As I have said more times than I now count: I sure don’t know much about the history of hip hop. But, to the extent I know much about hip hop, I’m pretty sure I know that there wasn’t much out there that sounded like A Tribe Called Quest in 1990. Obviously I don’t know …
Category: Music
Pills ‘n’ Thrills and Bellyaches (1990) by Happy Mondays
I’ve listened to a few madchester/baggy albums at this point and it’s safe to say that I just don’t get the genre. Now, I get very few dance-rock hybrids outside of Talking Heads’ version of that kind of thing, but this one I find particularly perplexing.
Born to Sing (1990) by En Vogue
This is a pretty slick R&B record that manages, through its charismatic performances and relatively sparse arrangements, to not feel as slick as it absolutely is. Some of that impression may just come from my unfamiliarity with New Jack Swing, too.
Bonded by Blood (1985) by Exodus
This album is supposed to be a great what-if of metal: what if Exodus’ debut album had been released right after it was recorded, just a little bit after Ride the Lightning. Would everyone remember this band differently? As a pioneer, as one of the Big 4 thrash metal bands, rather than a follower?
Around the World in a Day (1985) by Prince and The Revolution
I suspect the degree to which I like this album is heavily influenced by the narrative around it, and my lack of engagement with that narrative. Prince is a known iconoclast when I’m listening to this record for the first time. He’s done things such as change his stage name and fail to release completed …
Seventeen Seconds (1980) by The Cure
I can’t actually recall if I’ve ever listened to Three Imaginary Boys. I don’t think I have but I can also imagine listening to it once and deciding there was no point to include it, given its reputation. I have listed to Faith on the other hand and I did not enjoy it when I …
Empty Glass (1980) by Pete Townshend
The story goes that Townshend was writing songs for both this album and the subsequent Who album and Daltrey at least feels like Townshend kept most of the good material for himself and gave the band the less good stuff. (I should point out I’ve never bothered with Face Dances because one thing I don’t …
Hokey Pokey (1975) by Richard & Linda Thompson
I fell in love with I Want to see the Bright Lights Tonight years ago and then, for some reason – too much music in the world – I never found my way to other albums. in the last few I finally have and I find myself unsuccessfully chasing the folk rock dragon. Sometimes you …
Hair of the Dog (1975)
I wasn’t going to talk about this album until I realized the American version contained the band’s two biggest hits – well their biggest hit and the title track, which became a classic rock radio staple, though it wasn’t a hit initially – and so I figured I should deal with it. So where we …
Let’s Take It to the Stage (1975) by Funkadelic
This is one of those Funkadelic albums where the line between them and Parliament is blurred and that’s not something I can I say I love. Because of its title, I thought it was a live record and almost skipped over it.
ABBA (1975)
When I was an older teen and a young adult, I got extremely skeptical and wary of artists and bands that elevated melody above everything else. I don’t exactly know why I felt this way but some of it had to do with trying to stand out among other people at that kind of time …
12 Songs (1970) by Randy Newman
With virtually every Randy Newman album I’ve yet encountered my problem with him has in part been the aesthetic – a unique and not particularly compelling singer singing acerbic is often backed by extremely slick arrangements. But that’s not the case here as Newman has abandoned the massed arrangements of his debut for members of …
Yeti (1970) by Amon Düül II
The older I get, the lower my tolerance for directionless jamming. If I listened to Yeti when I first listened to Tanz der Lemminge I imagine I would have loved it as much as I love that album. But I’m not a lot older and these endless jams and snippets wear on me in a …
McCartney (1970)
It is incredible to me that this album now has a pretty good reputation. It speaks to McCartney’s fame and immense presence in the music world that an album which was once at least partially attacked by critics is now beloved. In fact, the fact that the album received mixed reviews at the time only …
Elton John (1970)
Elton John’s second album is an interesting combination of contrasting styles, with some of it sounding like classic Elton John and some of it sounding like he really doesn’t know what he wants to sound like. It sounds a lot like a debut to me in that it feels like he hasn’t quite found his …
Dance Party (1965) by Martha and the Vandellas
This album has the reputation as being the group’s best, but I have no idea if that’s true or not, as it’s my first experience of the group in LP form. (I know their hits from oldies radio.) This album contains three of the group’s biggest hits – at least one of which had been …
Like Water for Chocolate (2000) by Common
I’m sure I’ve heard a hip hop album quite like this, and I mean that as a compliment. I’ve heard music by some of the participants but I don’t know if I’ve quite heard something this clearly hip hop (as opposed to neo soul) which had such a neo soul feel, and lyrics which mostly …
No Strings Attached (2000) by *NSYNC
I absolutely hated *NSYNC when they first become popular, much like I absolutely hated the Backstreet Boys. And, though time has softened my feelings, it was still a struggle listening to “Bye Bye Bye” and “It’s Gonna Be Me” as immediately my got up a bit, as I remembered being inundated with these songs and …
The Covers Record (2000) by Cat Power
When I was younger, I believed the people who sang others’ songs were somehow lesser artists. I believed this for quite some time until, one day, I didn’t. It took me a long time to get there, but one of the things that helped me get there was getting exposed to really good cover albums …
The Noise Made by People (2000) by Broadcast
Yo La Tengo with way less guitar, without a male singe, the female singer now has an accent and there’s programming. I mean, basically, right? (That’s unfair, but it’s there.)
He Has Left Us Alone but Shafts of Light Sometimes Grace the Corner of Our Rooms… (2000) by A Silver Mt. Zion
Less ambitious and grand Godspeed You! Black Emperor, with a slowcore song stuffed in the middle of it, basically.
Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version (1995) by Ol’ Dirty Bastard
Wild Love (1995) by Smog
My biggest problem with Bill Callahan is just the wild inconsistency from track to track. (I understand that this is why some people like him.) This is only my second Smog album, and this record is arguably just as inconsistent as the other one – full of ideas, many of which are half-baked (third-baked? quarter …
Ocean Beach (1995) by Red House Painters
This is my first encounter with Red House Painters and…wait a minute, it’s not? Apparently I positively reviewed their debut in 2017 but I have zero memory of that. I know from my review and from looking at the track listings that the debut is a different beast than this record but I wish I …
Symbolic (1995) by Death
Me Against the World (1995) by 2Pac
So I guess the first thing I have to talk about with this record is expectations, which is often a problem for me when I first encounter someone about which an absolute ton of ink (both literal and proverbial) has been spilt. 2Pac is one of the most lionized rappers in history as far as …
Fetch the Bolt Cutters (2020) by Fiona Apple
So, full disclosure: I love Fiona Apple. My least favourite of all her albums is her first record, which is still extremely impressive for someone of her age. (Compare it to records made by similarly aged artists through the history of pop music, I bet it stands out pretty strongly). So I don’t think I …
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart (2002, Sam Jones)
As a big fan of Wilco, and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, it’s crazy it took me this many years to watch this movie. But it’s possible that the intervening years gave me some clarity with it, that I might not have had when I was first falling in love with this band (more than a few …
Strap It On (1990) by Helmet
This is some aggressive and and aggressively loud but knotty post hardcore/alternative metal that should be sought out by anyone who is a fan of either genre, or who wishes hardcore bands were more accomplished musically or metal was weirder.
I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got (1990) by Sinead O’Connor
Sinead’s second album is considerably more self-assured and even than her debut, though it’s lacking a bit of the energy of the debut and, also, the pure shock factor of a woman so young seeming like such a self-assured songwriter and performer. And like the debut, it hasn’t dated that well, but that’s sort of …