Reviews by amanda

We meet again, Kate Bush! Nice big album cover. Genuine train of thought: I hope this is the one where they go 🎵The Dre-aming is the hardest pa-rt 🎵. Oh no, that's Tom Petty, and it's not "dreaming", it's "waiting"? The album is gonna be a major disappointment.

Compelling background music here (pianos and bloopbips) but somewhat annoying vocals in parts. PERE UBU-ESQUE even. If only a dour man could sing lead on this album instead. Let David Gilmour do it, he was crushing those BG vocals! I do like the lyrics, and I do like Kate Bush, but high pitched noises just stress me out, wacky singing included. I had no idea 'Suspended in Gaffa' was a cover (that is to say, I only knew the Ra Ra Riot version! which I do prefer, but of course I heard it first). In the end this was only a minor disappointment. Definitely very Kate Bush. Perhaps could improve on repeated listens, but I don't think I'm willing to put in the time.

Highlights: "Some say that knowledge is oh-ho-ho-ho", 'Pull Out the Pin', 'Suspended in Gaffa' (good song)

I always mix them up with the movie 'Velvet Goldmine'. Both seem a little bit overrated. (Wiki assures me the two aren't unrelated, so this isn't the biggest bungle of mine.)

This is very mellow. Kinda like Nick Drake maybe. Oh, just kidding, that's only like half of the songs. The rest has more pep and also more guitar. Supposedly the organ riff in 'What Goes On' is used in 'Once in a Lifetime', but I guess it isn't that memorable, because I wouldn't have clocked it. This is fine. Not offensive but I'm not very excited about it.

Highlights: 'I'm Set Free', 'After Hours'

Lowlight: 'The Murder Mystery' (although I do like when there are multiple singers)

I just had to figure out how to rate Eminem, and now they're giving me Kanye. Really putting things in perspective. But we're separating the art from the artist (or at least trying), so let's see. I've never listened to this album in full before.

Slur count = 65.

Man, I really liked Nicki Minaj 15 years ago. OK, the album is pretty good, but luckily I have no real attachment to it, so I can give it a middling 3. Some clever lines, some solid beats and backing music, some good features. But we know how things turned out. Lots of pop culture references here too.

Highlights: 'Power', esp. the line "They say I was the abomination of Obama's nation / Well that's a pretty bad way to start the conversation", 'All of the Lights (Interlude)', 'Runaway', 'Lost in the World'

Eminem makes sense [for the list]. But I'm guessing he's going to be a tough one for me to rate. Here is my Eminem backstory: I got his album because the singles were catchy and everywhere, but because I was like, 12, my parents only let me get the clean version and they took away the lyric booklet. Understandable parenting decision, because the lyrics are insanely toxic. However! Even at that age I was very anti-slur, and so if I heard the uncensored version I expect I wouldn't have listened to it or liked it nearly as much. I would probably have been an Eminem hater like I am a hater of so many others! Instead, I liked the album a lot and played it a lot, and so I'll likely rate it higher than I would if I were listening for the first time here in 2026. There are very few things I once liked that I don't like anymore.

Speaking of censoring, the line in 'I'm Back' that goes "I take seven (kids) from (Columbine) / stand 'em all in line" has "kids" and "Columbine" elided, even on the original version!! Same for a similar line on 'Kim'. I understand censoring such things on the radio/clean version, just like in classic school shooting songs 'Pumped up Kicks' and 'Teenage Dirtbag' (love to live in a world with school shooting songs as a genre, but I digress), but to make that decision and leave in all the other peak offenses... interesting stuff.

Slur count = 116. Notably, Em (being white) doesn't use the n-word (which, naturally, I support, and which he alludes to on 'Criminal'). Of course he's also not a women, gay, trans, or disabled, and he didn't let that stop him, so I think we can take this as more evidence that the n-word tops the offensiveness-of-slurs hierarchy even in 2000. Always interesting to see where "equal opportunity offenders" decide to draw their lines (see also: South Park, Dave Chappelle).

The major theme that comes through on the album (even in slur-version) is: I'm famous even though I'm saying horrible things and commercially viable because I'm white and isn't that a sad commentary on society? And like, yeah! It is!!! We stan a self-aware king!!!

Also, the legacy of 'Stan': Launched Dido to (short-term) radio fame. I even bought Dido's album! (It's fine). And then the word "stan" (n.),(v.), which exploded into the popular vernacular (there's even a wiki article on "Stan culture"!!). I associate it with ONTD but it's gone so beyond that. Incredible reach.

Minor themes: (1) violence, esp. against women, (2) America is fucked, (3) growing up poor is fucked, (4) being famous is fucked, (5) misc. pop culture banter - this guy is keyed in to MTV as much as he trashes it. Also, a lot of middle finger talk.

Eminem Show Callbacks: in 'Kill You', the ending "I'm just playin', ladies/You know I love you" comes back again in 'White America' ("I'm just playin', America/You know I love you"). OK, it's way too big a task to list all the Eminem callbacks, lol. But there's a lot! In lyrics, templates ("we just met but..."), words, prosody, things return again and again. What is this, Les Miserables?! It's a rich discographic text!

Linguistic intrigue: Also way too much to list, but one thing that always strikes me is the line "Christina Aguilera better switch me chairs", because ditransitive "switch" is fine for me, but not for my students, and I always want to cite this line but it's ancient history... speaking of ancient history, were people genuinely still using "VD" in 2000?

Mashup potential: Fiona Apple's 'Criminal' x Eminem's?

Highlights: 'Stan', 'The Way I Am', 'The Real Slim Shady', 'Drug Ballad' (space rap??? spiritual sister to Amy's "Rehab"??), esp. the line "In third grade, all I used to do / Was sniff glue through a tube and play Rubik's Cube", Snoop & Nate Dogg & Dre & Xzibit all on one track, what a throwback!

Lowlights: 'Remember Me?' (what are we doin' here), any time he pulls out his lil singing voice, like the chorus of 'Marshall Mathers' (so unserious), 'Amityville' (zzz), 'Under the Influence' (zzzzz, really watching the clock on this one -- where interestingly, a line about shooting a kid goes uncensored, and I think there's also "ASAP" pronounced as [æs.æp])

OK, I still dunno how to rate this. I think it helps that Eminem's cooled it with the offenses a little as he's older, and expressed some regret? Am I rationalizing?? I think he's really talented and the lyrics delight and disgust me in near-equal measure. Clean version gets a 5 (maybe they should make a Kidz-Bop-ified 1001 albums list with only censored albums on it, lol), but I guess the real deal gets a...4?? I disavow the content, but the form is so influential (for me but also for The [Mainstream White American] Culture). I quote his stuff probably like once a week.

Haunted by Ravi Shankar. Every time I think of him I am compelled to tell everyone: "Did you know he's Norah Jones's dad????" And little Anoushka Shankar (less surprising daughter of Ravi Shankar) is everywhere (BBC Proms, SNL, etc) so I think of him often. Musical nepo-babies don't bother me as much as the other kinds, though. Also, the concept of this album is funny. I wonder if there are other "The sounds of _____" albums out there. Would be a fun series. Probably a lot more valuable in the pre-Internet era though.

As for the tracks themselves... not that educational, it turns out. I do usually like sitar when it's in other songs, but 10+minute instrumentals never win me over, unless they're like, full symphonies. Still better than Norah Jones.

A quote from Time Magazine on the cover is very appealing to me. Nice looking album cover in general. Also, I know the song 'Makeba' by Jain, so I am excited for this album.

Xhosa! Indonesian! Zulu! The Click Song! Multiple lullabies! Lotta ox and cattle talk! Dare I say, this is kind of giving....Children's Favorites?? I enjoyed it. 3.5.

Highlights: 'Nomeva', 'Iyz Guduza' (as I understand it, this is about a lazy guy, which is #relatable)

Yay, Queen! They sure look sweaty. I like that they do a girl voice on 'Brighton Rock'. It is true there is a lot of guitar here, which is something of a demerit for me personally, but I like all the non-guitar-solo parts. I appreciate that several of the tracks are sub 3 minutes (the Eurovision special). And they have a unique sound, which is the opposite of a demerit. (A merit?)

Highlights: 'Killer Queen' (although every time I hear it I think about this SNL sketch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zw4zlvTlaI0 ), 'Now I'm Here' ("Go, go, go, little queenie!") 'Dear Friends', 'Misfire', 'She Makes Me (Stormtrooper in Stilettoes)'

Why is this the QotSA album they chose!? No One Knows...

An MTV2 Rock Countdown era band for sure. The line "I want you to notice when I'm not around" from 'You Can't Quit Me Baby' is straight out of Radiohead's 'Creep'. Rock bands also loved to add strings of random numbers to their songs in the 90s. "One, six, two, seven, eight/Two, six, three, seven, eight, nine", have you met your cooler big brother "4, 7, 2, 3, 9, 8, 5 / I gotta breathe to stay alive"? Nowadays if you wrote a lyric like that you'd be accused of propagating conspiracy theories. Anyway, this album is just a 3 point oh oh oh oh one.

No thank you. Lotta potato talk. Feels a bit like a more country Steely Dan. Some of the songs sounded almost like R.E.M. when I wasn't paying attention (but when I paid attention closer I thought "nope"). The persistent ABAB rhyme scheme is kind of endearing because it's the kind of lyrics I would write. But I'm not on the 1001 Albums To Hear Before You Die list, am I?

You know what, maybe Pavement is the hipster darling I was thinking of, and not Parliament. That would make a lot more sense. Anyway, a lot of internet people are into Pavement. I never listened to them. I think I was expecting something a little more low-energy (shoegazey?), so this was marginally better than I expected. The vocals aren't exactly captivating though. They sound like a lo-fi Weezer. Happy to learn that Stephen Malkmus hates the Eagles, just like me. But at least the Eagles have a little something called "hooks". 'Silence Kid' has a very familiar melody, but other than that, I'm dyin' out here.

D'Angelo died very recently, so I'm gonna feel extra guilty when I don't like this. But I really D'ont. R&B is always just so boring to me, unless the lyrics are particularly funny, which these aren't. Slur count = 1.

Hey, I know 'Cruisin'! Not that I like the original(?) particularly much, but slowing it down even more is not what that song needed.

When this came out, I didn't like the singles. I also read her book recently and thought it was just OK. But I do admire the vision of this project. Starting off with an orchestral overture is cool. It's not for me in practice, but it could have been in theory, so that's worth 3 stars.

Highlights: 'Faster', a little backwards decoding fun on 'Neon Gumbo'

Today in "there are only 5 bass lines": I thought 'Come Alive' had sampled 'Blister in the Sun' because it sounded so similar, but Wiki mentions it also sounds like 'Rock Lobster', which made me realise 'Blister in the Sun' sounds the same as 'Rock Lobster' :o

Now that's a nice album cover! Looks like a poster. My favorite style.

I've heard of the* Sex Pistols** for sure, but it occurs to me I have no idea what their whole deal is. It turns out, this is their only studio album! It also turns out that even though I'd only heard their singles 'Anarchy in the UK' & 'God Save the Queen', the rest of the tracks here are pretty similar! OG punk rock, I guess. Good energy. Trilled [r]s before Cardi B was even born. Slur count = 2.

Kinda interesting (for me) to hear the Berlin Wall mentioned in a song ('Holidays in the Sun') from 1977, because basically the only time I ever hear about the Berlin Wall is re: its removal. Kind of like hearing a song that mentions the World Trade Center pre-2001 I guess (which of course there's a whole list of, lol (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Center_in_popular_culture) but it's still novel to me as a millennial, OK!?)

*I'm sorry, even though the literal album title has "THE" in it, you're telling me the band is actually called "Sex Pistols"?? Okay... that makes the 12th member of my the-less list, after Wu-Tang Clan, Carpenters, Beastie Boys, Pretenders, Pet Shop Boys, Beatles, Talking Heads, Eagles, Pixies, Cocteau Twins, & Fugees.

**Disturbing name*, on reflection. I wonder if there's a flower-themed cover band called (the) Sex Pistels. Hope so.

*Wiki tells me that they hung out at a boutique called "Sex" with a bunch of other musicians. Compelling lore. Like the UK music version of the Algonquin Round Table!

Never heard of this. Let's head to Wiki for some essential context:

<<The word "bitte" is a German word for "please", and "orca" is another name for a killer whale.>>

Oh, word? Now I get it.

So from the era & album cover I was hoping this would be some HAIM-ish indie girl pop. But alas! The main singer is a guy! (who sounds a little like the Mars Volta guy.) It is indie pop, though; sort of Arcade Fire-y. It's fine, but nothing struck me. Maybe I should have given that last Kinks album a 4 after all...

Highlight: 'Stillness Is the Move' (girl singer! or impressive falsetto)

A pretty weird choice for a 2019 inclusion!! I like trip-hop and I guess "UK rap" shares some qualities with that, but it also shares things with "amelodic r&b with slurs in". (Slur count = 31.) You'd think the Britishness and lyrical density would lead to some cool language observations, but apart from frequent use of "and them" (which we have in central PA also), nothing much stood out to me. The lyrics are okay, but retreading a lot of previously trodden ground. Beats are fun, but I'd like them a lot more with some woobly singing instead of rapping. Ah well. I dunno if this is really a 3, but a 2 feels too harsh. If I didn't speak English it'd probably be a 3, so I'll round up because I think the last few tracks are not bad.

Highlights: the lyric "Some people read The Alchemist and still never amount to shit" (probably true), 'Sherbet Sunset' (I like the la-la-las), 'Flowers' (horns!)

A soundtrack?? To a Bollywood movie with Rex Harrison???? Just when I think I know how the list works, they pull the rug out from under me. They better have the Dil Se.. soundtrack on here too then. And also My Fair Lady. And also... every musical ever. But they probably won't, since we've had ~85 Led Zeppelin albums so far and only 2 soundtracks (the other one being Shaft).

Regardless, this is enjoyable, and I'm glad it's on here. One of the songs is sung by Lata Mangeshkar, who is name-dropped in Cornershop's 'Brimful of Asha' (on this list)! The tapestry weaves ever deeper!! (They also did a BBC Proms tribute to her in 2023, which is why I noticed.)

Some fun little lines in here. Not enough people are talking about "God save strawberry jam and all the different varieties". Lotta sky talk.

I feel very similarly about this as I did with the previous two Kinks albums. I do like it, but do we really need all 3? Just like the previous albums, this falls somewhere between a 3 and 4 -- pleasant and poppy, but old.

Wait, hold on -- 'Picture Book' is where Green Day's 'Warning' comes from!?? OK, I take it back, having this album was valuable. It's like Funkadelic x 'Rill Rill' all over again! History is a thick tapestry!

Kinda funny that according to Davies, 'People Take Pictures of Each Other' is about how photos "encourage nostalgia" when this entire album is a celebration of nostalgia, right?

Highlights: 'Animal Farm', 'Phenomenal Cat' (naturally)

Lowlight: 'Last of the Steam-Powered Trains' (supposedly a parody of other bands, but a bad joke is still bad)

Also a Dominion Card: 'Village Green'

This seems like it'd be good, but it's actually (a) live (b) jazz, so it seems it's got a personal ceiling of 3. But it's cool that people were so Moved to Dance at the actual performance, and that DukeE was born in the 1800s. That's a while ago now!

Hey, I know "Mutt" Lange! I didn't know he was the innovator of "Gunter glieben glauten globen", though. What a legacy...

This album was less enjoyable than I expected. More noisy, more guitars. 'Photograph' sounds like 'More Than A Feeling', but worse. It's probably hard to be a musician named 'Phil Collen'. It's confusing that 'Rock of Ages' is a musical with no Def Leppard songs in it. This doesn't seem bad enough for a 2, but if a 3 is "decent"...

Highlight: 'Foolin' (ballad-y)

There are 7 of them??????? 90s looking album cover.

First of all, "'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd" is not IPA and so I don't know know to interpret it. Like what are the 's for? The actual pronunciation is supposedly [lɛnərd skɪnərd], so I guess they got the gist across. Might as well have named themselves Leonard Skinnard if they weren't so obsessed with Y. But I do like that they thought to name the album after a pronunciation guide, anyway. Respectable decision.

LS are basically a country-ish version of their sister band LZ, two extremely hated bands (by me - extremely loved by the masses, which doesn't help their case). You'd think the +country feature would make them worse, but I find they're actually a bit better. A cleaner sound and some little piano ("keyboard") bits in there. The songs are very long though, and also 70s "southern rock", so there's no way I'd ever be liking it. 'Free Bird' has a lot more to it than I realised (this is not a compliment).