Rated 8/10
Flowers, Brandon: Variations on “Mr. Brightside”, I-XI (2004)
The closer, “Everything Will Be Alright”, and “All These Things That I’ve Done” give some sonic variety that would otherwise be missing. But when the baseline sound is so bright and joyous, it’s hard to fault the Killers for staying in that lane.
February 4, 2025
Rated 10/10
Not 1st listen
Well I’m sure glad Tubular Bells helped make a billionaire out of Branson /s
Luckily there’s more to its legacy
The reckless abandon that went into making this album predates artpop experiments by Bowie and ELO, is surprisingly accessible for an instrumental prog album, *and* it’s also one of my Dad’s favourite records. How could I not like it
I have underrated the English/Celtic folk-influenced second half, as the more eclectic first half kinda eclipses it. That Master of Ceremonies part is instant dopamine, imho
If I have but one criticism, some sections (particularly in Pt 1) seem all too brief while others go on too long. A masterpiece, but a flawed one
February 2, 2025
HL: "Another Man", "All Your Love", "Hideaway", "Key to Love"
Though 'the blues' informs a lot of rock albums on this list, there are not a lot of true 'blues' albums.
And despite all the Americans that don't get a slot- Howlin' Wolf, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Buddy Guy- there doesn't seem to be a shortage of *British* blues. In fact this is Clapton's 4th credit on the list, not counting his guest appearances such as on the song "While My Guitar Gently Weeps".
Now as much as this fact irks me, a lot of the British blues I do like has something to do with Eric Clapton: Derek & the Dominos, Cream, et al. And his work with John Mayall here is no exception.
From horn-laden songs, to full electric showcases, to minimalist harmonica ditties, Bluesbreakers has it all. It even has Ol' Reliable John McVie on bass. wot a team
Rated 6/10
February 1, 2025
HL: "Don't Ever Think (Too Much)", "Railroad", "Confusion", "You Will You Won't"
Oh, to be a "The" band in the early 2000s...
Chalk it up to burnout (this is album 1035/1089), but I was a little cold on this album despite it objectively being solid- and containing much of what I like in rock music (loads of energy, 70s throwbacks, tasteful sax).
For some reason the slower songs (e.g. "Railroad") clicked with me easier today
Rated 8/10
January 31, 2025
I found this on vinyl last year, for really cheap, so-
their frickin loss, amirite?
(I listened to one song to make sure it wasn’t damaged, and it sounded pretty good, but I saved the rest for when I got this on the generator)
Ended up just listening to it online today, rather than work to get my record player up and running
This unashamedly represents the rubberiest of rubber soul in the 80’s. I respect that. I even admire it.
Little touches like the gamelan halfway through “Absolute” and the shuffle in “The Word Girl” give it character that’s missing from otherwise similar pop songs of the era
The second half is slightly lacklustre compared to the 1st imo, but also contains my favourite track of the album “Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin)”
It is baffling that, as of today, it’s sandwiched between two nonconventional albums by Laibach and Pere Ubu (that I also happen to enjoy) in the lowest-rated albums. I feel like the most controversial aspect about this album is that people seem to hate it on this website- well, and the juxtaposition between the pretentious album title and the incredibly silly band name. Is it really that much worse than Heaven 17? The Culture Club? The Style Council?
Idk, much like yesterday the album is hovering between a 3 and a 4, and like yesterday I’ll round it up. You’re welcome, Green Gartside. Now where’s my 5 dollars
HL: “Wood Beez”, “Small Talk”, “Don’t Work That Hard”, “A Little Knowledge”, “Absolute”
Rated 8/10
HL: "Bit Part", "Alison's Starting to Happen", "Rudderless", "Confetti"
Rounds up to a 4 for being just so dang jangly and likeable
Rated 8/10
Jan 29, 2025 (listened part in an airport waiting area, part while taking off)
HL: “Peaches En Regalia”, “Son of Mr. Green Genes”, “The Gumbo Variations”, “It Must Be a Camel”
From the 1st 5 seconds of Hot Rats I was once again reminded to expect the unexpected from Zappa
Some of the songs (looking at you, “Gumbo” and “Willie”) were a bit testing, but the lengthy solos were in retrospect pretty awesome
Was bracing myself for harsh noise à la the Mothers’ other two albums on this list, but it never came
Rated 8/10
January 27, 2025 (listened on a redeye flight)
HL: “How Do You Sleep?”, “Call the Police”, “I Used To”
LCD Soundsystem is a band that has grown on me since this website gave me Sound of Silver (2006)
Rated 6/10
January 26, 2025
HL: “Love the One You’re With”, “Old Times Good Times”, “Cherokee”, “We Are Not Helpless”
Mileage may vary
3.5
Rated 8/10
January 25, 2025
HL: “World in My Eyes”, “Personal Jesus”, “Waiting for the Night” “Enjoy the Silence”, “Blue Dress”
Familiar with some of the singles, first time hearing this in full. Surprised by the quality of the slower tracks “Waiting” and “Blue Dress”, as my favourite Depeche Mode tracks usually have a driving beat, like “Personal Jesus”, “People Are People” or “Never Let Me Down Again”
Helps me further appreciate Music For the Masses, as a lot of the creepy stuff they had in that album is here in a glossier, more subdued form
January 24, 2024
Interesting, the Apple Music version had vinyl crackle in the quiet parts
Very enjoyable, not a long album but certainly feels like a workout with the individual song lengths.
On a second consecutive listen, still not tired of it so it gets my seal of approval 🦭
Rated 6/10
Not totally decided on how I feel about this; the book entry implies that it hasn’t aged a day. Maybe that was true in 2005 when the 1st edition was written.
Yet once my brain got past the “this is definitely electronica from the 90s again” process, I did end up enjoying a lot of the ambient and “world” elements. Maybe this’ll grow on me like Leftism did
Rated 6/10
Behaviour is my 2nd Pet Shop Boys album. First was Very (1993), when it was warm out, and also I had a different job and lived in a different house.
What I'm trying to say is that it's been a while :0
I didn't hear much PSB growing up, although I really adore their over-the-top version of the ballad "Always on My Mind"
It can't be a coincidence that I started thinking about Angelo Badalamenti's score of Mullholland Drive today, only to find he worked on two tracks on this album.
Some really nice tracks, and much like its successor Very, takes some dramatic and emotional turns. There’s a kind of soporific, 80s romanticism that covers almost every track, yet there’s also plenty of odd synth noises that keep the production from being too smooth.
Not saying it’s better or worse than Very, but I will say the slower nature made it harder to warm to. Perhaps revisiting it later on, say on a rainy summer evening, will glean even better results.
January 22, 2025
HL: “Being Boring”, "To Face the Truth", "So Hard", “The End of the World”
Rated 4/10
Original album length: 86:55
2007 Expanded edition: 132:59 >:0
1001 Book listing: 115:32
Apple Music: 88:00
I think the album length in the book is j̶u̶s̶t̶ ̶p̶u̶l̶l̶e̶d̶ ̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶i̶r̶ ̶a̶s̶s̶/from a 1996 remastered CD. I'm going with the A.M. version
January 21st, 2025
HL: “Lord of Light”, “Space is Deep”, “Brainstorm”
Unlike some other albums with tedious spoken word sections, I actually enjoyed the scifi poetry on display here. Of course, if that's my main takeaway in a 90 minute album, there's a problem.
The 2nd problem is that I can't be arsed to go through the instrumental passages I did enjoy: a departure from the last few albums this week that got at least 2 full listens. Despite the cosmic grandeur the tour was going for, I found some of the music itself straightforward, vanilla even. There are some cool saxophone solos strewn about, so thank you *checks notes* Nik Turner (1940-2022).
2.5
Rated 8/10
January 20, 2025
HL: “The Whistling Song”, “Lake of Fire”, “Aurora Borealis”, “New Gods”, “Lost”
Neat (Puppets II)
Rated 6/10
“I’m too busy listening to MEGADETH to answer the phone”
January 19, 2025
HL: “The Conjuring”, title track, “Good Mourning”
Rated 6/10
January 18, 2025
HL: "Over Under Sideways Down", "I Can't Make Your Way", "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago" (bonus)
Rated 10/10
2nd Miles Davis this week!
Think I slightly preferred the 2nd half with its Latin/funk, though I also love the spooky organ of “Peaceful”.
Listened to it twice today, the second time temporarily interrupted by some loon on the bus spouting racist garbage.
In a way, this is Bitches Brew without risk of headache. What I started to glean from the 2nd listen is that it feels more like kosmische, aka Tangerine Dream, than much of the jazz I’ve heard. Whereas with Kind of Blue, where I paid attention more easily to the individual talents of the players (Adderley, Coltrane)- here it’s just letting the collective sound drift by, like dark clouds that don’t ever become a thunderstorm.
It’s hard to say what importance an album will have in the long run, but for tonight let’s call this my favourite Miles Davis album
HL: Side B
January 17, 2025
Rated 6/10
January 16, 2025
HL: "(I Read About) the title track", "Ballade Von Der Belebenden Wirkung des Geldes", "Song of a German Mother", "Berlin 1919", "And I Shall Never See Again"
I have a little context for this, as I had a professor in uni who often brought up Bertolt Brecht in theatre history. We'll see how this translates to a full listening experience
I had written that Ute Lemper was the first cabaret-esque artist on this list; only true if you don't count Swordfishtrombones & Rain Dogs. Yet clearly I overestimated the amount of cabaret albums I would hear over the next two years.
This is definitely one of the big wild cards of the project, so naturally it's among the lowest rated albums. The short runtime of many tracks forced an absurd comparison to grindcore band Napalm Death, who is right there next to Tank Battles in the lowest-rated.
I particularly enjoyed the instrumentation, the mix of discordant guitars and quirky woodwinds providing a kind of surreality to the dark and political lyrics. The version I found online is the reissue, which contains more OG German versions of Eisler's songs. Songs like "And I Shall Never See Again"/""Ich werde nicht mehr sehen" sounded better in German, but I wasn't put off by the English lyrics either.
Since many of the songs are fragmented, it was sometimes hard to concentrate on those song's structures, and I can see how a full hour of this can be too much. Since I did take theatre in university (and resultingly will soon have to start selling my organs), I accept that my tolerance for theatricalism in music may be higher than the average listener; for example, take the scratchy, sinister vocals in "Mother Beimlein".
I think my own feelings fall around a 3.5/5, as once I got past the alienating songwriting of a different time and culture, I started to dig it.
Rated 6/10
1 Sugarcubes, 4th solo Björk on this list + 1 that isn’t (Post [1995])= this’ll be my 6th one by her
Vespertine and this are really about the same dude, huh
I thought “Family” had horror vibes, turns out the composer for Midsommar, aka the Haxan Cloak, was involved with this
Sometimes beautiful, almost always unsettling; I respect the fusion of Arca’s beats with Björk’s string arrangements, even if it’s not always to my own musical palate.
3 stars for now, ask me again in 7 days
HL: “History of Touches”, “Black Lake”, “Notget”
Late Jan. 15 or early Jan. 16, 2025
