I don’t love Stereolab’s shtick though I get why lots of people do. So my mileage with them varies in so much as I can convince myself that the album is either important (because they probably pioneered their particular fusion) or how ti compares to the other albums of theirs I’ve managed to get around …
Category: Music
Living Under June (1994) by Jann Arden
Before I get to my review, I just wanted to mention that my experience of this album was disrupted. I was listening to it on Google Play but when I went back for my second listen it had just disappeared. Vanished without a trace. I assume the licensing agreement expired but I don’t know what …
Drums and Wires (1979) by XTC
I maintain that the Atlantic created a pretty different sonic difference between American and British New Wave and and, later, American and British Post Punk. With New Wave that gulf is so big that it almost feels silly to call them the same genre; compare to Elvis Costello or the Police to Pere Ubu and …
Off the Wall (1979) by Michael Jackson
I was listening to this record and I was struck once again by the fact that I just don’t like Michael Jackson. I was so struck by this that I posted a crude joke about him on my podcast’s social media which I will refrain from including in this review because it’s both not the …
AWB (1974)
You know “Pick Up the Pieces”. Even if you think you don’t, you do. You’ve heard it hundreds or perhaps thousands of times. I had no idea what it was or where it was from but when I heard it on this record, I was like, “oh that song!” It’s one of those songs that …
New Skin for the Old Ceremony (1974) by Leonard Cohen
This record has the reputation of being the moment when Cohen switched up the way his songs were arranged. But though there is some truth to that, it doesn’t bother me anywhere near how I imagined it would, which might have something to do with my imagining what it sounded like before I listened to …
Perfect Angel (1974) by Minnie Riperton
Jimbo: Not that sure. I think we better come up with a backup plan. Uhh, let’s see here. Hey, bookie! Wha- what’s the halftime show gonna be?Bookie: You haven’t heard?! John Stamos’ older brother Richard Stamos is gonna sing ‘Loving You’.Ned: I love that song.Jimbo: ‘Loving You’? That’s perfect! Come on Ned, Middle Park’s gonna …
Monster Movie (1969) by The Can
Like most people, I am coming to CAN’s first album (as The Can) having listened to their peak motorik albums many, many times. I’ve treated this one like the first child given up for adoption or something, only getting around to looking for it well after I became a fan of the band.
Where Did Our Love Go (1964) by The Supremes
A lot of Motown albums don’t hold up that well 55 years later, as many of them if not most of them are sort of built the same way that rock and roll albums of the ’50s were built – a bunch of hit singles, their b-sides and then a bunch of dross that was …
The Writing’s on the Wall (1999) by Destiny’s Child
I was born on the same day as Beyonce. She’s the celebrity I always go to when that social media game about sharing celebrity birthdays comes up. But I only bring it up in regard to this album because, though I generally do not believe in any conspiracy theories, the album cover for this record …
On How Life Is (1999) by Macy Gray
I was not exactly paying attention to soul in the 1990s, so to the extent I was aware of Macy Gray it was entirely due to “I Try” being on video channels and the radio a lot. I had started reading contemporary reviews at least a little bit by this time and I remember positive …
It Takes a Thief (1994) by Coolio
I guess serious hip hop fans have strong feelings about Coolio, like he got too famous or something, or he’s not as talented as less famous rappers, or something. I don’t know anything about this and, frankly, I couldn’t care less. I hate arguments about whether or not someone is more authentic than someone else …
Roman Candle (1994) by Elliott Smith
Your mileage with Elliott Smith likely depends upon when in your life you first heard him. It sure feels like the people who first got into him in their teens – or even their early 20s – have a much greater desire for him to be appreciated as one of the great songwriters of his …
Cracked Rear View (1994) by Hootie and the Blowfish
The joke goes something like this: Q: What is the biggest selling album in history which nobody bought? A: Cracked Rear View. (Because everyone who bought it was so embarrassed by it later that they hid it and swore to their friends they never bought it, or sold it to the local used music store …
Paul’s Boutique (1989) by Beastie Boys
My understanding is that this is the Beastie Boys’ best record. But I have come at it a super weird way, having heard three other records of theirs first, completely out of chronological order. So whatever awe I might have experienced hearing this immediately after Licensed to Ill is just not happening because of this, …
Double Nickels on the Dime (1984)
The Minutemen’s magnum opus is really a magnum opus, coming in at a fairly ridiculous 45 tracks in 81 minutes. (That runtime is longer than Zen Arcade by over 10 minutes…) The band basically admits they included virtually everything they had, dubbing the final side “Chaff”. This is supposed to be a record by a …
The B-52s (1979)
I first encountered the B-52s through “Love Shack” and its relative ubiquity. And then I became familiar with Kate Pierson through Out of Time. But I have never really been a fan of camp – or rather I am only a fan of selective camp – and so I thought they would never appeal to …
Rejuvenation (1974) by The Meters
This is my first encounter with The Meters, the legendary New Orleans funk band, at least on their own. (I think I may have heard a few songs through the years where they were the backing band.) So I’m happy to report that this is a legitimately funky record.
Rock Bottom (1974) by Robert Wyatt
As I write in seemingly half the reviews of albums I write, expectations are a terrible thing. I have heard about Rock Bottom for perhaps as long as I was aware of Wyatt’s existence, which dates back to my first encounter with Soft Machine maybe 20 years ago (or slightly less than that).
Fulfillingness’ First Finale (1974) by Stevie Wonder
Good Stevie Wonder does nothing for me. Middling Stevie Wonder does less for me. It’s hard for me to even care enough about this record, which doesn’t have any of his biggest hits on it, and which fails to move me, like all of his records. But I guess I have to try. (That’s what …
All Summer Long (1964) by The Beach Boys
I just listened to A Hard Day’s NIght for the nth time before listening to this record, because they both came out in the same month. And the problem with doing that is that the Beatles record makes All Summer Long sound like it is from another time; as if popular music has passed the …
Chuck Berry is On Top
This is one of those weird records from the 1950s where they hadn’t quite figured out how to sell music yet – it’s a compilation of previously released singles (released over the previous four years) now looked upon as a regular LP because these singles hadn’t been released on his earlier LPs. So, if you’re …
Slipknot (1999)
I just finished listening to Significant Other so, if my praise seems excessive, keep in mind that it is relative praise.
Significant Other (1999) by Limp Bizkit
What does it say about your band when a lounge parody medley of your songs is better than your original songs? I don’t care that the music was created by a keyboard, I will take Richard Cheese’s “Nookie / Break Stuff” over the originals every day; the music is better and it shows that Durst’s …
The Beta Band (1999)
Sometimes you encounter something you don’t know at all and it just stuns you with something special about itself. In this case, it’s the irreverence and the extremely healthy disrespect for genres (which I’m a sucker for) of something like the lead-off track, “The Beta Band Rap”, which I just can’t get over. It takes …
Supernatural (1999) by Santana
When this record came out I was just starting to get into the less popular ’60s bands. I was familiar with Santana’s biggest songs from that era, but no their albums. I would get their a few years later and listening to those albums would confirm my impression of this record’s hits: this was a …
Astro Lounge (1999) by Smash Mouth
Like, what even is Smash Mouth?
Californication (1999) by Red Hot Chili Peppers
“Scar Tissue” was everywhere in the summer of 1999. The radio was always on at my work and so the song was always on. I fell in love with a girl at my work who loved “Scar Tissue.” And so I found myself torn between my love for this girl, who would sing along to …
Enema of the State (1999) by Blink-182
This record, or, rather, it’s videos, were everywhere in my final year of high school. Because at least one of them made fun of Boy Bands, I generally laughed along. (Also, I was 18!) I remember thinking they were a harmless jokey band, and at least they had a sense of humour and made fun …
Yank Crime (1994) by Drive Like Jehu
This is one of those bands who put out very little music but you hear a lot about. There’s always a danger with these bands that expectations will get in the way. Fortunately for me, I had totally forgotten about them when I got around to listening to this record. (As usual, I have somehow …