Reviews by brndnnll

I have seen Amyl and the Sniffers live a couple times and they rock. High energy and propulsive, just a great vibe. A lot of the time with bands like that, I don't really consider listening to their records because their live show is just so excellent. So I was hopeful that this would be worth it and it definitely is. What a band. I think this makes me appreciate what they do live even more. Great selection for the list.

This is pop music at it's most driving. It's fun and propulsive. Not really for me but totally get the appeal.

I still marvel at how this ever got released as an actual album. I have listened to this album three times in my life: the first during my freshman year of college living in a dormitory when it was relatively easy to find 4 CD players and move them to one room and cram everyone in and listen to it. The second time during an official 10th Anniversary Listening Party at a venue using Quadrophonic Sound with the discs auto-synced, and then a third time after it was pressed to vinyl and we found folks to bring their turntables and stereos over to a single house. That last one was the most chaotic and most aligned to the spirit of the genesis of this album. Each of those listening experiences was unique and singular and it still gets spoken about with people involved with each one. Inevitably it always comes up that we should do it again soon.

Today I simply listened to the mix of the 4 discs that is on YouTube that I have listened to a handful of times over my life. Great music on it's own, but not at all the reason why this album is on this list (I can only assume).

In the true spirit of the original list--albums to listen to before you die--I think endeavoring to listen to this is as intended is absolutely worth doing for any music fan. It's an entirely unique and singular experience and one that is a collective experience that requires input from multiple people to make it work. This is a great addition to this list.

One of the few Calvin Johnson projects I never familiarized myself with. Always meant to for sure, but just never did. Not their most well known record but I thought this was fantastic. Very sweet and simple songs. Just a great vibe and the always expected greatness. Great selection.

Not what I was expecting at all, it's much worse than I imagined it could be. This reminds me a lot of Sublime.

Great stoner space rock album. Very into this.

I don't really know what to think about this. I guess it reminds me of what Lana Del Rey sounds like in my head, but have no idea how accurate that is. Definitely don't need this.

This was absolutely horrible. Most of the time it reminds me of music that would be right at home playing over the opening credits of a cheesy American 80s/90s sitcom.

Very over the top proggy fusion jazz. This is fine, but it is also a lot.

This was ridiculous and over the top and unnecessary. That being said, I enjoyed it more than I was expecting I would.

A short indie pop album that made zero impression on me.

As far as dance pop music goes this is about as good as I can imagine it getting.

An album that I truly believe should be on the original list. Just an incredible debut at a great time in that specific scene. Always felt criminally underrated to me.

The album I submitted, so clearly a 5 stars for me. It's impossible to overstate the impression Michael's music and the way he lived his life has made on me and countless others. He genuinely existed in a different dimension than the rest of us, outside of time and matter. I had a hard time choosing an album of his, and I think on any given day I'd choose any number of his. But at the time after his passing this was speaking to me on a greater level than anything else. "I Stole the Right to Live" is one of the all time great songs. This coming up today resulted in me listening to his records all day today and likely will throughout the weekend. Rest easy Michael.

Another Mercury Prize nominated album--usually not a great sign of things to come. This was fine, pretty typical of what I would expect. Definitely some songs I recognized. Not nearly as bad I was expecting based on the Mercury Prize nom.

Ha a Jeff Rosenstock album. Sweet. This was what I expected, exuberant, fun, succinct anthemic songs. Good times all around.

Very forgettable electronic music. This made zero impression on me.

Like the two Portishead albums on the original list, I put this on and hardly noticed it. Trip-hop has never really connected for me, but like the other two Portishead albums, this seemed pleasant enough.

This is 100% some early 2000s pop punk emo, and it is 100% uninteresting and slightly grating to me.

This just doesn't do it for me. Feels like fine background music and nothing more. Listened to this and barely noticed it and will not think about it again.