Reviews by giddy

Oingo Boingo just feels like a poor man's XTC to me, but this one felt more like the circus version of Duran Duran. I know I can really like Oingo Boingo, but this album just feels like going through the motions. Oingo Boingo should be on the list, though, I do agree with that.

While the initial release of this live album is missing a lot of tracks that make Stop Making Sense truly special, I think in that aspect it makes this album stand out more, as if you want the true, definitive experience for this show, you're best off seeing the film, as it is truly one-of-a-kind and you will not regret it. Meanwhile, this being built in the way it is feels more like a proper listening experience. It is easy to stomach, is built in a way where songs never get tired, and has a proper finale to call its own, even if I do prefer Crosseyed and Painless as a closer. What you WILL be getting, no matter what version you listen to, is the greatest live show of all time. Every single person is full of so much energy where you can't help but want to dance around, and not a single track is similar to its studio counterpart, making the album worth listening to no matter if you've heard these songs a thousand times, or never. Even the outlier, What a Day That Was (Byrne's own song), shines as a fantastic change-up that only rivals Pull Up the Roots (a song sadly not included to this day) in that every single one of its parts is equal in their majesties. However, every other track here is also fantastic, with some stand-outs that rise above the entirety of their main discography, and truly makes this album shine. Byrne's tonal ad-libbing gives it a boost of energy, not that it truly needs it, with not only the main four at peak performance, but also every single guest musician ensuring that this is the most "studio" a live album could get. You get all the energy and joy of a live release, right in your living room, and that makes it so this absolute party of an album is something to jam along to no matter your location, and the fact that this audible only version is the LESSER version is insane. Check the movie out, check this album out, and really check everything related to this project out, because it is all amazing. Final note, listen to the Cities cut from these performances. It wasn't included until a few years ago, but it may be the best track of them all.

I may have said this before, but it feels kind of obvious who out there is doing the generator when more people than average seem to think stomp and holler was a genre that needed represented. It really didn't.

Not only the best album Muse ever release, but still perhaps the best high alternative rock ever reached. The beginning is full of powerful piano sweeps, the most futuristic of guitar tones ever to reach the masses, and amazing bass and drums that will rev the listener up no matter the occasion. Meanwhile, the back half's more somber approach leads to songs that feel like B-sides, but considering Muse has some of the best B sides in the business, it is hard to view that as a negative, with Screenager's more jungle-esque atmosphere and Darkshines' hints at what is to come with Absolution, it is hard not to fall in love with the variety at play. Even the album's weakest track, Feeling Good, would Rank among some of the best covers in rock history, and never for a moment does Matt make it feel phoned in. Every note has been contemplated again and again, ensuring that the listener always feels as though they are floating in space, in fear of crashing down to Earth at every moment. Micro Cuts, an especially underrated track on the album, shows off his sheer ability to perform among the best falsettos of all time. Its anxiety-induced paranoia makes you scramble to find the lyrics as soon as possible, like the best shoegaze acts, because one has to wonder what could fill one with such much raw fear. It's an album full of angst, and its production is still mixed somewhat strangely, but it balances its out of this world aesthetic and dense instrumentation in such a way that it finally surpasses any comparisons to its contemporaries, and quite frankly the comparisons that can still be made it goes above any way. I, for a long time, found myself sticking to the rainbow-coated nightmare that is Space Dementia, or the prog masterpiece, Citizen Erased, for the longest time, but I urge you to re-examine the final stretch as something remarkable in its own right, and I cannot see this album as anything short of a masterpiece. No matter what, you will come away with a new favorite rock song of all time, I guarantee it.*

*No money will be returned to you in the event that no song grabbed you. Listen again. AGAIN. AHHH!!! Just kidding, like what you want to like, I appreciate your opinion, and have a good day! :)

The original list is massively lacking in any Japanese albums, Hell, I'm pretty sure the closest we get is Damo Suzuki in Can, and that feels like cheating. In that aspect, it's nice that the user list can rectify that by allowing users to add the stuff that's really lacking. Bands and artists like Fishmans, Boris, Sheena Ringo, Susumu Hirasawa, Tatsuro Yamashita, Masayoshi Takanaka, and so, SO many more! Thankfully, the user list already has it all covered with... BABYMETAL...
Okay, admittedly, they got Nujabes in there, too, so that's a win, at least, but I'l admit I was incredibly anxious seeing this album pop up in pairing with its average rating. Now, I know Hikaru for their work in the Kingdom Hearts games, and those songs are iconic, but a full album felt like it was destined for some sort of repetitive slog, especially at nearly an hour long. Luckily, I'm happy to say it was at least pretty alright throughout. There was a lot of downtime between the great opening run to the good finale, but those songs carried the album enough for me to be happy someone had the balls to add something like this. Did they probably add this because of Kingdom Hearts? Maybe! But I think this album is a neat look into the changes going on for 2000s J-Pop, and certainly carries its weight as more than a random pop album, but from Japan. Now, let's just get some Lamp in here to balance it out, okay?

Perhaps the most American sounding I've ever heard Krautrock be, this album takes the idea from Electric Prunes' Mass in F Minor and cranks it up to 11, and I'm all here for it. Perhaps droky to some, the Latin vocals make the instrumentation all the more intense, and pulling from Liturgical Music allows for the whole thing to be grandiose in design. It struggles a bit from a song by song perspective, but as a start to finish record this is a neat, niche little corner of the progosphere.

Pretty brave to make reference to one of the most influential jazz albums via Coleman's album of a nearly identical name. Just swap out punk with jazz and you got yourself something that really changed just for the 1960s. This album, however? The claim is a bit more dubious. Post-Hardcore and Metalcore both existed prior to this album's release, and while maybe those releases weren't as... bombastic(?) it wasn't this album that flipped hardcore punk on its head in the 2000s, at least not solely. However, that doesn't mean the album is poor. A bit full of itself, maybe, but the energy is top notch and there is certainly some things that feel unique, such as the blend of Electronica, or the strings on Tannhäuser / Derivè. Is it an album that's perfect? Nah, somw of it feels like it's a precursor to cheesy Mall Screamo, but there's enough here to be something worth crediting. The 90s and 00s Post-Hardcore scene already feels underrepresented on the main list, so this being added is a pleasant addition, even if plenty of other bands are still needing their chance in the limelight.

I really like the concept for Everywhere at the End of Time, and as a precursor to that project this is a nice little example of that six hour behemoth. Of course, I also can't stand the discussion of that project, as people are either far too childish about it, or treat it as the second coming of Christ. It is a solid Hauntology/Ambient record that you'll enjoy if you like those sorts of albums (Boards of Canada, Weather Forecast, etc, etc) but it's certainly gotten more spectacle surrounding it online than it ever needed. Anyway, supposed to be talking about this album, but how do you when it really is just that project before that project? This album is good, it has a neat concept, and the mixing is top notch, but, no pre-teens, it will not give you dementia, and everyone else, this album is not just a filter over pre-WWII tracks. And that one guy in the reviews calling the sampled tracks "50s music," Uh... what? Anyway, all of that is to say, good add!

Decent album, but the best songs are the ones you already know, so that's a little disappointing.

Perhaps not as silly or shocking as 1000 gecs, but I think their attempt at parodying 90s and 2000s rock music allows the duo to shine musically, as there are some incredibly catchy and solid hooks, as if some of these songs could have been lesser hits in their respective genre. That is, until you dig into the lyrics, which very rarely are serious or deep, and if they are, you argue with yourself on if they are doing it ironically or not. What is known is that this is a step in a direction of making extremely solid, albeit niche, songs that cater perfectly to Gen Z and younger's deteriorating attention span, and from what this album portrays, building it back up again after the hyper and distracted first album. Some of the songs don't work for me, and I still don't appreciate my ear drums being ruptured by tracks like Billy Knows Jamie, but I think I officially consider myself a 100 gecs fan.

This is frankly just a really pleasing collection of sounds for my ears, the whole album. It's smooth, it's funky, and the vocals throughout are strong. I feel many in the mainstream (including myself) see Donald Glover as a rapper first, before anything like this, especially due to his biggest hit being a trap hit more than anything. However, if anything, I think that assumption going in leads to an album that only catches you more off guard with its dream-like rhythms, and tight synths, all while a funky riff you'd find on a Sly and the Family Stone record gets your head bopping and your toes tapping. It just is a cool experience that always feels like it's building up to something, and the final track certainly delivers. I could see some turned off by the use of auto-tune at times, and it catches me off guard at points, but those strong vocals in the rest of the album more than make up for it. I only hope that someday Gambino revisits this sound and really perfects it, because the slip-ups here are small and infrequent, and another real try, and it could lead to something astonishing, and this already is fantastic.

Hey, this is definitely more deserving than Join Us being on here, no diss to that album of course, but this is just iconic. I think Lincoln is still their best, but this is the album that's obviously missing from the OG list, especially considering it actually had hits, and good ones at that! Still can't tell the Johns apart, though. Oh, how I've tried... anyway, good pick!

Charly Garcia seems to have this legendary aura about him that makes it so even I know of his status in Spanish speaking communities. I've tried a couple times to get into his music, but it just feels too 80s for me. Every time I feel like I'm getting close to it clicking for me, then the album ends, and no amount of re-listens seems to fix that. So, definitely deserving of a spot on the list, but just not for me.

Obvious Talking Heads comparisons incoming, but to call it a rip-off would be a heavy disservice to this amazing album. So much blood and sweat goes into almost every inch of this record, and the David Byrne esque vocal style only accents the amazing guitar work and demented funk that this album exudes. Listen to that vile anger on Indiscipline, or the sweet melodic guitar work on Matte kudasai. The new wave helped this album stand on its own, but to just call this "King Crimson goes new wave" does such a disservice to this album that I truly wish everyone could listen to this with a fresh pair of ears and hear all the nuances allowing this album to be light years ahead and all its own. Even if Adrian Belew does do a sick David Byrne impression.

I genuinely think this is Queen's best album. Sure, it doesn't have a Bohemian Rhapsody or a The Shoe Must Go On, but it makes up for it in just having an insane amount of range and style. You get anything from classical crossover style Take My Breath Away from to the Big Star-esque Long Away. From pop masterpieces like Somebody to Love and Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy, to the more experimental Teo torriate and Drowse. The whole album isn't 100% perfect, but it just has so much charm that I can't help but love it when compared to most of Queen's other albums post Queen II. It just has that unique style that doesn't make Queen feel like just another rock band that successfully crossed into the pop world. At least, not yet. I think a combination of this and A Night at the Opera would be one of the best albums ever, but for the meantime this is still fantastic.

So close to being something, but instead just comes off as overly generic and safe, this era after grunge and Britpop seemed to confuse every mainstream rock band but Radiohead.

It's completely harmless background music, but every time I focused up on it I just got more bored and annoyed. It's inoffensive, but I can hear this or stuff that sounds like it at every major retailer across the United States, why would I listen to a front-to-back album of it?

This was a nice enough addition, but I admittedly didn't hear much here that wasn't already covered by their prior album within the main list. Still, certainly not bad.

I was excited to see "Post-Hardcore," but this is that more poppy brand of the genre that feels far too fluffy for my tastes. It got close to being something a lot, but I mostly liked the odder stuff, and I highly recommend The Garden if that's more your speed. This just felt like the same reasons I don't really care for Deftones, but updated with a more dreamy sound rather than shoegaze.

I listened to this album partly, listened to the other part later, but accidentally shuffled the songs the second time. I didn't notice until I was done and looking at the track listing that I listened to some songs twice.