March 24, 2024 (after dark)
HL: "Sin City", "Do Right Woman", "Dark End of the Street", "Wheels", "Hot Burrito #2"
I'm honestly shook at how well James Carr's "Dark End" works as a country ballad. I'm not sure why: Ray Charles did the soul -> country manoeuvre and it worked out just fine.
I've got a lot of 60's country-esque records in the last couple months, including two The Bands, a Neil Young and a very underrated Beau Brummels release. Not sick of them yet!
Rated 8/10
March 24, 2024
HL: The 2 big hits (u know the ones), “Automatic”, “This Town”, “You Can’t Walk in Your Sleep”, & “Tonite”
New wave classic
March 23, 2024
I’ve liked the other Crazy Horse albums on this list so far, but this debut offering by them sure feels like lightning in a bottle. The rational part of my brain wants to laugh at the one-note guitar solos in “Cinnamon Girl” and “River”, but the rest of me is reaching for that 5-star button…
Rated 8/10
Knowing this album has "Loaded" on it is enough to be excited for
March 21st, 2024
HL: "Loaded", "Come Together", "I'm Coming Down", "Movin' On Up"
I can't hear "Inner Flight" without thinking of the RuneScape theme, nor can I hear "I'm Coming Down" without imagining the Old School RuneScape woodcutting sound effect in the background. Not a complaint of the songs, but I am complaining that that game has ruined my brain.
Big dumb fun- but also big smart fun sometimes, in the layering and fusion of disparate sounds and grooves. In terms of the Madchester-related albums this list champions, this well may be my favourite- even though they're a Glasgow band, not from Manchester! :0
But it's also possibly overlong, with two "Reach for the Sun"s, neither of which I'm super crazy about. Will definitely keep this album around my (digital) library; it may be a five-star one day.
Rated 8/10
(March 18, taking a wee break from the generator to focus on other musical rabbitholes, as well as some fam time)
March 20, 2024
HL: “Bathroom Girl”, “Dirty Trip”, “Empty House”, “Dead Bodies”
Have not seen the movie, but by all accounts it’s a lighthearted, feel-good smash of the summer.
In seriousness though, TVS’ prog grandeur and film-noiresque ambience make for a pretty enjoyable listen. I’m not big on downtempo 90s/00s music a lot of the time, but Air? I like Air.
Rated 8/10
HL: “Paper Planes” (obviously), “Come Around”, “Hussel”, “BirdFlu”, “Boyz”
First full M.I.A album
One gets the feeling Beyoncé wouldn’t have made RENAISSANCE, or Yitler made Yeezus 💿 the same way without stuff like this paving the way
“Bamboo Banga” is a pretty great indicator of how the whole album goes; abrasive and repeats itself a lot, but it’s ridiculously catchy and inventive.
March 16, 2024
Rated 8/10
I didn’t realize how much my RNG was holding out on classic 60’s albums until this month (every 2nd album has been from the 1960s so far)
HL: “She Has Funny Cars”, “Somebody to Love”, “Today”, “Coming Back to Me”, “Embryonic Journey”, “White Rabbit”
Rated 6/10
Idk much about Incubus besides the fact I always confused them for Interpol
It’s 90’s nu-metal but decent for a change
HL: "Nowhere Fast", "When it Comes", "Clean"
Rated 6/10
HL: “Stephanie Knows Who”, “She Comes in Colours”
Me when the Family Stone puts an indulgent 15+ minute track in their album: “sensational, mind-blowing, 5 stars”
Me when Love does the same thing 3 years earlier:
“boo, boring, get off the stage”
“Revelations” (aka half the album length) aside, I thought this precursor to Forever Changes was likeable enough. Less psychedelic and a bit more garage-y, which is probably why I didn’t enjoy it quite as much.
Rated 10/10
March 12, 2024
HL: title track, “The Modern Age”, “Someday”, “Last Nite”, “Hard to Explain”
Playing catchup. Not only is today the first time I listened to (all of) the Strokes’ Is This It, it’s the first time for Room on Fire (2003) as well.
As someone who leans toward 2000s indie bands, this has been a longtime blind spot. At the same time, I couldn’t see the appeal in diving deeper into their catalogue past “Last Nite” and “Reptilia”, as catchy as they were.
So what to say about their debut that hasn’t been said? I don’t have any emotional connection to it, but after the 5 killer highlights I listed earlier, and my next favourites “Soma” & “New York City Cops”, there’s not really any loss of quality with the remaining 4 tracks. They built a pretty airtight ship here.
And the next one might be just as catchy, if not more so! Damn, nothing to justify my playlists going sans-Strokes all this time.
Somewhere between 4 and 5, but I’ll round up tonight.
Rated 8/10
HL: "The Shining", “Everybody’s Stalking”, “Once Around the Block”, “Bewilderbeast”, “Say it Again”, “Cause a Rockslide”
I feel like I can’t justify why I’d rank this on the level of the previous albums (Elvis, Johnny Cash). It often sounds half-finished, with songs arbitrarily interrupting each other.
But darn if I haven’t been looking for a folksy album with this exact vibe- a wintery album that is also warm and uplifting. The horns in the opener and the birdsong in the closer solidify that feeling, even if the strange diversions in “Fall in a
River” and “Rockslide” threaten to shatter that coziness.
Every year further in the 21st century, this album’s (one-time) inclusion in the 1001 only gets stranger. 4 stars
Rated 8/10
HL: "Folsom Prison Blues", “Jackson”, “Green, Green Grass of Home”
Rated 8/10
HL: “Only the Strong Survive”, “I’m Movin’ On”, “Any Day Now”, “In the Ghetto”, “Suspicious Minds” (bonus)
Interesting mix of soul & country.
Big, glitzy, showy production, but this is the KING. If Elvis can’t do it then who can?
“Suspicious Minds” is definitely my favourite Elvis song, so the orchestra/choir didn’t exactly come as a shock.
More enjoyable than the last Elvis on this list, Elvis is Back! (1960)
This should be called Elvis is Back, For Real This Time I Swear
Edit: oh snap, “In the Ghetto” is technically the last track, so “Suspicious Minds” and co. are bonus tracks. The album’s still good without them, thankfully
Rated 6/10
HL: "Dance for Me", ”Latifah’s Law”, “Wrath of My Madness”, “Ladies First”
(track 1) unexpected Sly and the Family Stone
(Track 2) unexpected De La Soul feature
Kind of like Ice Cube, I primarily knew Queen Latifah as an actor, not a musician.
This is pretty good! I found the forays into reggae/dancehall cheesy at first, but it’s growing on me even as I type this.
Also, the best songs are pretty early on in the record, but it has a smooth finish with “Inside Out”, and “Irie say in the fire you will burn”
3.5
Rated 8/10
HL: "Sure Shot", "Sabotage", "Get it Together", "The Update/Futterman's Rule/Alright Hear This"
Wow, the Beasties going back to their hardcore punk roots is easier on the ears than I expected.
It's eclectic like Paul's Boutique, and the forays into Latin funk instrumentals, throat singing and heavy metal don't feel abrupt or messy.
It's kind of hard to appreciate individual tracks based on the way they all mix into each other, but as a whole I quite enjoyed it.
Strange how the lengthy instrumentals + distorted voices distanced me from the lyrics, though. Hopefully they didn't say anything profound or important past "Sabotage".
Rated 10/10
March 6, 2024
HL: title track, “I Want to Take You Higher”, “Somebody’s Watching You”, “Everyday People”, “You Can Make It If You Try”
So, There’s a Riot Goin’ On wasn’t the giant leap into doom and gloom I thought it was. Throughout the sunshine funk of Stand!, it shares some flashes of dread and frustration with its successor- as well as moments of indulgent noodling.
After stewing on “Sex Machine” for a few hours, however, it might actually be the perfect length. 5 minutes in, I was ready for the next track. By the climax, I somehow felt that the previous 12 minutes had been worth it. A “modern”-day Ravel’s Bolero.
The beat switch at the end of the title track sounds exactly like the music of the 60s giving way to the 70s (and also the hip-hop of the 90s)
And “Everyday People” continues to SLAP.
Rated 6/10
March 5, 2024
HL: “Into My Arms”, “There is a Kingdom”, “West Country Girl”, “The One I’m Waiting For”
Hm, Murder Ballads was musically intriguing but also gross n’ gruesome.
Boatman is often sweet, but its purposefully slow and sombre nature made me long for the variety of the former album, or at least the riot of “Curse of Millhaven”.
Can’t believe he made the song from Shrek 2 real though. Wild
Apart from The Boatman’s Call, Nick Cave has 2 five-stars and 2 three-stars from me- plus 2 Cave-adjacent ones (Punishing Kiss, Oedipus Schmoedipus) that weren’t the greatest but I gave 3 stars for their uniqueness.
Wrapping up the Stones' 6 albums on this list, it's The Rolling Stones (1964)- only 9 days after the critical darling Exile On Main Street (1972)
I feel like this quote from the book is an apt summary:
"'The Rolling Stones' is not as good as material they would release in ensuing years-- or even months. But its arrogant raunchiness had a seismic impact on polite pop then-- and continues to echo today."
I like when the reasoning for the entry goes beyond "This is the greatest music of all time, and you need to hear it!"
And being the Stones, it's a bop, but more interesting as a historical stepping stone than as a musical work. On its own, it just answers the question "What does the blues sound like as interpreted by well-to-do, white Londoners?"
HL: “Route 66”, “Mona”, “Carol”
Rated 8/10
Paul Weller #3
I forgot how good the Jam were! I've listened to well over 500 albums since Sound Affects, so I'm not really in a position to say whether this or that is the superior Jam.
Fun, punchy, doesn't overstay its welcome.
HL: “Down in the Tube Station at Midnight”, “English Rose”, "In the Crowd", “It’s Too Bad”
Rated 10/10
700th album <3
And Canadian content 2 days in a row <3
HL: “The Weight”, “Chest Fever”, “I Shall Be Released”, “Tears of Rage”, “In a Station”, “Long Black Veil”
