What a beautiful voice! Has not heard of dream pop as a genre before, but totally get how that perfectly describes this sound.
I had the last track in my library already but didn’t connect the two, even when I saw this was the album for the day. Heard the last song as background music for a concert. Can’t remember if it was the U2 Joshua Tree anniversary tour or at Ohanafest.
As a long time fan of The Cure, I was embarrassed not to know this album already and excited to listen to it.
I read that this album intentionally had a lot of instrumental openings to the songs and that the band had some specific musical experimentation going on with this album. I appreciated learning that The Cure was more punk before this record but was understanding that Robert Smith had a unique voice that they could apply to different sounds.
I listened closely for the stripped down instrumentals. I felt like the first half of the album sounded more like The Cure I am most familiar with and the end got more punk, which was cool to hear. I don’t know that I would go back to this album though except for “In Your House.”
I had never listened to this album before. While I respect REM for their unique style and Michael Stipe’s unique voice, they never really resonated with me. My knowledge of their music is mostly limited to their mainstream hits.
Before listening to Document today, I discovered that this album is a commentary on Reagan-era politics and policy. When I think of politically-driven full albums, my first thought is always Green Day’s American Idiot, although in the last month I learned of My Chemical Romance’s Black Parade.
I also learned that Michael Stipe likes to use tone and music to express his ideas more than literal lyrics in song. I am a very lyric-forward listener, so this was a new way for me to think about listening to music.
With all of that as context, I was excited to dive into Document. It did not disappoint. I felt myself listening intently and felt I was able to appreciate the story being told about a valuable (and, for me, relatable) point of view on a specific time in history. I knew “It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) and “The One I Love” as part of pop culture history, but heard them in an entirely new way.
Side-note: I found myself wondering whether Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire” was influenced at all by “It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine”).
I’m surprised how much I liked this album. It’s clear it is a 1970s vibe and I honestly enjoyed every song and the sequencing until the last track. It was so jarring to be engrossed in this music and then get thrown off.
I thought I didn’t know this artist, but I knew three songs. “Without You” played in my house a lot as a little kid. I discovered “Coconut” my sophomore year of college and instantly loved it: Listening to this album, I found myself wondering if “Coconut” would have been a hit if it had been placed elsewhere in the record or on a different record. I feel like it got traction because it followed a Grammy-winning song and, back in the day, people listened to music by listening to an album all the way through. I also knew “Let the Good Times Roll.”
I was really impressed with the vocals, instrumentals, and lyrics. Nilsson’s vocal range and creativity in writing were great.
The first song made me think of The Beatles, but later tracks made me feel like Nilsson was bringing me along on an acid trip. Other moments made me feel like I was listening to a show tune or future sitcom theme song. The variety / range was really cool.
My favorite track ended up being “The Moonbeam Song.” It just really struck me.
I learned after listening that Nilsson is known for being famous without touring or doing other concerts. He was also a pioneer of vocal dubbing. He was friends with / worked with John Lennon and became an anti-gun activist after Lennon was killed.
I really tried to like this album, but it was like nails on a chalkboard for me. “King’s Cross” was decent, but that was it for me. “Rent” made me really sad.
I think I am not a synth pop person and I find Pet Shop Boys very nasally. I appreciate their place in music history and how they have tackled social and political topics in their lyrics, but I will never listen to this again.
For the record, I did challenge myself on my feelings about synth pop as a genre. I love Depeche Mode. I listened to some early DM after “Actually” and find that I prefer the darker, more minor sounds of DM as well as the vocals.
“Sex Packets” in title certainly made me curious to learn what was going on in this album. The style, content, and sound is classic 1990’s. The beats felt familiar and I liked all of the elements of funk woven through the tracks.
I certainly knew “The Humpty Dance” as a big radio hit when I was in high school. Hearing it in the context of the larger album changed my understanding of it. I did not know that Humpty Hump was a character beyond that one song. And that creating this character was part of a larger imaginary story of pills you take to have the experience of sex without actually having sex. It’s an interesting reminder of how prevalent HIV and AIDS was at the time.
While I don’t think I would listen to this record again, I appreciated the experience. The tracks kind of blended together for me and I didn’t connect with the lyrics personally, but I appreciated the humor and imagination and creativity of the storytelling.
It was an interesting listen that focussed me on the music and vocal since I didn’t understand the lyrics. My only experience with French music is Edith Piaf, so it was cool to hear another French legend. Brel’s voice was powerful and dramatic. I was surprised to learn how many other artists—especially David Bowie—were inspired by Brel.
I loved this album, but I love The Who, so there was probably some bias going into the listen.
I did not know most of the songs on this record. I really liked “Substitute.” I enjoyed how interactive the band was with the audience. They were quite funny. But The Who is amazing because of their instrumental acumen (especially) Townsend) and Daltrey’s voice.
I don’t know whether this is the right takeaway, but I think hearing live performances replayed is much more common and accessible than it was in 1970. There was a lot of hype around this being the most amazing live recording ever. I’m not sure that holds true over time now that there are so many live options to listen to, but I have a lot of respect for this body of work.
I went into this listening experience thinking that the Wilco album I heard in 1995 was their breakthrough record. I started listening to YHF and thought it sounded very experimental and must be one of their first bodies of work. Nope!
I really loved YHF, but not right away. During the first track, I questioned Tweedy’s voice and whether it was on-key. I felt like some elementary school students had brought in empty glass bottles, pots, pans, and silverware from home to replicate instruments. But then each track drew me in. The lyrics were strong. The vocals seemed to quickly gain an identity and confidence. The music was more complicated, especially the percussion.
I also felt like the band had nods to a variety of other groups, like The Beatles and Radiohead.
Tracks 7-10 really hooked me, but the lead up to these deserve a lot of credit and another listen. And I want to go back to earlier Wilco albums and the 1995 one I knew and get a better feel for their larger library.
I had never heard of this band, nevermind this album. It was so strange that I really liked it. Some of the tracks are such beautiful melodies and then others sound so jarring with the minor keys and weird sounds and random lyrics.
“In a Sydney Hotel” messed with my head because the lyrics and sounds were so disturbing.
“The Sound of Someone You Love Who’s Going Away and It Doesn’t Matter” made me laugh with how accurately the music delivers the message of the title.
It makes sense to me that the founding band member came up with the concept for the band and their music after hallucinating from food poisoning!
