HL: “Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos”, “Rebel Without a Pause”, “Don’t Believe the Hype”
After “Don’t Believe The Hype”, I started to wonder if I could listen to an hour of Public Enemy without getting exhausted. And by some miracle, I did not. The experience improved when I switched to headphones, as all the competing overdubs and samples didn’t sound great on my Bluetooth speaker. Special appreciation to the metal sample in “Channel Zero?!” (It’s Slayer, according to Wiki)
Rated 10/10
200th album ;)
Not 1st listen, put it on while frying eggs & mushrooms for breakfast.
My favourite track is still “Pannonica”, and I appreciate the title track a lot more since doing a Thelonious Monk presentation in high school.
October 19th 2022
Rated 6/10
HL: “Groove is in the Heart”, “Smile On”, “Try Me On…”
Big dumb fun dance album. Honestly didn’t expect Deee-Lite in this list. Whenever my attention wavered, there’d be some line or goofy sample (the Good, Bad & Ugly whistle in “E.S.P.”) to pull me back in
October 18, 2022
Rated 8/10
Arcade Fire did a music video for “We Used to Wait” that had your neighbourhood (aka Google Maps imagery of your neighbourhood) getting overtaken by a forest. My brother and I listened to that song so many times putting different scenes from our shared childhood into the video.
Listening to the album in its entirety for the 1st time, the songs didn’t resonate with my own suburban memories quite as strongly, but I’m also really bad at listening to lyrics.
Very strategic of Arcade Fire to release this when I was still a kid, since it still takes me back there anyway.
October 18, 2022
Rated 6/10
HL: “They Say”, “Go!”, “The Food”
3.5
Mostly liked West’s production, though the sample on Testify got a bit annoying. Surprised I haven’t heard more from Common, though I’m really only starting to learn about hiphop beyond the loudest & brashest acts (aka West) in my twenties.
October 17, 2022
Rated 10/10
HL: “You Make Me Feel”, “Chain”, “Ain’t No Way”
Easy listen, was surprised by the haunting final track “Ain’t No Way” as well as the rockin’ “Good to Me”. Also a fan of Aretha’s interpretation of “People Get Ready”
October 15, 2022
Rated 8/10
HL: “Father to Son”, “Seven Seas of Rhye”, basically the whole crazy 2nd half
For some reason, of all the classic rock bands (Led, Floyd) I was big on as a kid/teenager, I never explored Queen’s catalogue like those other bands. Which means I went into this almost blind, and what a treat!
If there’s one thing modern rock lacks, it’s fairies & ogres 👺
October 14, 2022
Rated 6/10
Personally, kind of a sucker for the classical/folk elements in “Mele H’Bibti” & “Aalach Tloumouni”, though the more contemporary-sounding songs aren’t bad. I like “C’est la Nuit”, though it also grounds the album firmly in the 1990’s. Some of the genre crossovers sound a bit corny, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t good (salsa in “Gouloulha-Dji”, Indian pop in “El Harba Wine”).
October 13, 2022
Rated 4/10
I used to think “Around the World” was obnoxious. Nowadays I quite like it, it’s very tasteful compared to “Rock’n Roll”, a painful listening experience.
This year marks 25 years of Homework, and to commemorate this anniversary I award 2.5 stars.
HL: “Da Funk”, “Around the World”, “Alive”
October 12, 2022
Rated 6/10
More ambivalent over this one than other 60s Dylan albums I’ve heard, though it has some great tunes like “Subterranean Homesick Blues” and “Mr. Tambourine Man”. Lots of 12-bar blues in the first half, and I felt the length of songs such as “115th Dream” and “It’s Alright Ma”.
October 10, 2022
Rated 10/10
I was going to say my one criticism is that Herbie is having a little too much fun with the synth fx, but that’s also partly why this album is so good. Chameleon has one of my all-time favourite bass riffs, Watermelon Man is barely recognizable from the original but glad there are both versions, & the last 2 tracks are great complements to each other: the fiery sax & percussion of “Sly” is a world apart from the ethereal piano in “Vein Melter”.
October 9, 2022
HL: "Maid of Orleans", "She's Leaving", "Souvenir"
First heard "Maid of Orleans" earlier this year at a record shop, Shazam informed me that it was just a demo from "Architecture & Morality: The Singles". Not on Apple Music, but it was worth the extra effort to locate it. Beautiful, almost ambient-at-times, synth pop. Proves that there's more to OMD than "If You Leave" anyway.
October 12, 2022
Rated 6/10
HL: Sweet Love, Watch Your Step, Mystery
Don’t have a lot to say about this album. Just that it’s really well performed and some sections reminded me of the music behind your local 7 day weather forecast
October 4, 2022
Rated 8/10
HL: Fly, Northern Sky, Hazy Jane I
Listened to while assembling a credenza. Didn’t get as stressed as I normally am with simple-to-assemble furniture, and so I give credit to the voice of Nick Drake. Liked the instrumental passages, but it’s odd going backwards from the stark Pink Moon to his earlier works.
October 3, 2022
Rated 8/10
Some of my favourites: All My Loving, It Won’t Be Long, Not a Second Time, You Really Got a Hold on Me
Also featuring some of the most trite songs on any Beatles album: Hold Me Tight, Little Child, I Wanna Be Your Man
I give this Beatles album the lowest possible score, 4 stars
Oct 2, 2022
Rated 4/10
HL: “Everything”, “Fade Away”, “Playing With Fire”
There’s some good jazzy/funky flourishes behind a vocalist (Rob Birch) whose delivery I didn’t find all that interesting. It’s fine for a party background/club (and I’m sure I’ve been to a club at least once in my life)
Rated 8/10
Surprise: Basket Case is in the middle of the album; it sounds so much like an intro.
Not too many surprises afterward (from the 11 songs I didn’t know) but the limited musical palette means some real catchy hooks come in loud & clear.
HL: “Cathy’s Clown”, “Made to Love”, “Sigh, Cry, Almost Die”
RIP Everlys
“A Date” definitely deserves to be on this list, also suffers from the syndrome of inspiring other songwriters I love more. Sort of like Little Richard, though this album’s sanitized cover of “Lucille” does the original no favours.
September 29, 2022
Rated 8/10
HL: Ce matin-là, Sexy Boy, Le voyage de Pénélope
It’s really good! The retro, 70’s-esque mix of analogs & organic instruments were a welcome salve to a stressful day.
Rated 6/10
3rd synth pop of the week, this one will take more time to digest. Depeche Mode has always left me a little cold, yet I was downright addicted to “Never Let Me Down Again” last year. The dark, almost Halloween-y detours were unexpected, particularly the chanting in the last track.
HL: Never Let Me Down Again, Behind the Wheel, I Want You Now
