Reviews by angrybizkitz

Confession time: I generally listen to all these albums blind. No preview, no research, I know nothing about the band or the album. That sometimes gives me some warped views of the band or the music.

When I first put this album on, I thought it was going to be bog-standard post-punk Brit pop/rock. Man, these guys really pulled it out of that nosedive to mediocrity. This is a solid rock album, good tunes... I swear I've heard "On A Rope" before, maybe covered by someone else, maybe it was their song, because it's a banger! The whole album really drives you forward. I'll be looking forward to listening to more from these guys.

My Rating: 4/5

Psychedelia indulgence, fully committed to the bit.

The front half is decent psych‑pop: pleasant, forgettable, and mostly there to set the incense‑fogged mood for the main event. Because once you flip the record, you’re not getting songs, you’re getting a situation. One track. Seventeen minutes. Everyone gets a solo, everyone takes their sweet time, and the whole thing oozes forward like a lava lamp that’s been left on too long.

The title track isn’t excellent, but it’s undeniably something. Maybe it’s notable for the length, maybe for the cultural gravity people assign it, maybe for the Ed Sullivan myth, but mostly it’s notable because it just keeps going. And yet, for all the noodling, it’s cohesive. It actually goes somewhere. Eventually.

My Rating: 3/5

Everything about this album from first blush says "teeth". Edgy band name? Check. Irreverent album title? Check. Provocative album art? Check. Now put it on, this is going to be an assault on decency and my senses! Oh wait. Oh, man, it's NOT! It's just post-punk Britpop! Oh, come on!

So much promise. They spend the entire album talking about the ills of the world, about how Stalin might be bisexual or we can't accept there might be a reason someone is overweight beyond their control or that there is some genetic malfunction in being human. If you're going to complain about something, have a solution in mind. This is all "we suck as a people". There's no "We could be better". There's no "we should do this instead." It's just "we suck". We don't need Opus Dei self-flagellation about the state of the world and society, we need solutions and direction. Quit your whinging and do something about it.

Oh, and HOW EDGY. You used backwards "R"s in the font. Wankers.

Suffering is real, but it shouldn’t be fetishized.
Pain is real, but it shouldn’t be aestheticized.
Bodies are real, and they deserve compassion, not symbolism.

My Rating: 1/5

This has got to be the LEAST essential album on the list. A recco from a BBC Radio One DJ from 50 years ago does not an essential album make. The whole album is not that interesting. It's fun adjacent. Get the fuck out of here with this shite.

My rating: 2/5. They get one point for not being horrible.

Under Construction is a wonderful early-aughts hip-hop album, full of hope, humor, and a kind of warm-hearted positivity that feels rare now. Missy Elliott and Timbaland were in peak form, and the production alone is worth the listen. Glossy, inventive, and unmistakably theirs.

Missy’s unfiltered humor is part of her charm, but she occasionally veers into surreal overshare territory: lines so bizarre they momentarily derail the groove. The “booty in your spaghetti” moment in Pussycat is funny, sure, but it’s also one of those places where her anything-goes persona clashes with Timbaland’s immaculate production. Likewise, the heavy-period line and other blunt asides can feel like she’s suddenly talking directly to you in the middle of the track. Honest, but tonally chaotic.

Her spoken-word bit about Prince’s butt, though? Absolutely hilarious, and completely appropriate. Missy has a gift for treating icons like family members she can lovingly clown, and that moment is perfect.

I also invite you to go watch the video for Work It, because it’s a masterpiece. Some of the visuals look uncannily like modern AI-generated video (hyper-glossy, jerky, exaggerated) but every frame was done by hand. Missy and Dave Meyers were doing in 2002 what AI is only now learning how to imitate.

She might not be the most polished lyricist, but she’s honest, caring, open, and completely herself. She gets props for being authentic without being brash about it.

Rating: 5/5

This album feels like the musical equivalent of a Jackson Pollack painting. It's like the beat poet that stands in the spotlight for 60 seconds, dead silent, only to step up to the mic and say "kitten" and the crowd does their little snap-applause thing because it MUST be profound.

This is music for musicians, not for regular people. Critics love this album because it must be deep, it's abrasive and weird and meandering, giving them something to write books about its depth, which other musicians and music critics will read and argue about. Meanwhile, we just want something to bop with while we do our mundane jobs and relax at the end of the day with a drink.

For me, this was hot garbage. The first time the album locked into something that resembled a cohesive song was "Feio", THE LAST TRACK. Come on, Miles, I know you're better than this. And you lose a point for making this a double album. It's like you gave me some extremely good soup and told me I have to drink a gallon of it in one sitting. It might actually be worse than math‑rock proggy mess, because at least math rock feels like someone is in charge. Bitches Brew feels like the studio was left unattended and the instruments unionized. I know Miles can make brilliant, structured music. Birth of the Cool proves it. This isn’t that. This feels like the opposite: a leaderless experiment where the band is playing twelve ideas at once and hoping one of them sticks.

My Rating: 2/5

I went in expecting super‑camp, but this album isn’t nearly as theatrical as its reputation suggests. A few songs start out a little too close to showtunes for comfort, but they always pull out of the dive and settle into something genuinely catchy.

Their disco‑falsetto cover of “Comfortably Numb” is definitely their song, not Pink Floyd’s. And if you love the original, you’re probably going to hate this one. It’s bold, but it’s not for me.

“Tits on the Radio” was the biggest surprise: cheeky, weird, and way more abrupt than I expected. It’s a fun detour, but it definitely jumps out of the album’s lane.

And the legs‑as‑blades logo? A little too on‑the‑nose, even for them.

Rating: 4/5

This guy has a wonderful, majestic voice, but this album is so cheesy. It was so cheesy I could smell the cheese over Spotify, over Bluetooth. Come on. I get that this might have inspired some people, but it just inspired me to make a grilled cheese sandwich. If these songs were covered by Richard Cheese, they would be LESS cheesy.

My rating: 2/5

Shimmery synth-pop, friendly enough to dance or drive to. Pleasant enough for whatever you need, but ultimately forgettable. The vocals seem engineered to fit the music, rather than standing on their own. This might have been a landmark album for the artists, but I don't think this is essential for music or listeners. I like Ellie Goulding better.

My Rating: 3/5

With the album art and the name of the band, I was expecting some cow-punk or country tinged punk. NOT THIS. This was much more melancholy than I expected. Very cleanly produced and played, but slow and moody. I'm glad this is on the list, but I didn't NEED to hear it, really. That being said, I wouldn't complain if I heard more of them.

My Rating: 3/5

This album caught a lot of flak in the 80s because Boy George was working out his internal issues on tape. The music is catchy and infectious, the lyrics poppy enough to hide his intentions in a way. I like it, but it's not something that's bringing me back.

My rating: 3/5

One of the rare country albums on the list, but it doesn't completely sound country. You've got the country phrasing in the lyrics, sure, but the music behind it is soft and dreamy. You get some pop vibes, a little disco, a little less twang than you'd expect from country. This is almost a stepping stone between traditional country and Taylor. It's alright, but I don't really think it's as essential as they think it is.

My rating: 3/5

This was hot garbage. It was gold plating on top of gold plating, with nothing supporting it. Such a mess, and substandard pop to start with. I'm glad I was just mowing the lawn to it, because when I finished I was done with the album. And it wasn't good for that either.

My rating: 2/5

This was an interesting piece. First time I've heard what people are calling "Plunderphonics". I get it, but it's not lacking artistry. The samples are repetitive, sure, but they move forward. Each track flows into the next, and the tracks can't really be separated from each other. The radio-play put together by "Frontier Psychiatrist" is funny and cohesive as the apex of the album. Give it a shot. It's not essential, but it's fun.

My Rating: 4/5

Classic rock masterpiece.

This album is the sound of a band overflowing with ideas and refusing to trim any of them, and somehow that excess becomes the point. Sure, some tracks run longer than they probably should, and yes, it feels like Zeppelin dumped every riff, groove, and experiment into a giant pot and decided nothing could be removed. But taking out even one ingredient would’ve been a travesty.

You get the full Zeppelin spectrum here: greasy rock monsters like Trampled Under Foot and the monumental Kashmir; exploratory detours like Bron‑Yr‑Aur; gritty blues workouts; and enough swagger to power a small city. It’s messy, indulgent, and absolutely essential.

My Rating: 10/5

ehh,... It's very noisy, and doesn't seem to go anywhere. I get they're being arty and whatnot, but it comes off as "we're VERY ANGRY and don't know what to do about it." There are bands that do noise and chaos and it becomes something, and then you have this. I don't really get why this is truly essential.

My Rating: 2/5

"For your Pleasure"? More like "For your Pain and Torture"!

Brian Eno should divorce himself from this band post-haste. Brian Ferry has the musicality of a three-year old. If I gotta hear that man warble one more time (and I do) I swear I'm gonna go spare. He sounds like Tim Curry reprising Frank-n-furter, complete with the leather bustier, doing way over the top camp just because he can. It's weirdness for the sake of being weird, and doesn't go anywhere. The "melodies" are abrasive. Maybe I just don't like avant garde. I definitely don't like art-school glam. There's no reason for anyone to hear this before they die. You might actually be happier if you don't.

My rating: 1/5

Decent enough electronica RUINED by hyperactive falsetto. I almost fell for the first track, and the vocals kicked in and I was immediately turned off. The entire album felt like a college performing art project that was weird for the sake of being weird, without doing anything with the weirdness. Made me feel like a plebe for not getting the purpose, when no purpose was attempted.

My rating: 1/5

Take one part Hendrix psychedelia, one part Parliament funk, and a heaping spoonful of LA rock swagger and toss it in a cocktail shaker with some ice, and you get this album. Goes down smooth, tickles your spine, sometimes caresses your heart, and makes you bob your head. The hits are here that everyone knows, and the rest rocks pretty hard. Fun, solid bopper.

My rating: 5/5

This is my first Nick Cave album. Theatrical without being overwrought. The music is wonderful scaffolding for Nick's voice, which is luscious and deep and rich. He's intelligent without being stuffy or overbearing. I mean, it takes serious songwriting to use "constabulary" without being silly about it. "The Lyre of Orpheus" is wonderful and hilarious. I will say I enjoyed the album more than I thought I would, but I'm not coming back to it. Having heard it the first time, I'm not overly worried that this is a Dimery darling. I mean, he is, but he's also got talent. Unlike the Beatles.

My Rating: 4/5