Reviews by forestfly2009

African "Mbube" music. Basically it is a male choir singing a cappella. The delivery is groups of people singing homophonically in rhythmic unison, and they use these layers of singing to create intricate harmonies. Kinda like an "asked and answered" kind of singing. It is fantastic. These guys got their big break when Paul Simon included them in a song (Homeless) on his record, Graceland.

Favourite songs: "Rain, Rain, Beautiful Rain", Uomathemba, How Long?, Yibi Labo - These Are The Guys, Lomhlaba Kawunoni - The Earth Never Gets Fat, King of Kings

Least favourite songs: none

4/5

The epitomy of 80's synth pop cheese. Unfortunately, one stellar song does not an "essential" album make. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with this record, it's just that it is "average". Nothing stands out against the backdrop of literally hundreds of other synth pop bands of the time. Good listening, but not mandatory for sure.

Favourite songs: Don't You Want Me, The Things That Dreams Are Made Of, Do Or Die, Seconds, Love Action (I Believe in Love)

Least favourite songs: I Am The Law, Open Your Heart

3/5

Favourite songs: Happy Feelin', Shining Star, That's the Way of the World, Africano, Yearnin' Learnin', See The Light

Least favourite songs: All About Love (First Impression)

4/5

The early 90's beginnings of scremo. Kinda like Fugazi. Punk/noise rock. 1hr 9mins is far too long for a post hardcore punk album. I mean, it's pretty solid, but so much thrashing and yelling. I had to keep taking breaks throughout this album because I would find myself losing interest. Some songs are 9 mins long.... 9 mins of abusing musical instruments and screaming about it.

Favourite songs: Golden Brown, Bullet Train to Vegas, Here Come the Rome Plows, Human Interest

Least favourite songs: New Intro

3/5

Favourite songs: Somebody Told Me, Mr. Brightside, All These Things That I've Done, Jenny Was a Friend of Mine, Smile Like You Mean It, Change Your Mind, Glamorous Indie Rock & Roll

Least favourite songs: Believe Me Natalie, Everything Will Be Alright

4/5

Favourite songs: B.O.B. - Bombs Over Baghdad, Ms. Jackson, Gasoline Dreams, "So Fresh, So Clean"

Least favourite songs: Intro, I'm Cool, D.F., Kim & Cookie, Good Hair, Drinkin' Again, Cruisin' in the ATL, Pre-Nump (fuck skits), Toilet Tisha, Stankonia (Stanklove)

3/5...one or two good songs does not a great album make.... Especially a double album.

Favourite songs: H>A>K, Did You See Butterflies?, The Architect, The Lightning Back

Least favourite songs: Ravenspoint

3/5

Brian Eno finally delivers on what he promised. This song is called Ambient 1, and this album is literally just ambient noise. This is not music at all, and is more meant to be on in the background than actually listened to. Why this is on an essential album listening list is beyond me. If this is on the list, then random sound effect records should be on this list too, because that is basically what this is. Super fucking boring. Typical weird Eno.

Favourite songs: 2/2

Least favourite songs: 1/1

2/5

Man, an organ in jazz music is a fantastic idea!! This is like soul jazz or jazz-funk. Really hopping music. Excellent for a dinner party.

Favourite songs: Back at the Chicken Shack, Minor Chant, Messy Bessie, On the Sunny Side of the Street

Least favourite songs: if forced to pick, When I Grow Too Old to Dream

5/5

Favourite songs: Dyers Eve, Blackened, Harvester of Sorrow, One, ...And Justice for All, The Frayed Ends of Sanity, To Live Is To Die

Least favourite songs: none

5/5

This is an odd one. It's like new wave/synth pop crossed with electronica. It's like shittier Depeche Mode. This album is just full of 80's cheese. This album is nothing to write home about.

Favourite songs: Extended Souvenir, Joan of Arc (Maid of Orleans), She's Leaving

Least favourite songs: Sealand, Architecture and Morality

3/5

Nico is a German folk singer and supermodel. Not sure why she was a supermodel... She looks like a scarecrow. She should have kept to modelling though, cause she can't sing her way out of a plastic bag. This album is fucking horrible. Apparently she sang on that Velvet Underground album with the big fucking banana on it. This is like fucking Dollar Store Joni Mitchell. It's like if a Renaissance Fair caught fire, and got launched into a garbage dump. Utter trash.

Favourite songs: These Days

Least favourite songs: Little Sister, Winter Song, It Was a Pleasure Then (whoever mixed this garbage deserves to be shot out of a cannon into a river of shit. This is great music to torture someone to).

1/5.....negative stars if I could

More British indie garbage. Very forgettable.

Favourite songs: Assessment

Least favourite songs: most of the album

1/5

This is electronic rock, or synth punk? The band consists of 2 guys: The singer, and one "multi-instrumentalist". Because of this the musical accompaniment is super simplistic, usually consisting of a highly distorted synth loop, and a drum machine. Very weird. It isn't something I would ever rush out to listen to, but this is like the starts of industrial rock, post punk, or synth pop. Some songs are God awful, but some aren't bad. Like the song "Girl" is horrible. It's the singer saying: " oh girl, turn me on" followed by moaning and banging noises, all this while a synth loop plays. Then the next song after Girl, called Frankie Teardrop, is about a dude who kills his wife and kids, then himself. It is a 10 minute looped synth while the singer tells the story about how buddy went about this. Every time he killed someone, and then himself, the singer fucking screams.... and I mean screams..... into the microphone. At this point I think I've lost all hearing in my right ear....

This is a weird one for sure.....

Favourite songs: Johnny, Cheree

Least favourite songs: Girl, Frankie Teardrop

2/5

More alt rock/indie. The lead singers delivery reminds me a lot of Talking Heads lead singer, David Byrne. Kinda disconnected, and uninterested rambling about nonsense. I would say Primus took influence from these guys. It's that talentless noise rock, but Primus does it so much better. Where Is My Mind? is a passable song, the rest blows.

Favourite songs: Where is My Mind?, Tony's Theme, Gigantic, Bone Machine

Least favourite songs: Something Against You, River Euphrates, Vamos (Surfer Rosa), Oh My Golly!

2/5

This sounds like someone wanted to make a hip hop record, but didn't have a bakers fuck of an idea how.... It's apparently experimental hip hop, so it experiments with trip hop by times, but not in a good way. Super juvinile, and super lame. Definately not required listening

Favourite songs: Bladerunners

Least favourite songs: Planet 10, To the Moon's Contractor, Feb. 4 '99 (For All Those Killed By Cops)

1/5

This was utter garbage. This took place prior to the album that garnered them their career (Only By the Night). This album was terrible. No fucking idea what the singer said in the 38 minute runtime of this album. He just mumbled stuff about getting banged as far as I know. Absolute pinnacle of indie garbage

Favourite songs: Pistol of Fire

Least favourite songs: Milk

2/5

Chris Cornell is hands down one of the most talented musicians in rock. With his bands, Temple of the Dog, Soundgarden, and Audioslave, as well as a large catalog of his own solo works, the dude had a hell of a career! His voice is so recognizable, and powerful! Black Hole Sun and Spoonman are such awesome songs!!

An absolute treat of an album today. Easy 5. Phenomenal!

Favourite songs: Black Hole Sun, Spoonman, Mailman, The Day I Tried to Live, Superunknown, Let Me Drown, Kickstand, Fell on Black Days, My Wave

Least favourite songs: Half, Head Down

5/5

Man, this album really tanked after Been Caught Stealing. Before that, the album was fairly solid 90's alt rock. Then it got weird.

Favourite songs: Been Caught Stealing, Stop!

Least favourite songs: Three Days, Then She Did..., Of Course

3/5

Scottish electronica. I was first nervous when I read that they were Scottish, but I was surprised. This album is fairly solid (unlike most other Scottish music on this list). Kinda like The Prodigy, or Primal Scream. For a Scottish band, quite good!

Favourite songs: 666 Edit, Move Any Mountain, Lightspan

Least favourite songs: Evil is Even

3/5