1001 Albums Summary

It is impossible to make an album this iconic. So terribly 80's but this is what sets the standard for pop music. You can dance to it, you can relax to it, you can read into it deep, become inspired, it tugs on the strings of every person, music lover or not. I remember when I was a little kid listening to Billie Jean on repeat, not understanding how corny the actual instruments are today, the electric pianos, the drum machine, the programmed bass, but it paints the modern pop record. It is not a bad thing, it is just the way pop music is and was made. All modern pop music has pieces of this record and even most music in general. What a voice as well. It seems like the lyrics are overall very positive and empowering, inspiring. I am also now realizing how much Bruno Mars pulls from Micheal Jackson, Baby Be Mine has definitely been ripped off by Bruno. Again, not a bad thing, just an interesting observation. Muted guitars as well, very corny but I can see it through because it contributes to the Micheal Jackson sound. The "doggone" on The Girl Is Mine is an interesting choice of words, very family friendly Micheal. I had originally thought that The Girl Is Mine was quite boring compared to the rest on the album, particularly of lacking a catchy hook and the slower tempo. This is a slow dance song, not much for me. It is pretty groovy though, just decent nothing that makes it stand out. The next song however has such a different vibe. Still a groovy, funky, artificially made song but the entire vocal melody from the beginning to the end is one of the best of all time. Maybe the best of all time. I am gaining a lot of inspiration from the percussion as well. It sounds like the samples of Blood Orange, where he pulls his samples from for the same type of percussion. I think it adds a very special feeling that people in the 80's were able to harness well. The whole album so far just sounds like an exciting party, non-stop dancing. I have to figure out what that percussion thing is in my right ear, it's so fun. The spoken word adds so much, I normally hate it but this is amazing. The laugh is the cherry on top. Next, Beat It, one of my favorite songs since I was just around 3 years old. This is Micheal Jackson's best written vocal part. Very aggressive delivery for such a heavenly voice, he does it great. Bruno Mars has copied that "Ooh," funny to finally see the inspiration that I hadn't seen before. This song is kind of an anti-violence song. How have I never seen this before? I guess I didn't understand what "Beat It" meant before, and never listened to the lyrics so closely. It all makes sense now. Billie Jean. I don't really have to say much. This video will forever live in my memories. Every aspect of this song is iconic. The drum, the vocal, the synth, the bass line. Perfection. The transitions into the verse, on most of these songs really drives the energy. I haven't heard such things in a long time, and I think that is what modern pop songs are lacking. I enjoy it very much. I really don't understand what this song means though. Now, Human Nature, everyone's favorite song since the Micheal movie had came out. I can admit, this song has a very different, smoother, cleaner, like a cloud feeling to it. Right off of the jump. Sadly, the people on TikTok have made the beautiful chorus sound so corny to me. Now that I am listening to the raw sound without any accompanying visuals I really can appreciate the song for what it is. Slow, beautiful, catchy, and amazing instrumentation. The ease that Micheal Jackson displays when singing the high whys makes it so different than other people attempting to sing it on TikTok as well. I've seen people use all of their air and body and amplitude to try and replicate it but, and this is common knowledge, it is much cooler when it seems like you don't have to try. Now while the others are very emotionally stroking, the most fun song and funky and just my personal favorite is P.Y.T. This song is THE funk dance pop song. Now I don't believe I've listened to this last song. Slow love song, nothing special to me though, not particularly catchy. Very good R&B though. Almost I would say evoking the same emotion that Frank Ocean had done. 30 years ahead of that time. He could do a good cover of this song. Overall I am feeling a 9/10 on this album. 2 songs that don't mean very much to me but I can still appreciate their genius. Some songs also have useless parts that they can do without which holds it back from perfection. Turns out I cant do that so I will round up to 10.

Can I take you seriously Eminem? The original WOLF by Tyler the Creator, cosplay of an insane person I guess. Great comedy session from "My Name Is," displaying smart wordplay but also a description of a terrible life. Catchy, decent beat, quite basic by today's standard. "Guilty Conscience" comes in harder, reminds me of "The Art of Peer Pressure" by Kendrick Lamar. This song is hilarious though. Very enjoyable and funny to listen to, its almost like I am watching a movie. Eminem's doubled vocals on "Brain Damage" gives me such a dark feeling. I've heard them also on the other song with Rhianna or some lady and it creates a sad and dark mood. Rap music does allow you to clearly tell a story without taking away from the rest of the song, because that is the song. Especially with the boom-bap beats, and Eminem is a great story teller. This is more of a piece of art than songs for the radio. "If I Had" is slow, hard-hitting, and truthful song about life's struggle. Serious and I can respect it. This whole thing is giving me a more pessimistic view on life, and that's where I'm assuming Eminem is coming from as well. This is corny and redundant to say but this is sarcastic, funny rap music that is fun to listen to. Is it greatest of all time, maybe for the style, the rapping is beyond solid and it makes me audibly laugh. Though, I do think nowadays Earl Sweatshirt has changed the game and this is clearly the predecessor to his music. Overall though, the songs won't stick with me long, the production is decent, and I don't really resonate much with this type of music. Except for "Cum on Everybody," very funky dance track. Great production. Pure pain in Rock Bottom, that song has something special. There is context that I have to be aware of. There are many references that I just don't understand, which I am sure isn't bringing the true greatness of the lyrics. Especially because I am not going to spend time looking each person up.

I love how modern artists can take the great parts of Stevie Wonder and leave out all of the bullshit. Beautiful used in the wrong ways. Bloated instrumentation. I'm not much of a Stevie Wonder fan. How did this place for pop albums? I don't think any of this is memorable. You can tell that he would walk over to whatever instrument and just do whatever. No type of coordination at all. Repetitive and drawn out. Superstition is amazing though, particularly for the drumming and clear structure. I don't like the percussion that isn't the drum kit. What ever tribal type of drums is not adding what the songs need. This is the only criticism, honestly the actual individual parts for each instrument are quite interesting and creative. I think its the "coming together" where it seems a bit messy and Stevie is just a show-off. The lyricism is also great and very interesting, I just haven't been reading that much but from what I've heard it sounds like there are some deep themes that Stevie writes about.