Reviews by amanda

Not my vibe, although cool that there are multiple singers and one is a lady. Also cool that they have an album called "Goo". And I presume I align politically. However, I got an MRI today and this felt less melodious.

I don't think they were even on the moon at all!

That said, yay. These songs all sound a lot like 'Lovefool', but that is one of the first radio songs I remember liking. So, I'm into it. Plus this is very Eurovisiony. The 'Iron Man' cover is not working for me, though. 'Choke' sounds more like 'Iron Man' than 'Iron Man'. I give it a high 3.

An album I've heard of, at least. I think I'm kind of over "concept albums" as a concept thanks to this project. But as an album, I guess it was fine.

Highlight: 'Sensation'

"The album title is a play on words in reference to Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story". No kidding????

Anyway, this is hilarious to me. The kind of little project we all make in GarageBand, yet somehow it made it to the list. I don't think I'm in the mood for it, though. But I do like the title 'Everything Happens to Me'. The last song was definitely the best, but Barry didn't write that one.

Is Everything But The Girl (E-B-T-G) Japanese?!? I can find no evidence of this, so IDK what's up with the album cover. Maybe they're just Sailor Moon fans.

'Missing' was on the radio all the time, but that's not on this album. However, it had a common misheard lyric ("like the deserts mystery" vs "miss the rain") that I mention here because I thought that song was actually from Sting (because of 'Desert Rose'). Been a while since I had a classic switcheroo!

As for what's actually happening here: it's fine. I like the trip hop elements, but several songs sound a lot like 'Missing', which I never liked that much. I guess it can get a 3.

Hmm. Pretty voice, but these songs are awful sleepy. Definitely better than Norah Jones, but I don't know if that comparison makes me want to rate it higher (3) or lower (2). I'll go 3 in honor of Elvis.

Nooooooooooooooooooo. One of my most hated albums of all time!!!! So overplayed and overawarded and aggressively BORING!!! I saw the cover pop up and my heart rate skyrocketed with rage, which is ironic given the BPM of the tracks. Someone should make a Norah Jones x Macy Gray mashup so I can concentrate my annoyance more efficiently. Blues-pop? Country-soul? What are we doing? What's going on? It feels like music for people who don't really like music.

(however, did you know she's ravi shankar's daughter??)

Terrible album cover, hinge and all.

Album was fine; I didn't realise 'Stir it Up' was called that (due to vowels).

Classic lyric: "Their mind is confused with confusion"

Some of these album titles make me feel like I'm having a stroke. A stroke of bad luck, because I don't want to listen to anybody's Nut Gone Flake, celebrated or not!!

This is a wacky album. Apparently, a concept album. It's giving Monty Python (or at least is equally funny to me). Who isn't a Happiness Stan, though. "Life is just a bowl of All-Bran / You wake up every morning and it's there" is a silly lyric because All-Bran doesn't grow on trees! you gotta go buy it. Lots of interesting language stuff, but I think it's intentional, which makes it less interesting.

Overall assessment: I guess it's fine.

Any relation to Jensen Ackles of Supernatural fame? No. But, some relation to Elton John (being produced by Bernie Taupin). Also, Dackles is a 2-time USC alum!

Unfortunately American Gothic is already used as a title for a more famous thing. A clear voice and pleasant instrumentation, but the songs weren't super memorable for me. Some parts felt almost musical theater-y! (Assassins meets Les Mis, maybe.)

Highlight: 'Oh, California'

Finally: Spanish! I'm too tired to appreciate it. But I liked it OK.

My friend lil' Laura really liked this album! I like it OK too.

Confidence is a preference for the habitual voyeur of what is known as...

This album has a nostalgic place in my heart. But I think it is also good (right? right? well it's on the list anyway). Much better than the self-titled one. Du bist sehr schön, Parklife.

What's that noise, son? Oh, I'm just listening to ORANGE JUICE. Ok...

Actually liked it though. Groovy synths & horns despite Scottish. In fact they reminded me a little of Franz Ferdinand, who are also Scottish! The most interesting fact about ORANGE JUICE is that the lead singer got aphasia (now recovered) from a brain bleed and per Wiki could only repeat <<"yes", "no", "Grace Maxwell" (his wife's name) and "the possibilities are endless">>. The second most interesting fact is that 'Hokoyo' has some Shona lyrics. The third most interesting fact is that I briefly considered giving this a 4, which is high praise!

For some reason, I already knew and accepted that Eels doesn't have a definite article. I listened to Eels in the 2000s a little bit.

This album on the other hand is very 90s. 'Susan's House' would be a good mashup with 'Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand'.

Pleasant! ("Calenture" is a tropical fever; makes sense)

This is the canonical White Stripes album, when they really blew up on the Rock Countdown scene. Hard to believe it was 23 years ago. Anyway, I kinda think 1 White Stripes album would suffice for this list, but what can you do. I do appreciate their consistent color aesthetic. Also, every Jack solo song sounds a little bit the same (prosodically speaking).

Good quote from J. White: "Our idea was to see how far we could go with an eight track recorder, and I think how far we went is too far."

Highlight: 'Little Acorns' (love an inspirational squirrel, and the pronunciation [eɪkɚn])

This is a meh for me. I know my ratings are trending harsher, but I'm simply uninterested in this much guitar!

Disclaimer: I listened to the 2023 remaster, which I guess is a different mix than the original (which I could not easily find). So, maybe my rating has an asterisk (but I kinda doubt it).

Is every song a Dylan cover? OK, no, but more than 1 is (are?). I'd like to dedicate 'I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better' to all of my bosses, thank you, goodnight. Album was fine.

Highlight: the title 'The Bells of Rhymney', because it makes me think of 'Seven Seas of Rhye' (i.e. a fake sounding place name) - but 'Rhymney' isn't fake, it's merely Welsh!

More bad 80s album art! But an intriguing title. And at least "simple" is an adjective.

I only know 'Don't You (Forget About Me)', which I like, and that song isn't on here. But these tracks are fine, though not particularly memorable. I might forget about them.