Reviews by funny_character

Devo at their most weird and wonderful. Are We Not Men? Is kind of the sound of punk morphing into new wave in real time. This album kind of feels like a cultural garbage disposal, you throw rock, funk, surf, punk, pop in, and Devo gets their wormy hands in all the crevices and Devos them up. We end up with an album that sounds more or less like a New Wave project, but with sort of a punk soul. But that isn't all, we also get a twisted weirdo cover of (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction, mutated surf riffs on Praying Hands, the abstract, opaque Space Junk, the skronky, discordant, delightfully obnoxious Jocko Homo, and the lower key, sour Shrivel-Up. And between these artier moments, Devo's sharp pop and punk songwriting really shines. Uncontrollable Urge, Mongoloid, and Sloppy are catchy, quirky, and fun. This is a really great collection of songs, and a *fantastic* debut. No one else, not even Devo can replicate the specific type of gleeful, catchy anarchy on Are We Not Men?

I don’t know if this is still underrated, it’s kind of had its moment, but I do know that this is my favorite Neil Young album. There’s something different about Neil Young’s folk rock compared to other artists of the time that I can’t entirely pin down. It may be the cool factor? There’s something effortlessly stylish, and subtly dark about much of his best music, and his songwriting is good enough to hold it together. I really think his best is some of the best music ever, like I’m pretty sure this is how Dylan fans feel when listening to Dylan. Anyways, on On The Beach, the x-factor is ratcheted up to 11. This is very much a mysterious, dark, deeply sad album. And a lot of the music doesn’t always seem it, which honestly kind of brings these attributes into clearer focus. And there are a few songs that really play into the darkness: Revolution Blues, On The Beach, Ambulance Blues. These tracks are all breathtaking centerpieces. But frankly, this whole album is just about perfect to me. It’s just 8 immaculately crafted songs in a row. Walk On is groovy and relatively upbeat, still with some of this album’s magic. See The Sky About To Rain is a good summation of the melancholy here, fantastic song. Revolution Blues may be the most chilling song about Charles Manson ever recorded, it’s just got a feeling, and the lyrics are absolutely arresting, “Well I Hear That Laurel Canyon is Full of Famous Stars, but I Hate Them Worse Than Lepers and I’ll Kill Them in Their Cars”. The banjo work on For The Turnstyles is a nice change of pace, with some airier banjo and a rawer vocal performance from Young. Vampire Blues is a great example of the fantastic guitar work across this album. And the final run of On The Beach, Motion Pictures, and Ambulance Blues, is haunting. Ambulance Blues just sucks the air out of any room it’s played in, it’s impossible to not pay attention to. This really is a work of genius, and I think it may be Young’s finest, from the beautiful cover art to the strange, dark atmosphere of the songs. I absolutely adore this album.

This was honestly quite a bit better than I thought. When this came out, folk rock was admittedly kind of oversaturated. Like, this was in the middle of a run in which every member of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young had an album crack the top 15. So, while it's hard to say this really feels essential, it is good. Honestly, Love The One You're With is actually *really* good, and earlier this week I heard Aretha Franklin's cover of this song. And, while this may be controversial, I actually *do* prefer Stills' original. While this is definitely the best song, this album is actually pretty consistent, especially side one. The rest isn't bad, but I just think it's a little choppier. Honestly, it's not changing anyone's life, but I think this is largely worth a listen, even though it kind of seems to be overshadowed by Stills' other projects, and also Neil Young's whole career, due to a storied history between them. This does have an identity all it's own. Also, as a quick aside, I like the photo on the cover quite a bit.

TV On The Radio feels like one of the most "2000s Pitchfork" bands ever to me, and that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Bad rep they have now aside, Pitchfork did have pretty good taste during a certain period and I do think of TV On The Radio as a "good" band. I think maybe because their particular take on the indie sound seems to exemplify everything the publication gravitated towards, as well as the kind of unique space in the public consciousness TV On The Radio seem to occupy. They feel tangential to the more "proper" 2000's indie pop scene, ending up somewhere similar, but seemingly coming from a slightly different world. TV On The Radio seemed to have their roots in the worlds of art rock, post-punk, soul, and to an extent, electronica. And this sound netted them a certain level of success, but I don't think I'd say they ever had a real hit or anything. In the past, I've enjoyed Return To Cookie Mountain, and Dear Science has been on my to-do list for a while. I enjoyed it quite a bit, but your mileage most likely depends on your amount of goodwill towards indie generally. I will say that I think Cookie Mountain was more willing to stake itself in the fuzzier woodlands of TVOTR's sound, while Dear Science is pared back to the core of their sound, leaving the weirdest edges of the band's sound behind. The result is a more focused sounding album that I do think is a little less interesting for it. However, the songwriting feels a little more front and center, and these are some really good tracks. Halfway Home, Dancing Choose, Stork & Owl, Red Dress, and DLZ are some of the best songs here. A lot of the songs here have a really interesting sense of momentum, and the performances are really good across the board. I especially enjoy the vocal performances, Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone both have unique stylings and great energy. And the sounds on these songs are a good representation of the sounds across this album. There is post-punky guitar, electronic percussion, think synthwork, and it's rounded out with flourishes from violin, horns and more. As I mentioned, if you enjoy indie, check this out, it's really strong, but I don't think it's gonna make the genre click with skeptics. And while I did enjoy this, I get to sense this has more to give, so I definitely see myself coming back to Dear Science.

I liked this, but I wouldn't really say it's something I'm drawn to. Although, this was extremely well made and I honestly think the questions brought up (often implicitly) by this are often more interesting than the music that's here. I wouldn't know it if I didn't look stuff up about this album, but this consists entirely of covers of country classics. However Ray Charles very tastefully adapts them to R&B in a way that I'm not sure anyone else could have. He really, truly makes them into R&B songs, but the compositions remain intact, even though they are transformed. I think one of the most interesting things this album asks is, "Is composition genre agnostic?". In other words, I have to wonder if any composition can be truly made into any genre of music. Where does a cover end and an original begin? Can a song be both a cover *and* an original? I don't know. But this is a truly unique example of interpretation as an artform. And while I don't think I'll be returning to this that often, it is very pleasant, and this kind of does need to be heard.

I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You is a *fantastic* playground for Aretha Franklin to use to showcase her abilities as a generational vocal talent. However, this translates into an *album* that is just very good. Consisting largely of covers (although Aretha Franklin does have writing credits on Don't Let Me Lose This Dream, Baby, Baby, Baby, Dr. Feelgood, and Save Me), the purpose of this album is largely to put Aretha Franklin front and center, where her vocal abilities and talent for interpretation are plain to see. Even the most important song on here, maybe the most important song Aretha Franklin ever recorded, Respect, is an Otis Redding cover. Regardless of this, her performance is so fantastic that Respect is considered one of the best singles *ever*. The other material isn't quite up to Respect's level, but little is. This is a very consistent collection of solid Soul songs. And while I will say that my taste in soul usually veers a little closer to funk, the genuine warmth and true *soul* here is a force of nature. Not to mention the aforementioned talent, I will say again that Aretha Franklin is an absolutely fantastic vocalist. While I don't connect as closely to this as I do to some other albums on the list, the vocal showcase here gets this to finish the hat trick. I ended up enjoying my time a lot.

Rocks is much better than my last outing with Aerosmith. Prior to this, I had gotten pump, which I thought had aged terribly. The glammy, sexed up Aerosmith, paired with glossy '80s production just doesn't do it for me. Here, Aerosmith's tendencies are instead paired with a more straightforward, gritty type of '70s rock production. The performances also feel much better here. These two aspects give these songs some room to breathe, and a lot of them are honestly pretty good. I get more out of Steven Tyler screaming his brains out on Back In The Saddle than I do from Pump as a complete project. Back In The Saddle is also driven by a great bassline and a propulsive stomp, it's a great rock song. The funky Last Child is also a great listen. Although, even outside of the singles, there's a lot of good here. I like Rats In The Cellar, Combination, Nobody's Fault, and Get The Lead Out a lot. And the remaining songs still have redeeming qualities. I will say that I'm still not particularly fond of Aerosmith's style of rock music, but I don't think I can really ask more of an Aerosmith album than what is given on Rocks. And besides, I did enjoy it. This is a hell of a redemption arc in my mind, I fucking hated Pump. I'm curious if this is the peak or if other Aerosmith albums surpass rocks, but in the meantime, I'm content with what I am given here.

This is kind of like a serving of mediocre French fries. If you’re craving fries it’ll do the job, but otherwise I don’t really need it. But instead of French Fries it’s bluesy rock. These are competently written and played rock songs. Rod Stewart’s vocals are fairly unique, and there’s cool guitar work, but there isn’t a ton keeping me interested here. It’s pretty whatever rock in this style. Palatable, but I’m not really coming back.

Alright, my second Stevie Wonder album, and it's the big one. I'll keep it short, this probably isn't my favorite album of all time or anything, but after listening to this I think there's an argument that this is the greatest album ever. And I really can't think of anyone off the top of my head who I think is "better" at music than Stevie Wonder. Like the magnitude of the accomplishment here is not lost on me. This is basically as close as anyone has ever come to just like creating 21 consecutive, perfect songs. And it keeps the quality up for longer than many feature length films. The only "complaint" I have is that after the magnificent Love's In Need Of Love Today, we have a few weaker songs before getting back up to speed. Weaker is relative, Have A Talk with God, Village Ghetto Land, and Contusion are still better than many artists' best, it's just that after this run we get Sir Duke immediately and you remember how the rest of this album sounds. These songs manage to be so complex and groove *so* hard, it's frankly improbable. And every once in a while, Stevie Wonder realizes that he's found a groove so good that he just has to ride it out for like three minutes: and he's always right. Additionally, I just learned that Gangsta's Paradise is an interpolation, so that rocked my world quite a bit. But yeah, this is pretty much just immaculate, damn near perfect for way longer than should be physically possible.

The Grand Tour is simply a very pleasant country classic with a few truly exceptional songs. George Jones proves his strengths as a performer across The Grand Tour, with clever, classy and instant classic country tunes delivered in his wonderful baritone. Everything that makes this album great may be best exemplified in the title track, a grand, classic country weeper. However, there are some other really great tracks here. The Weatherman is energetic and fun. I'm a big fan of the lapsteel on Pass Me By. The chorus on she Told Me So is a great example of the unique and clever writing on display here. And Our Private Life is a really interesting, sort of tongue in cheek song about the consequences of celebrity culture. It's also, incidentally the most fun you can have on this album in my opinion, I'd probably love dancing to this one in the right setting. There's plenty to love here. I will say, the strongest song here may be the first, which I have mixed feelings about. Also, this isn't all the sort of country I gravitate towards. Despite that, there is something undeniable about this, and I liked it a lot.

Honestly, if you love hip hop, I think you’ll pretty intuitively see what makes this great. 4 rappers with a lot of personality and two great producers, what could go wrong? The Kool Keith feature doesn’t hurt. The lyrics are clever and optimistic, the flows are cool and the songs are great complete pictures. I will say, it doesn’t like reinvent the wheel or change my life or anything. It’s simply good ass hip hop. Some favorites are Freedom, Remember His Name, What’s Golden, DDT and Acetate Profits. I’m giving it a *very* high 3, repeated listens could probably push it to a 4.

Ya know, Odd Future probably needs to be studied. This one group of edgy teenagers somehow produced two wildly influential international stars (Tyler and Frank) and one king of the underground (Earl). Blonde would later cement Frank's status and influence, but Channel Orange is a vital stepping stone that often lives in its shadow. The two albums are honestly different beasts, and (I think) had influence on different worlds in music. Channel Orange very much feels like an R&B/Neo-Soul album, at times even like a psych album, and made it's impact on the development of that world. Conversely, Blonde almost feels more like an indie album, and I think it became sort of an archetype for a whole nook in that genre moving forward.Channel Orange is a bit more eclectic, almost sprawling at times, while Blonde is *laser* focused on a very particular sound and emotional landscape that comes across a little more abstract than Channel Orange. And while Blonde gains a lot from this, it kind of highlights some of the unique positives of Channel Orange. A sprawling, epic, narrative piece like Pyramids couldn't exist on Blonde, and to a lesser extent, singles like Thinkin Bout You and Super Rich Kids couldn't either. And honestly, the experience of listening to Channel Orange from front to back is really cool in it's own right. Th pacing is good, the interludes work really well as mood pieces, and a lot of songs here are fantastic set-pieces. The aforementioned Pyramids, Thinkin Bout You and Super Rich Kids are great examples. I'm also a big fan of Crack Rock, Monks, and Pink Matter. The latter of which has an exceedingly rare (and very good) Andre 3000 feature. While not as focused as Blonde, Channel Orange still feels deeply personal to Frank, and it is a really awesome debut. Some of the sound across here feels trapped in the 2010's, and these songs don't all resonate with me, but it doesn't exactly ruin the album. I really enjoy Channel Orange. Additionally, as one of his two studio LPs, Channel Orange is nearly as vital a component of Frank Ocean's legacy as Blonde.

Blackstar is Bowie's late career opus and swansong. The material here really exemplifies one of the things that made Bowie the fantastic and unique artist he was: even at the age of 69, Bowie was still exploring new grounds and expanding his horizons on Blackstar. Blackstar sounds fresh and modern within Bowie's discography, and it is a magnificent sendoff for him. The atmosphere is deeply sad, the lyrics are incredibly self aware across Blackstar, and on a lot of these songs, Bowie is trying to comprehend his status as an icon and celebrity, while seemingly reflecting on the inevitability of death: it's all very tasteful and introspective. At the same time, he is still flirting with experimentation, and modern developments in sound. I suppose I'd categorize this as art pop, but I can also spot influences from hip hop, jazz, and experimental electronic here. Blackstar's finest moment may be Lazarus, with it's meticulous pacing and mournful sax. Lazarus may be one of Bowie's best ever songs. Even though this is a favorite, this album is just about perfect. The "Title Track" is sprawling and detailed. 'Tis A Pity She Was A Whore rocks, but in a weird, subdued kind of way. Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime) is anxious, jittery and visceral. Girl Loves Me is irreplaceable, with it's Polari and Nadsat. It may be Blackstar's strangest moment, and is another favorite of mine. Then Dollar Days and I Can't Give Everything Away are both beautiful. They close the album off with a chilling, deeply final sentiment that somehow doesn't leave the listener alone. There is something weirdly comforting about these two songs. As I said, this album is just about perfect, even without being contextualized by Bowie's death mere days after it's release, Blackstar is personal, daring, and truly fascinating. I couldn't have asked for a better bookend to such a storied and legendary career.

This is such a wildly important album for both hip hop and modern music at large that it really can't be overstated. Let's get the elephant in the room out of the way: this sounds like a hip hop album from 1984. So yeah, it sounds old, and it sounds clunky at times, but I can pretty much guarantee I didn't need to tell you that. Even if you go a year or two later, you get music that sounds way more modern, but it's because of albums like Run-D.M.C.'s self-titled that we got that music. And honestly, if you go a year or two earlier, you get hip hop that sounds *so* much clunkier. And honestly, despite the age, I actually like this quite a bit. McDaniels and Simmons have some really cool synergy. And through the somewhat dated rapping, you can still very much tell that both men were incredibly skilled at the art-form. And Jam Master Jay's production can be similarly dated, but there are still plenty of cool grooves here. I also need to acknowledge that people were still figuring hip hop out here: upon doing research, this is really an album of firsts. I've seen people cite It's Like That as the first hardcore hip hop song, Sucker M.C.'s as one of the first diss tracks, and Rock Box as the first rap rock song. These are also among the best songs here. It's Like That is almost an incredibly early example of conscious hip hop. Although Rock Box may be my favorite here: Eddie Martinez's hair metal guitar works surprisingly well here, and McDaniels and Simmons are at their most locked in, the flow is actually really cool. Additionally, I've heard arguments that this song had a big hand in tearing down the barriers between rock and hip hop, giving us future Run DMC songs, and resulting in other very influential artists like the Beastie Boys. I'd also like to shout out Wake Up, with it's very hopeful lyrics. While this album wears it's age on it's sleeve, I still find it very enjoyable, and it's role in music history can *not* be denied.

Unhalfbricking is warm, pleasant, and more compositionally dense than I thought. Side A of this album feels really smart and intricate, almost (to my ear) ending up somewhere proggy at times. And this complexity is used very effectively, Fairport Convention has really precise control over the emotional palette that these songs invoke: From the rootsy (and Bob Dylan written) Si Tu Dois Partir, to more atmospheric pieces like Genesis Hall and A Sailor's Life. I will say that after A Sailor's Life, the songs get a little more straight forward, not bad, just a little less interesting than the first side's material. Overall, this surprised me, it has a pretty unique feel for a UK folk rock album, and I think the writing is generally very strong. It also just gives off good vibes, it's very warm sounding music, even at its coldest.

The favorite Nirvana albums of curmudgeons and contrarians everywhere, including me. Sometimes, people boil the Nevermind v. In Utero argument into "which one is Kurt's more honest artistic expression"? Is it the perfect pop album made pre-fame? Or is it the angry, antisocial house fire made as a reaction to overwhelming fame? I really don't know, and honestly I'm not sure it matters. For me, I just love noise rock, and depending on where you draw genre borders, In Utero may be the most commercially successful noise rock album *ever*. The songs throb, the guitars sear, and Cobain screams his throat raw on a lot of these songs. The Albini production job gets us all the way there, his dry, live, and unprocessed *ultra* visceral sound colors the whole experience that this album provides (Nirvana was forced to re-mix the singles, dig up the original Albini mix of them, they're fascinating.). And I think one of this album's biggest successes is that even though the songs are intentionally less accessible here, I think the song writing is just as potent as on Nevermind, even if the goal of the songs is a little different. We have two main types of song here: the rock songs, many of which are the heaviest, and most intense of Nirvana's career. Songs like Milk It, Scentless Apprentice, Radio Friendly Unit Shifter, and Tourette's go off like a Roman Candle, but never lose sight of that song writing. On the other hand there are the melodic songs here. They kind of overshoot Nevermind and end up as weird, sad, displays of pain. There are some hits here, but if you listen close enough, there are ghosts even in Heart Shaped Box, All Apologies, and Rape Me. And songs like Dumb and Pennyroyal Tea are just chilling to me. The lyrics here are also very interesting, Cobain writes about his body like a pile of meat and chemicals, and he writes about sex like it's body horror. Listening from front to back, the sadness and fury laced into this album is completely unignorable, and I think it's an incredible piece of art. Nevermind is probably a better album, but for some people, there's really nothing like In Utero.

The completion of Smile is one of the most hard earned and storied sagas in popular music. When Brian Wilson began working on Smile in 1966, the process just about destroyed him. I can only be happy for him that he was graced with the ability to finish Smile 38 years later in 2004. I have to say, with the scope of this project and the sheer density of the arrangements here, I see why this was just a little difficult to put together. On Smile, all sorts of songs, snippets and sketches come together to make a very cohesive album experience. I'd like to know how many tracks are on some of these songs. Listening deep into this mix, you just keep finding new instruments: xylophone, bass clarinet, vocal harmonies, etc. And every track seems to have a different sound palette too. It's kind of miraculous that this *is* cohesive, but it achieves a certain atmosphere of quirky, joyful, and slightly psychedelic playfulness. Every song contributes towards this goal. I liked this album a lot, but I think it's worth it for just about everyone, if only so you can see the pay-off to one of the more interesting myths in rock history. Besides, this is just about perfectly *executed*, it is at a level of detail that is rarely observed, and I think it's worth it just to be immersed in that detail.

An incredibly joyful affair with some *ultra* recognizable songs. As soon as Green Onions started rolling, I found myself thinking "Oh!!! That's what that song is called!" I don't even know where I've heard it, I just know that it's seared into my brain. The sound across here is in sort of a blues/R&B/Blues pocket, and I personally hear a little bit of early Rock & Roll (granted, it is like built out of the aforementioned genres). And the sound palette is dominated in large by a very prominent Hammond organ which I learned to love throughout this runtime. It feels like it has a very sort of blocky, chunky sound, and I find that it has a certain idiosyncratic appeal. Not to mention the playing itself, which is first rate: there are so many impressive runs and passages here that just ooze personality. The guitar playing is also very impressive, and I think it's mostly what gives me a Rock & Roll feeling. Also, there's a hell of a rhythm section with jazzy drums and some occasional upright bass rounding things out. This simple formula is used to deftly navigate a run of inspired covers, and a couple of originals. In fact, this is mostly covers, but frankly, Booker T. & The MG's rock them, so I'm fine with it. Check this out if you need something jazzy, light, and catchy (these songs will stick with you). It works really well, and the band as a unit absolutely sells it.

My second belle & Sebastian album, and while it's very sweet and detailed, I kind of had a hard time gelling with it. From the title track on, things did connect a little better, so maybe I just need to listen a few more times, but for now I don't have a lot of strong feelings or interesting takes on this. I will say though, even if I'm not floored here, the craftsmanship is pretty amazing. It's another Belle and Sebastian album that feels like a real labor of love, which does endear me to it on some level.

This is an early sort of psych album, and overall, it’s pretty good! Most of these songs are pleasant, well made psych pop and folk rock songs, I just don’t have a ton to say about them. There are little highlights like Monday, Monday and Spanish Harlem dotted around, and especially for how early this hit the scene, I think it’s worth hearing. That being said, I think there is *one* song here that is really, *really* good, and that’s (of course) California Dreamin’. I honestly think this is one of the best songs of the ‘60s, *and* I think it’s one of the *most* psychedelic songs of the ‘60s too. Like the experience of listening to it just feels weird. It’s like a combination of the technicolor reverb, the *stubbornly* minor key, the droning vocal harmonies, and the kind of lo-fi, warm, 60’s fuzz that comes with less expensive recordings of the era. The effect of this all is a song that I really think could cause a hypnosis state or something. Like it reaches a little bit deeper into the brain than music is usually supposed to. I wouldn’t say it’s scary per-se, but if you told me this could activate sleeper agents, I’d believe you. It’s an irreplaceable song. The rest of the album isn’t really pushing it down, but I don’t think any other song here really keeps up. That being said, I’d say the full package is still worth hearing at least once.