Hadn’t heard this in over a decade, but I’m instantly reminded of how it was described upon release as the Beach Boys on acid, and that’s accurate and possibly redundant when it comes to Brian Wilson, but yeah this one is a head trip. I think of cascading and shimmering and reverberating.
It’s hard for me re-visit this with fresh ears, as I still listen to it occasionally after all these years. It still hits, and Albini’s caustic production sounds as abrasive as ever, while still preserving the melodic nature of the songs. My favorite of their discography (which btw does not include anything released after the 1990s in my eyes).
The best unplugged I’ve heard and it’s not close. Like the inclusion of 3 meat puppets songs and band members. The cover of where did you sleep last night is gut wrenching and haunting.
Nott
Undeserving Costello album #1.
I’m definitely not the biggest Dylan fan overall, but this one is my hands-down favorite. Not just for him going electric after years of acoustic folk, but also for the dark and witty songwriting. It was good to listen to this one again.
Pure fractured rock genius. Too many classic tracks to name. Pollard’s output is wildly uneven, but when it hits it hits like few others.
Duh.
Without everybody hurts and man on the moon, this is 5 stars. With them, it’s 3. I hate those songs that much. Drive is one of the best album openers and nightswimming is goosebumps every time.
An all timer. If you don’t like this album there’s a good chance we have nothing meaningful in common.
Brilliant. The Dust Brothers are king.
Upon re-listening, this very much sounds like a band coming into their sound, with some good ideas albeit not fully formed. A solid debut, but it pales in comparison to the next 3, with Damon only hinting at his sardonic genius.
Can I rate it zero.
Nope, nope.
In my top 20 ever. Bizarre, gorgeous, poignant, and brilliant.
First time listen. Sounds less dated than sweet oblivion, and Lanegan’s vocals here hint at the grizzled rasp that defines his later solo work, which I prefer. This veers too generic hard rock for me overall.
Favorite by one of my favorite bands.
I’m 100% tired of this album and would be fine never hearing it again, but it was massive for a reason and mostly holds up today, save for some questionable production. 5 stars for impact and for ridding the world of hair metal.
I hadn’t listened to this since the 1980s. Now I remember why. I can respect some incendiary Ike & Tina, but this is tepid and unlistenable.
I love The Smiths and really like a lot of Morrissey, but this is one of his lesser works and does not belong on this list.
The musical equivalent of beige. Although “Yellow” is a guilty pleasure anthem.
Hard pass on this band, this album, and that song.
Really?
As with the worst of ‘70s prog, it sounds like a cheesy musical soundtrack. Except that this adds in some easy listening schmaltz, for further insult. Nearly unlistenable.
First time listen. Ughh. I appreciate the influence on the Beatles and all, but good lord this hurts my ears and almost makes me hate music.
I get somewhat the importance of this record to the ambient genre, but honestly this is a snooze fest. Sure, this is perfectly fine to listen to while waiting for your flight but that’s not why I listen to music.
I wish I had been cool enough to have heard this in 1987, but alas I was listening to Bryan Adams and Huey Lewis cassettes. I had no idea music like this existed. Fortunately I figured it out in the mid 1990s, and this band and this album were in frequent rotation. My appreciation for J’s guitar wizardry has only grown.
One of those albums that I should like per the algorithm, but that I just find exceedingly average. The re-listen amplified that. Cool cover art tho.
Stupid shit.
I like all versions of Eno except ambient Eno, which is just boring. This collab with Byrne showcases Eno at his most inventive and daring, and highlights the influence he had on the best Talking Heads albums. The use of samples and found sounds was ahead of its time.
Ugh. I didn’t like this when it came out, and it sounds far worse now. Don’t understand how this is on the list, as it actually makes me *want* to die.
Not personally a huge Who fan but this is pretty unimpeachable. I like albums influenced by this more than the album itself, but nevertheless appreciate its place in the pantheon of British rock.
1997 me would probably have dismissed this, but I like it. I’ve been getting heavily into underground hip hop over the past year, and this fits right in there, with the inventive samples and futuristic sounds.
Nails on a chalkboard. Cornball and trite. I’m questioning the musical universe in which this is one of the 1001 best albums.
I had not heard this before. I liked The Knife fine, but this was far more engaging and interesting. Not sure how I missed this but I’ll spend some time with it. Thanks 1001!
Happy to have an excuse to revisit this ragged and raw beacon of early ‘80s college rock. The vocal interplay between Exene and Doe is glorious. This presages so much of what followed in the decade’s underground.
Big Bob Mould fan. I hadn’t played this in a while. It translates as a more pop polished version of Husker Du. Still rocks of course but with modern rock radio sheen. I prefer the more aggressive Beaster EP.
This was interesting, at least. I feel like it’s about drugs and sex or something. I like the cover art. Sometimes it’s hard to rate albums so removed from their original context.
Richman formed this band when he was 19, chasing his VU dreams. He was doing more worthwhile things than me at that age. Uncomplicated and propulsive, this debut was a harbinger of the punky new wave sounds to come. This always puts me in a good mood. It did again today. (No easy feat btw.)
Like most American teenagers in the 80s, I endured the Madonna hit parade. Most of them whizzed by me, but a few broke through including two off of this album, which were very much earworms in the summer of 89. The lead single had the right amount of controversy to tickle my adolescent brain and another single express yourself had that lush David Fincher video, a stand out at the time. I never really heard the rest of this album until today and none of it measures up to those “iconic” tracks. It’s all cheesy and overproduced and unmemorable.
Couldn’t listen, don’t care.
When the mainstream devoured the underground and barfed out “alternative.”
Hadn’t really heard this since college. “debonair” is of course a great track, encapsulating the angst du jour, and the quiet loud dynamics done better by Pixies. The rest sounds a bit over wrought, like alternative lounge music.
This is why I’m liking this list. I hadn’t taken the time to listen to this album in, oh, a couple decades, but I’m very glad to revisit it now. A landmark album in 1978, probably one of the first to accurately wear the post punk label. Hong Kong Garden sounds ahead of its time. I forgot about the blistering cover of Helter Skelter. Budgie’s percussion is thundering throughout.
This is so not my thing.
I’m not really a hard rock guy, but this album slaps.
Oh cool. Crusty blues rock from the sixties, but with horns. Yaaawnn.
I honestly tried listening to this again. At the risk of extreme blasphemy, it just doesn’t do anything for me. Sounds dated in the worst ways. And that cover sucks.
Great excuse to play this again. SY found their stride on this masterwork of NYC punk and noise.
Nah.
Uninteresting and boring.
Definitely outside my wheel house, but this was interesting. I don’t know what acid jazz is. Sometimes I don’t need to fully understand what I’m hearing to enjoy it.
I really like late ‘60s and ‘70s Stones. But this debut is mostly covers. It’s perfectly fine, but there are far, far more worthy selections from their storied discography.
