess this was good once. Okay, I like M. That must mean something. I made it through. I am sure that I will like at least one of their albums. I am sure that one more will make it on the list. This will be getting a 2 from me. I'm sure others of his are better. I like Siouxsie and the Banshees but just can't behind this.

I remember hearing 'Yellow' on the radio and thinking that it sounded like an updated Radiohead without Thom Yorke. Maybe Radiohead was going back to its Brit Pop roots? Now, I am not the fondest of many of Radiohead's more Brit Pop era. I find it a bit too emo, whiny and self indulgent. I have heard all the hits off the Parachutes album. The first few times, the songs are catchy but not too catchy; hummable but not cloying. They seemed to lack the animus that I feel towards Radiohead. So, more boring? Coming back to this album, this is a hits album with other songs. It showed the way out of the Brit Pop era to another way of continuing the popular parts. It feels more personal and less political. Simpler music. Aside from the hits which have now become overplayed though I still like 'Yellow', 'We Never Change' is something I would like. Given that this is their debut album, I would be more likely to give it a 3 than the 2 or 2.5 that I think it deserves. It serves as a template. Nothing is too crazy or different, just a way back. Like rock returning to something like its roots every generation, I feel that British music goes through these kind of waves.

So, my process so far has been to listen to the album and read the Wiki article for context but try to avoid paying attention to critiques. This is one album that I may be influenced. I like the sound of this album. I like most of the songs on this but I do find my attention wandering. Without the Wiki article, I may have gone a little as three but after it feels like a four or maybe a five. I must admit that I don't like 80s Stevie Wonder and there are a couple of songs here that have that flair. There is an unevenness, in terms of what is presented here. It does feel like a personal and political album from a person's life. There are plenty of songs that reflect his life at the time. Having his kid on one song can seem indulgent in one way but also very personal and just doing where he is at. There are a couple of songs that I love and some that if I relistened might become skips. Given that it is an almost two hour album, I don't have the time to go over it again and again which would probably iron out my misconceptions and uneasiness with where I am sitting right now. Have a talk with God - Why have I never heard this before. Such an odd thing to hear something like this fifty years. I have heard a lot of electronica but this sounds different. There are some choices on the rest of the album that are interesting ones. I guess I'll give it a four.

First album that I added to my list right after listening to. I have added a song or two to my favourite list but not an album. Why did I add it? It is fun while still having some good musicianship. I had heard one of this songs but hadn't realized how consistent the whole album was. Some of it is clever. Both 'The Worst Band in the World' and 'Clockwork Creep' while mining the same process, produce a fun song that I want to listen to again. Reminds me a bit of ELO. Now in terms of influence... These guys wrote and recorded music for other people. Music was a different type of hits machine back then. They also found ways to make stuff sound fuller so they didn't have to have more musicians. See, they were music businessmen. This album, though, while it had an innovation here or there, isn't one I would call influential by itself. Though this has one of my favourites, it will get a 3. However, it is one of the first where I want to go out and make my friends listen to a song or two from it.

Okay, I really like experimental and alternative rap. Ninja Tune is one of the labels that I will always give a try. Cut Chemist is heavily involved in that scene, often with DJ Spooky. Sure, I know J5. Maybe I wasn't listening to their albums but I knew a decent about of their stuff. This is pretty much an automatic 4 for me. This is definitely a time that I wish that this project was time based. I am sure that some of this stuff has roots in other popular culture. It is the second record I added to my favourites because I will be listening to a lot of these again. One of them and If only you knew were standouts for me.

So, after the third song, I realized that this was the album that I have heard so many times from the Beatles. It wasn't called this but my mom loved them. The thing is that when I was listening to this growing up, it was barely fifteen years sing it was released. Music had really moved and the 80s were around the corner. My mom would put this on and sometimes only one or two of her favourite songs. There are definitely ones that I don't care for but this is a solid album. And it is the Beatles. Some covers and still doing that whole harmony and lots of 50s influence still lingering before their production started changing everything. So, a bridge album to what they will become. I'm giving this a 5. At least half a point of that is nostalgia.

When MIA came on the scene, it was world music that was more than somebody combing another culture for cool sounds or more cerebral moments of music. It was a refugee finding herself. She was taken on by certain folks as a banner for immigrants, women, and those downtrodden. Her existence was political. Her point of view was complex but able to be put in a box. As she has aged, her politics are once again reinterpreted by her adopted home and the listening public within their squares. They place their interpretation on her. She was never meant to be someone speaking for all these other folks. She speaks for her experience. This album is a personal and political album that you can dance to. It is hard to listen to without finding your way into trying to understand where she is coming from. It is a good album that showed a different possibility for rap. It isn't an African American perspective. Maybe other cultures have something to say while reusing and recycling Western music. It really did create an impact and underline the DIY aspects of how music is made.

It is almost impossible to have not heard a few of Simon & Garfunkel. Unfortunately, most of what I heard or think about is sitting in a barber's chair as an eight year old and listening to classics radio with orchestral bits and the occasional tune like something from these guys. Turns out I was wrong. There are a few noisy pieces on here. Yes, there is also some of that sickly sweet stuff that makes lunch with the ladies easier but there are quite a few cutting lines elsewhere. Save the Life of My Child was one of those and strangely, speaking about old folks, Voices of Old People. In fact, the whole first part of this album which is basically a lifetime in less than half an hour, is largely lovely. I do love the original Hazy Shade of Winter but the Bangles bang it out too. Sure, those harmonies are nice but the other stuff is nicer. I'd give this a 4.

What is there to say about the woman that set the standard for female solo artists, especially for white soul. The start of a relationship between her and Bacharach and whatshisface. Her first solo record is solid and does suffer from the production at the time. I particularly enjoyed Mockingbird; When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes; Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa; and Anyone Who Had a Heart.

I have listened to albums where I did not understand the language and the worry is always whether the musicianship will translate. Sometimes, like with Latcho Drom, it does very easily. Other times, not so much. From the first notes, this sounds promising. I put it on while working, expecting it to bring a wallpaper Spotify experience even though I was using Tidal (Little internet criticism there) but I found that every couple of songs, I would be brought out of it and a song demanded a listen. That happened probably for about a third of the album. Complex rhythms, unfamiliar song structures and sounds were often the culprit. While familiar with some of this artist's other works, I wasn't with this album or under Baaba Maal. I guess I'll give this a 3. If it was on at a party, I would be more than happy to be there. As something to offer close listening, I am more circumspect. I think the musicianship is amazing. I can see where his cross training has served him well for making songs that are great across language barriers. Other than a few songs, (Sy Sawande for example), I don't feel a great urge to relisten.

There seems to be a trend of African American artists who take up orchestral or big band arrangements. I guess that was a way into society. I don't love some of the arrangements here as I am not totally onboard with the upper crustal regions of culture. What does come across here, is the voice. It saunters, meanders and strolls. It has a quality that forces you to listen. It is a great voice. I like Ray Charles' country album in spite of the arrangements and I feel a little less so here. That is probably more due to the growing up with more country than 50s rock and roots music. If this was just Ray and his piano, it would be an easy 4 and possibly a 5. Finally, I really let my personal choice touch this one and I will give it a 3. It would be okay if I was visiting business or lawyer friends who genuinely loved big band.

So, this is an instrumental album which largely feels like a jam band. Not normally my favourite. There is one vocal song so the verbal jokes are less obvious on this one. However, there is still a whole lot of musical references. Most of the cuts feel safe. Maybe that is in retrospect but nothing feels too out of place here. Part of me always goes back to the fact that Zappa signed Alice Cooper for their first two albums. The danger and anticipation is missing from this record. The production comes through. I'm hoping that there is at least one more Zappa album on this list.

This is the kind of music that I would consider easy listening jazz. When I was young at the barber's, I would sometimes hear something like this. I didn't understand it then growing up in a rural environment without the trappings of the bougie company. Well, except for my barber. Which most people called Frenchie but his name was Ray. He listened to jazz. I guess my impression at the time was that only old and/or French people listened to jazz. I still don't have the musical experience to grok jazz but I can appreciate more what I hear. I worked with a improv jazz drummer for a bit. I loved to go to his shows. Skronk jazz is what I called it. This isn't that. This a bunch of folks getting together and jamming out. They are throwing each other motifs, musical suggestions and listening as they go. I got this on a Saturday and waited until Sunday to finish listening to it. Listening to this as someone who has lived in the city and has at least tried some illicits, I can understand the appeal a bit more. Still not my thing but you can imagine hanging in a night club, a bit high; cocktail and cigarette as the hours get small and just swaying to what the folks are doing. It is a way to burn some hours in a not unpleasant way. This feels like somewhere near the best that can be expected for capturing a decent live performance of this type of music. I know that I will be challenged as some more comes along but for one of the first ones to come up for me, this is a good start.

Afrobeat. Taking music and lyrics out of context of time and place can cause a bit of whiplash. How do you judge? Should you judge? I enjoyed the music and recognized the political here. Nigeria has a really crappy relationship with queer folk. One of the songs, "Changes", talks about homosexuality and probably transness. Looking into what Femi had to say about it is that it is a human right. He also says that there isn't a history of talking about it pre-Christianity or western interference. I don't know what that means. Given all the other people first songs here and the anti government and corruption, I may give him a pass unless it is proven otherwise. In spite of that, this is sometimes fun but always with politics. It is like a lot of music that I really like.

Haha. Second Radiohead album in a month. I like this better. About half of these are at least interesting to me. I have heard about four of these songs before and maybe I will grow to understand Radiohead and maybe love them. The first cut has elements that remind me of Einsturzende Neubaten, some minimal techno bands and the corner percussion player using found pieces to bang on. Strangely, this is better than most as Thom is pulled back and not at empty cup whining. Of course, at least Pyramid which was released as a single has the trademark voice. The piano sounds pained. The lyrics sound pained. Maybe that is what I don't like mostly about Radiohead; the leaning into emoting every little thing. I do like the swinging near the end of the song. "Loser" by Beck quality to "I Might be Wrong". This record definitely feels like Radiohead trying to find new sounds. I like the loping quality to this. Right. "Knives Out". I feel like an arse saying this but this feels petty. Like trying to sound deep while processing an ordinary feeling. I remember being angry at the age of 16 and telling my friends that I was going to write a short story about a teen who plans revenge on his friends for not listening to him. Yeah, this reminds me of that cringe emotion of wishing someone dead or at least making that movie through your head. "Life in a Glasshouse" ain't no St. John's Infirmary. At the end, I still haven't learned to love them. However, I do get the changes between albums and why folks like them. Funny thing, a PJ Harvey song came on after and I thought, wow this is good. So, I am still not sure what puts me off my feed. I know a few folks who love this album and I have definitely found a song or two hear that I like and would play again. How influential? Not sure. It is part of the Kid A sessions which I hear a decent amount of people reference, so I guess it is a 3?

Well, second The Cure album in a month, too. This is more the classic sound that I remember when listening to the The Cure. It is dark and gloomy. In retrospect it sounds almost comical in the extent of its emotionality. The Hanging Garden was one that I remember hearing in a certain clubs. It feels messy, noisy and almost ready to fall off the rails. There is a sonic beauty to it when you can immerse yourself. A younger me might find this more cathartic but an older me has been bled dry of those high emotions. Maybe dessicated me has less use for the rich loam of dramatic depression and the bloodletting of inner turmoil. For all the shade that I could throw here, it is important that I recognize that this is the soundtrack of someone hurting. It doesn't sound like parody but someone who is in a pain that doesn't feel real. And sometimes you can dance to it. It definitely affected others coming after. I guess I'll give it a three.

From the opening chords, this is an album I can get behind. This is definitely my favourite the cure album

One of the earliest on this list. It is the background music you hear in gangster movies. You can imagine being a club late at night where the music gets louder and more dirty as the night goes on. This is that time of music.