Harkens back to a very specific point in the 90s rock scene that was very deeply against what America was becoming--a country of quiet disdain so that polite society's vanity would remain undisturbed. An excellent blend of the 80s/90s "rap" (if you can call Rage's vocals that) and heavy rock, both used in service towards a greater, angrier message. This album is perfect in service to its namesake, it is an angry group of people that want you to stand up against the large-looming shadows of oppressive capitalism, discrimination, hatred, and worst of all, the societal rationalization of these practices. It wants you to "Rage Against the Machine".
I'm 1000% willing to bet that when JG Quintel was talking to his music supervisors for Regular Show, he directly referenced this album. Same for any GTA V music supervisor asking what their "Heist Music" ought to sound like.
I wont try to get into history as that is way out of my ball knowledge, but if I had to take an educated guess (and based on the ethos of this being one of the "1001 most influential albums" in music), this was likely a MASSIVE turning point of an album for the music industry. Who knows if it was actually that influential at the time of release, but it is clear that these presumably German dudes were tinkering with what was going to be the complete future of sound. Late stage disco was the thing of the 70's, and I imagine that synths and drum machines were starting to rear their heads at this period. These two were artists using brushes completely new and foreign to them. Saw wave synths. Artificial drums. Fun and funky beat patterns. and most of all, ALMOST NO VOCALS. This album is the exploration of "machine", as it was introduced to "man" in its mystique, modern representation in the 70's and 80's. This album is a piece that (now according to the wiki page that I read) represents a maturity of electronic music.
One of my favorite other reviews from this site:
Music made by men pretending to be robots for people who are pretending not to be robots.
Little bit o this, little bit o that ahh album.
Honestly, I can understand why this is perhaps one of the most influential albums of the late 80's and early 90's. You can hear an evidently transitory sound in Prince's instrumentation, incorporating more of the artificial "pop-y" sound into it's style. Yes, this was also the case in many 80's songs, but what I heard in this album was the CLEAR shift into the modern music world.
Personally, not my cup of tea, some of the songs were rather sporadic and the album as a whole felt more like a compilation of good times in the studio, rather than a cohesive piece of work (which is what I personally enjoy).
This is very quintessentially Queen. The guitars, vocal processing, and overall structure of the songs, of course, really make that sound what it is. Enjoyed the seamless transition from track to track, always wish that that was a trend that stuck around for more modern albums. This album is clearly very well structured and thought through--which I enjoy. It's just a shame I am rather indifferent to Queen as a whole.
New album for me: Y
Favorite Tracks: Procession/Father to Son; Some Day One Day.
Fun, bitchin, groovin, basically the peak of the 70's American Rock movement, where heavy pianos, digital organs, and two step swinging grooves were the dominant force of the time. A natural evolution from the jazz and swing that dominated the decades preceding. While I'm not familiar with doors, I'd imagine that they were likely one of the larger driving forces of this movement.
I was initially frustrated, as I saw that the first song was 28 minutes, so I just started listening. I forgot that there were only two songs in this album, both 20-30 minutes approximately, and I was almost frustrated by the sheer length of these tracks. Now, I can only wonder how the hell Miles was able to riff on for 30 minutes on the trumpet, twice. Wow. Good stuff, great morning jazz. Makes me want to pick my trumpet back up.
This one was a groovy, classical country album with lapsteel, guitar, banjo, fiddling, the whole works. Released in 19568?!?! Imagining this is quite a precedent-setting album as far as genre and style go. I appreciate the concept of "settling down" and the mindfulness towards Christianity, women, etc. It's country is showing. Too bad I'm just not partial towards the genre or sound. A good album, but just not for me.
So weird, so improvised. Quite a fun and original listen. I like to imagine that the intro song basically inspired the entirety of the glass animals based on sound. A good change in pace from some of the more boring albums on this list so far. How do I know? Because I added four songs to my liked songs!
I am also a big fan of the wild guitar/synth solos, dramatic atmosphere, and general cinematic and epic feel that this album has to it. I'm just a sucker for good story.
Surprisingly high use of the term f*gg*t, what did the Dire Straits mean by this?
Money for Nothing and Walk of Life are both on this album? Damn, so many bangers.
This is the type of album that I imagine a stereotypical 80's human, sitting in a classic 80's finished midwestern basement den, smoking 80's weed and drinking 80's beer, would listen to in the most nostalgic way. Embodies the era fully, and is just fuckin groovy. First time thru the whole album, but I was impressed by how many songs I was actually already familiar with. A testament to this album imo.
The other thing that makes this album a clear beast to me is the fact that my recommendation algorithm keeps feeding me banger after banger which are topically related to this. If it was bad, my recs would be shit. or something like that.
Bro.... What is this opening?
I think I'm starting to drink the ale-flavored Koolaid on this one. i'm one for a good album of storytelling, and there is most definitely a narrative here. I would enjoy this much more if I was shitfaced and sipping on a Guiness in the back of an Irish Pub, but alas.
You know what, fuck it, I loved listening to this. DnD side quest idea generated thanks to it. Very contemporary for its time in the mid 80's.
Peak sad ballad 90's. Makes me imagine going to the underwater themed high school prom where the cute girl takes off her glasses and suddenly looks like Sinead O'Connor. Would listen again, probably will go back and save a few tracks, add a few to my playlists. Unfortunately, not quite enough bangers to bump it into 4-star territory for me.
This was a very good album. Obviously I'm giving deference towards pop albums so far in this listen through, especially ones that came during my life, but I think that Lorde has always been able to distinguish herself with an incredibly distinct voice and style of music that the bedroom pop girlies wish they could emulate. It is a satisfying collision of instrumentality and percussion in both the tracks and her own voice. While there are only really 2-3 songs that, for me, were memorable enough to like/playlist (Green Light, Liability, and Supercut), the overall sound is just original enough--in terms of 2010's pop--for me to feel that this is a significant cut above the rest of stuff that was coming out in this decade.
It was a classic 80's sounding album. Will have to give it another listen, but there really was not anything that immediately caught my ear.
Feeling nostalgic. Reads like a cliche garage punk rock album, but of course it does, because it was probably one of the first albums to establish the genre. I enjoyed listening, and told myself I'm going to give out less 3's, so this one gets a 4.
Not quite sure why, but I'm quite excited for this one. It could also suck.
Update: I Like it. It's weird, but it's an oddly endearing sound that I simply cannot shelve to the background. Lonesome Tears is really f**ing good. Which is probably why I will go back and listen to this album again and inevitably fall in love with it.
OK Lit, this is supposed to be sad boi music. Probably why I like it.
This one gets the vaunted 5-stars from me. While not every single song was a crazy hit, Lonesome Tears will be on repeat for a while, and I will likely want to go back and listen to some more Beck. I think this album is also quite indicative of where I am at in my life rn, and that is quite deserving of a 5star
