I don’t understand Italian, and I didn’t realize there was an English version – and I don’t really want to listen to that – so whatever this grand concept is, I don’t really know or care. Sometimes it’s better to listen to “High Concept” rock music in another language, that way you’re not confronted with …
Tag: Music
Shotgun Willie (1973) by Willie Nelson
The evolution of country music has been, needless to say, very different from the evolution of pop rock music. That evolution, which began later, and which is still very much ongoing, is something I am only partially familiar with, and it is an evolution that is often measured in very slight deviations and innovations, compared …
Never Turn Your Back on a Friend (1973) by Budgie
My memory of Budgie’s self-titled debut album is that it is fast; Budgie play faster than just about any of the original metal bands (with the exception of Deep Purple on occasion). And so, putting everything else aside, that record is important as it points towards the New Wave of British Heavy Metal well over …
Fresh (1973) by Sly and the Family Stone
I don’t know enough about the history of Sly and the Family Stone to know whether or not There’s a Riot Goin’ On was something sustainable on an emotional level – I suspect it wasn’t – or a commercial level. But this record feels like a major step… not back, exactly, but to the side, …
A White Sport Coat and Pink Crustacean (1973)
I gave a listen to Down to Earth recently, as I figured that I should give the infamous Jimmy Buffett a listen for the podcast, given his longevity, his popularity and his notoriety. But I read that he had essentially disowned that album – it is a pretty conventional singer-songwriter album that does not give …
It’s All About (1968) by Spooky Tooth
This is one of those records I thought about listening to a decade and a half ago and I’m just getting to it now. That’s often a recipe for disappointment as my tastes in my mid 30s are definitely not what they were in my early 20s.
Os Mutantes (1968)
Like so much popular music from countries other than the US and the UK, there is a tendency to overrate Os Mutantes’ debut simply because it is not American or British. I’m not sure this record would be considered so seminal had it been made by an American or British band singing in English. I’ll …
Randy Newman Creates Something New (1968)
For someone with my oft-stated supposed ability to tolerate weird, unconventional voices, I sure seem to struggle with them lately. On first listen to this record, I thought about dropping it, as I wasn’t sure I could deal with the 1968 iteration of Randy Newman’s legendarily unconventional voice.
Aretha Now (1968) by Aretha Franklin
Listening to this without thinking about context, I’m tempted to call it a near classic. But then I looked up my review of Lady Soul and remembered how great I thought that one was…
Leitmotif (1998) by dredg
Apparently these guys were Nu Metal once upon a time. You can sometimes hear that in the vocals – without actually knowing anything about Linkin Park, I’d say I hear a similarity in the way this guy sings – but on the whole the idea that this was a Nu Metal band on their EPs …
Navy Blues (1998) by Sloan
I thought this was the third Sloan album I’ve ever heard but apparently it’s actually the second. I saw Sloan before I ever heard an album. I saw them a very long time ago and they were fun. Some assholes in the crowd threw beer at them (it was frosh week) and they still persevered, …
Angels with Dirty Faces (1998) by Tricky
Note: For reasons I can only guess at, the version of this record I streamed on Google Play was missing the first two tracks but I didn’t notice until my final listen. Oops! (Maybe this is the google equivalent of when you were ripping a CD and the ripping program didn’t communicate with your disc …
Where Blood and Fire Bring Rest (1998) by Zao
The 1990s metalcore I’ve heard to date has been mostly from the hardcore punk side of things. But though the implication on RYM and on wikipedia is that this is from the hardcore punk side of things, to me it sounds considerably more from the metal side of things. Maybe that’s just due to the …
Rufus Wainwright (1998)
The first time I listened to Rufus Wainwright’s debut album, I was not a fan. A few listens later, I can identify a few reasons.
The Black Light (1998) by Calexico
A decade or so ago, I accidentally saw Calexico live. I had no idea who they were but they were opening for Wilco, who I was desperate to see after seeing them live on TV.
Consumed (1998) by Plastikman
I do not listen to a lot of electronic music though at this point in my life I am listening to far, far more than I ever have before. This recent experience is giving me at least some context when I listen to other stuff but I regularly find myself listening to a record released …
Shrink (1998) by The Notwist
I don’t know anything about this band but my understanding is that it’s a left turn from previous albums. That’s likely a good thing but, because I’ve never heard those previous albums, I’ve left with just this.
A Thousand Leaves (1998) by Sonic Youth
The first track makes me think of their early music, even though I haven’t heard anything earlier than their earlier than their fourth album, so maybe I don’t know what I’m talking about. But anyway the opening makes it sound like they’ve gone more experimental. (Actually a few tracks do.)
Version 2.0 (1998) by Garbage
Though I feel like Garbage songs were everywhere when I was in High School, I honestly don’t remember too many of them. (A couple here are sort of ringing some bells, I guess.) So I was genuinely surprised when I listened to the record and then I decided the title must have something to do …
Cruelty and the Beast (1998) by Cradle of Filth
I usually have no problem with weird voices. Sure, there’s the odd one that rubs me the wrong way but, more often than not, I can ignore or even enjoy a weird voice when I hear it if I like everything else about the music (and especially if that voice is talented).
From the Choirgirl Hotel (1998) by Tori Amos
I have only ever previously heard one Tori Amos album, her debut. So when I first listened to this there was just a little bit of shock that it didn’t sound like my expectations.
The Nightingale and Other Short Fables live at the Four Seasons Centre, May 13, 2018
Back in 2008 or 2009 or so, the Canadian Opera Company put on a radically different performance of Igor Stravinsky’s “3 act” opera The Nightingale, buttressed by additional pieces in order to actually make the runtime somewhat comparable to a normal opera. (The Nightingale runs less than an hour.) I don’t know who initially curated the selections …
A Bell Is a Cup Until It Is Struck (1988) by Wire
I am a long-time fan of both Pink Flag and especially Chairs Missing but have somehow never managed to get to any of their other material. Having not heard their first album after they reunited either, this is a surprise.
Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart (1988) by Camper Van Beethoven
Perhaps for the first time they acknowledge their debt to Kaleidoscope by covering a song Kaleidoscope covered (“O Death”). If I didn’t think these guys were the ’80s College Rock Kaleidoscope before, I do now.
Lovesexy (1988) by Prince
To the extent that I know Prince, I know him as the dynamic performer who effortlessly combines aspects of R&B (funk, soul, etc.) with elements of rock (psychedelia, art rock, hard rock) and pop. Well, he’s dialed down the ambition at this point in his career and I’m not sure that’s a good thing.
Vivid (1988) by Living Colour
This is a pretty great, albeit over-produced, fusion of funk and soul music with mainstream metal, with some extremely political lyrics.
Melissa Etheridge (1988)
I know virtually nothing about the history of queer/LGBT performers and especially singer-songwriters in popular music. Depending upon how you feel about the queerness of David Bowie or Freddie Mercury, I may know absolutely nothing. So I don’t truly know how much of a landmark this record is, by a woman who was out, if …
Mama Africa (1983) by Peter Tosh
Tosh has apparently switched up his guitar for a clavinet (though I guess this happened a while ago) and there seems to me a corresponding change in sound from his late ’70s record, but maybe just haven’t listened to enough.
Learning to Cope with Cowardice (1983) by Mark Stewart + Maffia
I have long meant to listen to The Pop Group but somehow it seems I’ve just never gotten around to doing it. Because of that I lack the knowledge of the connection between this music (made by its lead singer) and the earlier music. Maybe this would make more sense to me with that context.
Back to Mystery City (1983) by Hanoi Rocks
The term “hair metal” was thrown around a lot in the 1980s, often at bands that little or nothing to do with it – like the Gunners (too bluesy), Def Leppard (not metal enough once they were successful, too British, and not really of that scene at all), or Queensyrche (too proggy) and any number …