Reviews by funny_character

I can't fully get everything. I have no doubt that Tori Amos is brilliant within her neck of the alternative pop woods. But for whatever reason I find myself hanging around at Björk cove and Kate Bush grotto far more often (to continue the ill advised metaphor). I *really* like a couple of these songs, on first listen, Precious Things is particularly spellbinding. But it's just the little ways she doesn't gel with me. I love the spirit at the heart of her songs, and the messages she is espousing here, but the way she constructs her poetry doesn't always speak to me. I like her compositions, but I don't always like how she writes her piano parts, sometimes it feels a little too "showtunes-y" for me, etc. But I also wouldn't be surprised if this album grew on me if I revisited it a few times: but I'm also not confident about that. To me, this is ultimately a very well written album, but I don't find the place it slits into within it's scene to be something I'm really seeking out. But this *is* a good record, let it be known.

I thought The Byrds were a more general rock sound than this, but I guess I was wrong. This is pretty transparently country rock. It's also pretty good country rock. This is pretty meat and potatoes, so the aethetic here isn't as significant than the songs in my opinion. But they make up for it by being generally good. I wouldn't say this is one of my personal favorite takes on the country sound, but I did enjoy it. I may even check it out again in the future.

It took me most of my adult life to date, but Elliott Smith is becoming one of my favorite songwriters if the '90s. His music is gorgeous, fragile, and often, *extremely* sad. Elliott smith has, in my opinion, written a solid few of what I seriously think may be the saddest songs of all time (King's Crossing anyone), but even outside of these songs, there is something magical about Elliott Smith's music's sadness, where it can genuinely put you in a bad place if you let it. And you may think this is a crazy thing to appreciate in a songwriter, but you have to respect how hard that is. It speaks to some kind of rock solid, deeply honest emotional core at the heart of his music. Regardless, Elliott Smith is also one of the vanishingly few artists I regularly listen to for whom I'm more of a song listener than an album listener. So I was a little surprised when I spun this and it was just wall to wall Elliott Smith classics. The hit rate here is staggering, the majority of songs on this thing could be an essential piece of a film soundtrack, and *many* of them are. Speed Trials, Alameda, Ballad Of Big Nothing, Between The Bars, No Name no. 5, Angeles, 2:45, and Say Yes are all classics, and basically perfect Elliott Smith songs. I was kind of staggered by this line-up, it's *crazy*. At this point you can probably have guessed, but I'm giving this a 5.

Part of me forgets how much I like thrash metal, but this last also happens to have absurdly good taste in the genre (against all odds). Rust In Peace feels like a basic thrash pick, but it *is* an utterly essential one. This starts with 2 all time metal classics, then manages to include exclusively great thrash songs. Even weird interlude Dawn Patrol is tons of fun. From the epic, nimble Lucretia, to the absurdly good guitar solo on Tornado of Souls, to Five Magicks' interplay between lyrics and micro guitar solos. Exceptional examples of thrash songwriting truly abound. We also get the title track and Take No Prisoners, two of the best *Thrash* songs Megadeth has ever released. Rust In Peace is one of the best Thrash albums of all time, and it is a perfect (non-Metallica) ambassador for the genre here. Megadeth was a real force to be reckoned with during this era.

This is a Paul Weller project, and like every other Paul Weller project, he is too caught up in making music exactly like his favorite jazz and soul records to contribute meaningfully to the tradition of their art. This is more annoying because when he sticks to post punk and new wave, he can really write, and make some excellent contributions to those genres. But there's no way around the fact that the first half of this record is literally just vaguely pleasant cafe jazz. As in jazz which lacks substance, or originality and is seemingly made to be played in the background of a restaurant. I am aware that this sounds like really mean, but at this point I have had 3 Paul Weller records, and on each, there is some large tract of time just dedicated to making big glassy eyes at his favorite records, while also treating them with *so* much reverence, that he is incapable of transforming them in any meaningful way, or making any kind of original or interesting artistic statement within their genre. The breadth and depth of jazz had come so far, by even the late '50s, that it makes Weller's take on the genre here seem even more surface level and safe and lacking in adventurous spirit than it would have. It's genuinely disappointing. This album is saved by two things. The jazz is, by design, vaguely pleasant. And, like I said, his New Wave stuff on the second half here is like actually good. But that again just makes it frustrating that he is so discontented in making this good new wave, and must instead fail at making good jazz and soul on every album. It's incredibly frustrating.

Adele is ultra competent within the domain of making ballads that I don't find particularly interesting. She spends this whole album singing her ass off on songs that I would largely describe as "fine", if pressed. Note that I said "fine" and not "bad", this isn't a bad album, it just has very little it can offer me. Although if you enjoy ballads and melodrama, and can only listen to music sung by people who know how to sing, I certainly do recommend this.

The ArchAndroid is a glitzy, dynamic realization of Janelle Monáe's Afrofuturist vision through a combination of Pop, Alternative, RnB, New Wave, Funk, Indie, Soul, and just about anything else she wants to include. The result is conceptually grand, while giving itself to a multitude of excellent songs. The features are fascinating too, with Saul Williams and Of Montreal being of particular interest. There's a lot to say about this that I won't get into. But I thoroughly enjoyed this, and have Nothing but admiration the realization of Monáe's vision in here.

I feel that most bands, if they started an album with one of the greatest guitar solos ever recorded, would usually call it there. But Funkadelic manage to append 6 nearly perfect funk songs to it. Maggot Brain is truly a sight to behold, and probably one of the greatest albums ever. In a nutshell, Funkadelic 's sound is kind of a combination of psychedelic proto metal, and funk. And their marriage of these worlds is completely seamless and utterly their own: their albums populated with soul arrangements and demented guitar rock in equal measures. Maggot Brain is probably their magnum opus. As I mentioned, it helps that we start with one of the greatest guitar solos ever recorded. Legend has it that George Clinton asked Eddie Hazel to play the guitar like he just learned his mother died: and then he did, for 10 uninterrupted minutes. The title track of Maggot Brain (the one I've been talking about) feels like you're grieving on acid. The world's most mournful guitar is reflected into itself repeatedly, and devours the mix whole. It's a feat which must be admired from a safe distance, lest the song dissolves you. It may be even more amazing that the rest of the album can live up to this song. But Funkadelic's hard edged, metal tinged funk is a force all it's own. Can You Get To That has some folks instruments, but it's purse funk in pulse. Hit It And Quit It Just Sounds cool as hell. You And Your Folks, Me And My Folks is one of the hardest funk grooves ever recorded. Super Stupid is propelled by just an absurdly good, nearly Sabbathian early metal riff. And Back In Our Minds brings another deeply psychedelic moment to the album. And all these songs feature incredible arrangements, powerful singing, and thought provoking, class conscious lyrics. Then we end with War Of Armageddon, which, true to it's name is 10 minutes of cowbell powered apocalypse funk, complete with strange skits and field samples. And all these songs are basically perfect. This one is like a 10+, this thing can barely be reckoned with.

This is a fun full circle moment. The last full album with Paul Simon I have listened to was my very first album of this project, Parley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyma by Simon and Garfunkel, which by now is awfully distant in the rearview. But back to the present, Hearts And Bones seems like a generally well loved Paul Simon album and I can largely see why. He is on a pretty moody wavelength here, And it complements his writing very well. By the way, I've not done the deep dive into Paul Simon yet, but of his writing that I have heard, it is pretty brilliant. I love the way he tells stories and brings in such a particular brand of surreal, kind of disembodied images that are very distinct from those spun by similar American singer songwriters. But the production on any given track is really what makes or breaks it here. I *really* like the more organic stuff here like the title track, Think Too Much (b), René and Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After The War, and the particularly shadowy The Late Great Johnny Ace. It took me a minute to click, but the title track (Hearts And Bones) is probably my favorite song here bar none. The percussion almost starts veering towards Graceland stuff, and the momentum makes it feel like a particularly chill early morning drive through the middle of nowhere. The lyrics are also gorgeous. The other songs are a bit of a mixed bag for me though, especially when he gets really 80s with it (by which I largely mean new wave inspired). Allergies is one of the ones that more or less works for me, but even it's production is a little much. Although the guitar soli *rips*. I also like Think Too Much (a)'s embrace of some funk stuff. It does work in the new wave-y context. But When Numbers Get Serious, Train In The Distance, and Song About The Moon don't do a ton for me, regardless of their production. Cars Are Cars does not fit neatly into songs I do, or do not like on the other hand. It almost feels like a pastiche of Talking Heads, in that it's a funky, percussive new wave song with kind of a quirky feel, and lyrics about a mundane, industry dominated aspect of life, which are all very Talking Heads things to do. But even on songs I'm not into, I can kind of respect Simon's artistry, but it does drag the score down a little. Ultimately this is very good though, and it has a select few absolutely killer songs.

Kind of an acid jazz flavored Trip Hop thing; Our Aim Is To Satisfy more or less does so. The moodiness of trip hop meets something a little more organic and high energy and the result is fun, if not exactly revolutionary. This thing does run a little longer than it needs to, but it generally uses it's time well. The vibes are chill and the textures are varied. Some of the album gets a little "background noise" but a song like I Stole Your Car more than asserts itself (and is honestly probably the best on here with the brass and reggae influence). I'm going to end up with a 3 on this, but I think on a bad day it could have been a little lower. It's enjoyable, and it's reasonably interesting, but I don't really understand why it's on the list.

It has come time for us to contend with the career of Michael Jackson. I will say, I had never sat down and listened to this album, but I knew *several* songs off of it. But that just comes with the territory. Michael Jackson may be the most recognizable non-religious figure who has ever lived. And this is his solo debut. I'm interested in comparing this with Thriller when that rolls around. Thriller has like 6 of the most popular songs ever written on it, but I have to wonder if being a synonym for pop culture at large has taken from it's sense of individual identity. Off The Wall on the other hand still has like 3 mega hits, but it *definitely* maintains an identity. It's worth mentioning that this album, and thus MJ's solo career, begins with a nearly perfect run of 5 consecutive songs. Each of which, even individually, is one of the most cathartic, free, and joyful funk/pop/disco songs ever. It's genuinely a tremendous, staggering achievement. I unfortunately don't think the other 5 songs on here can quite live up, which isn't to say that they're bad, just that the second half of Off The Wall isn't exactly the first half of Off The Wall. The energy and fun factor are way down to accommodate some ballads, but the writing just isn't *quite* on the same level. Especially on Girlfriend and She's out Of My Life. On the other hand, I Can't Help It is the best case scenario for a slower cut, with some cues from jazz and a gorgeous arrangement. And at the end, Burn This Disco Out gets us some energy back, but doesn't quite capture the magic of those first 5 songs. Despite the dip in the second half, this is still a phenomenal record. And I can easily see how it kick started maybe the most iconic career of any solo artist.

Venus Luxure No. 1 Baby by Girls Against Boys is, approximately noise rock. And it is a great noise rock record, but it's presence here raises more questions than it provides answers. But before I get into that, I do want to talk about this record, and give Girls Against Boys their dues, because they do deserve it. At the end of the day, this is a really excellent noise rock record. It's somewhat mixed in with post hardcore and alternative, but I'd say it still reads pretty squarely as noise rock, even if it's a relatively tame version of the genre compared to what a lot of bands were doing. There are great songs here behind the noise and the grinding, which is essential to a good noise rock record. And this record also includes Bullet Proof Cupid, which is Girls against Boys' most lasting contribution to the genre, in fact, while digging around the genre, I had actually heard the song prior to this. It's one of the best tunes here, with kind of a weird morphing groove, cool vocal effects, and a searing tone. Since Girls Against Boys never get *that* loud, I think most of their highlights are the tensest, most anxious, most tightly coiled moments, like Rockets Are Red, Satin Down, and Bughouse. But I pretty much rocked hard to this the whole way, just because we are operating squarely in my domain on this one. But it's also a situation where this is pretty solidly for aficionados of the genre. In short, this isn't going to convert you if you aren't already blasting noise in your free time. Which is what gets us to some of my confusion. This is a great record, but it isn't really hailed as a highwater mark for the genre. Maybe it's here due to the crossover appeal, but it still highlights a weird gap regardless. Dimery has a great selection of '60s and '70s proto noise rock/genre adjacent stuff, the genre's 80's essentials, and some cool, relatively off the wall picks for the 2000s. But he has *very* little from the '90s, which doesn't have substantial crossover appeal. This is especially odd since, for noise rock, the '90s are largely considered one of the genre's most fruitful decades, damn near full stop. I can't fathom how one can write a list like this, and include Girls Against Boys without including a single album from The Jesus Lizard, Shellac, Melvins, Cows, Chreubs, Oxbow, Brainiac, Cop Shoot Cop, U.S. Maple, or any number of other bands with albums which are more highly acclaimed, more beloved among fans, more representative of the genre, more singular or more influential. But I don't want this to reflect badly on Girls Against Boys. Noise Rock is a small enough genre without punching down on bands for no good reason. And Venus Luxure No. 1 Baby is an album I *thoroughly* enjoyed, whether or not it makes much sense on the list.

Fun House sort of has a reputation for being your favorite rock band's favorite rock band's favorite album. Mostly because, especially for it's age, Fun House is uncompromising, searing, and noisy. Iggy Pop's vocals are fucking unhinged and it sounds like the songs are all falling apart. Personally, my tastes in rock skew substantially noisier than this at times, but I do love this record and absolutely respect it. And honestly, I could see it really growing on me if I give it some more listens. Even if it's hard for something like this to compete with later noise rock by sheer noise factor, there is something about noisy stuff from the late '60s and early '70s that feels legitimately dangerous. I think the album that embodies this most is White Light/White Heat by The Velvet Underground. But here, The Stooges manage to make a hell of a lot of noise while keeping it a little more street level. The Velvet Underground's loudest moments were pretty art house. This is a *rock* album. One that just so happens to sputter and grind it's whole way through. Immediate highlights are songs like the utterly unhinged TV Eye, and the *deeply* menacing, almost post-punk-esque Dirt. But something in those two songs seems to break something in The Stooges, and after this point, The Stooges are pretty much completely redlined. 1970, Funhouse, and L.A. Blues are pretty much all fucking insane. And the intensity gets cranked song after song. The saxophone on 1970 may be the exact moment The Stooges break the throttle off and we're just left careening wherever they want. L.A. Blues is the natural conclusion of the escalation. Just everything at all moments, almost free-jazz in execution. Getting through this listen, I found Fun House far more exhilarating than I thought. In particular, I have realized that the first two tracks are really the only ones I haven't been sold on enough to give this a 5. The rest of this album is a masterwork of raw rock intensity, boiling over into an impossible fever pitch.

Both albums on here by The Beta Band in a span of like 2 or 3 weeks is kind of crazy. Moreso because it seems like one of them is generally considered their worst album. But Hot Shots 2 is a little more well loved, so we'll see how it goes. It turns out that this is much *much* better than Heroes To Zeros. To an extent that seems nearly impossible, given that that the albums are adjacent in their discography. But this is really good, it has a palette compellingly stuck between trip hop and almost folk. There is something psychedelic going on here too. The songs themselves are oftentimes almost minimalistic, and it works extremely well. This whole aesthetic makes Hot Shots II really atmospheric and compelling. My favorite songs are cuts like Squares, Gone, Dragon, and Broke where this aesthetic really swallows everything whole, while maintaining remarkably strong melodies. After Heroes To Zeros, I was really not looking forward to more Beta Band, but after this, I definitely will be checking out their even more well loved, weirder older stuff. This is unique and electric, and manages to sit in a nook in Brit pop, psych, and trip hop all it's own.

This is, in fact, a short album about love. But to be confused with 69 Live Songs: a long album about love. I've kind of figured out that The Divine Comedy is an alt-rock-y crooner at this point, and A Short Album About Love isn't exactly my thing, but it is fine. This is a little low impact, but it is often funny and clever. If... In particular may be my favorite here because of the wit. Regardless,vI feel that a 2 is fine here, this was a brisk, relatively strong listen, in a genre I don't like, with an aesthetic I don't really like.

This is some very creatively composed country. It has some velocity I don't often hear in the genre. I love the accordion especially, but there are tons of cool arrangement details across this thing. I may have to revisit this and give it a more in depth review, but I loved this quite a bit!

If it just came down to composition, there's an argument that New York Dolls are as much a rock band as they are a punk band. But just listen to those performances, look at that aesthetic. In all other ways, New York Dolls *ooze* punk. The songs *are* still great though. The lyrics are snotty and sarcastic, the vocals are surprisingly intense, and the structure is an early form of punk's ultra catchy, deconstructed rock. Also fascinating is how the members of New York Dolls seem to (by their own description) all be straight, but from what I know about them, it seems like they slotted into New York queer culture in an incredibly genuine way that I just have to respect. But yeah, it's sick proto punk, with great songs, great vibes, and oozing style, if you are gonna like this, you probably already know by this point.

Not a perfect album, but an intriguing and immortal one. Tommy is the first of two ultra ambitious, canon classic rock operas by The Who, and is one of the earliest real rock operas full stop. To start, I really don't understand how The Who ended up doing this just a little after their earlier stuff, because it feels worlds apart. Not necessarily better, but like almost incompatibly different. This is fully narrative, there's a ten minute instrumental, etc, it's just jam packed with bells and whistles. I guess the high concept feel of The Who Sell Out kind of foreshadowed this, but they are still vastly different. I guess we can talk about the music first, but the plot is just as essential to what this is. Several great songs are here, and a couple of my favorites by The Who. In particular, Pinball Wizard is an absolutely electric rock tune that pretty much can survive completely independently of the context of this album, and it serves as vital catharsis after the pretty depressing first 40 odd minutes of the album.Though I was also caught off guard by how much I loved Christmas as it's own song, even though it is, comparably, deeply set into the fabric of the album. But plenty of these songs are pretty great. It does suffer from a little musical theater syndrome though, where there are several bizarre asides, and fragmenty tone pieces and things that are kind of hit or miss. And Underture, while cool, does kind of overstay it's welcome for me. For the plot, basically, as a child, Tommy, after witnessing his father kill his mother's suitor becomes, in The Who's words, "deaf, dumb and blind" and is then pretty much abused by everyone he meets. As an adult, he becomes good enough at pinball that he accrues a substantial amount of cultural capital, then visits a doctor, who claims to be able to cure Tommy. In a twist I truly couldn't have imagined, the doctor then successfully does so, and Tommy's miraculous healing, in conjunction with his pinball skills, raise the fervor about him to a fever pitch, after which he becomes a messianic figure for his new cult. He then opens a holiday camp, and is too strict to his followers, by asking them to give up recreational drugs and play pinball dogmatically. They then revolt, and abandon him as he recedes within himself once more. Writing it out, I kind of realized that the plot must sound batshit insane if you haven't heard this, but The Who do manage to sell the suspension of disbelief remarkably well, given just how much is going on. I have mixed feelings on this aspect of Tommy. The plot is entertaining for one, but it's kind of all over the place. The tone oscillates wildly, and honestly the themes seemed kind of scrambled on a first listen. But despite this, and perhaps partly due to it. Tommy is a fascinating landmark moment that feels pretty odd in retrospect, even if I do totally understand *why* this is immortal. It is still very good also, which helps.

This is a long-winded, decent psych rock album, from the The Teardrop Explodes guy. There is some good variety, and neat ideas, but I honestly didn't really get much from this. A couple of good songs here and there, but this was just way less interesting that I was expecting. And I don't even really know why. I just don't gel with this thing. Maybe I think it lacks it's own identity? I dunno.

I remember checking this out when it came out, and I didn't fully fall into the hype, but I *did* enjoy the album. On a revisit, I do think I have warmed on it. I've always appreciated Fiona Apple's frankness, but I could not quite connect with the music here. There's a junkyard percussion sound here that *is* cool, but back in 2020, I think I wanted this sound pushed a little further. But on a revisit, I can see that it is more ornamenting the art pop songs here than it is the main attraction. I still think Apple's presence is incredibly strong, and there are several really powerful, head-turning lines across this thing, that hasn't changed. But I do also definitely get the atmosphere here a little more now. This was largely recorded in Fiona Apple's home, and it carries a really distinct intimacy for it. Even though I get this quite a bit more now, I do still enjoy other Fiona Apple albums more, and there are a couple of moments where the aesthetic doesn't really pull me in. But this very much works, and I can kind of see how it became an instant classic for a lot of people.