Reviews by giddy

You know what helped me get through this album? Pretending that its like disco without the dance! Wait, no, that defeats the purpose... oh, I know, its like System of A Down without the metal? No, that's not really accurate either. It's like... Real Life by Magazine but worse? Yeah, that's kind of it, but its certainly not bad, in fact I'd say its pretty good. It has this groove to it through most of the album thanks to Jah Wobble's bass playing, yet is still haunting due to its music seemingly looping over and over and over, as if you were stuck in a spinning ballroom straight out of the 80s, except its still the 70s and you have one of the most baffled sounding guys warbling in your ear for a good chunk of it, once again in the best of ways. Actually, even better, it just feels like being trapped inside of a cold, derelict tin can (emphasis on the Can with the repetitive nature of most of these tracks) while there's a party down the street, and you're yelling for help, but the party is too loud and your screams are futile. If I haven't sold you yet, this album probably is not for you, but I had a good time, even if it is too long by the end.

Let this play on a whim about half a year ago, and while I very much liked it at the time, I could tell I wasn't totally prepared for it. It's not really an album you just put on casually, but something you really have to focus on, and when I knew I had some blind spots within the album, I left my true feelings for whenever it would appear randomly again, and here we are.

My thoughts are still relatively similar, with a strange amount of focus being necessary to gather the tranquil melodies from the noises overlaying the entirety of the album, and if you let it slip into the background, you're bound to miss some great moments. This time I was prepared, however, and made sure to give a listen to every guitar strum, every dreamy, synth-y riff, and Hell, I even think I caught a lyric or two! All of this leads the listener to finally get launched into the same galaxy as the band, to be on their wavelength, and to see the beauty in the messy. Sure, it scratches the parts of my brain that makes me happy, but it also is oddly is crystal clear once you start accepting your fate and embrace the bliss pouring out of every chord. It may not sound it at times due to the noise, but this is a very joyful album, melancholic at its most downer moments, and when you ease into that same joy, you come out just willing to hover alongside the songs, and that focus you tried so hard to retain melts away, and you just ooze into each and every track. While not every song is equal here, all of them strive for the same powerful wave of emotion to be swept over the listener, and it pulls that off in strides. You may not know where you are, what you're doing, or what's being said, but you know that you're loved, and in somewhere safe, despite its scary exterior, this can only be described as cosy, as if a direct opposition of the coldness of the 80s, and it nails that too. Its the perfect album for what it sets out to do, and while it may not be the average day listening sort of album, this album will be there for you when you need it, and I find it, that being Loveless, extremely lovely.

I was a tad worried by this album's opening track being a bit too stereotypical rock, but as soon as Venus presented itself (a song I know very well) it was "smooth" sailing from then on. You can hear so much of the DNA found in the music industry in this one album, with complex percussion, fantastic guitar solos/riffs, and lyrical content that seems to actually be trying to say something. That isn't to say none of these things existed in music prior, because obviously that isn't the case, but this album takes all of those features, whether it be its poeticism, or its almost jazz instrumentation, and makes it unabashedly a rock statement. Its almost like the anti-punk, with its long songs and complete and utter dreariness when examining the world and itself, but still has this rebellious energy that can easily be found in New York at the time, but somehow this just makes it feel all so devastating. Very little artists would be able to pull off a song like Marquee Moon, yet Television did it on their first try, and that is breathtakingly impressive. This may not be an album to dance to, or an album to jam out in the car with your friends to, but its still an album to FEEL something with, and considering it bore an entire genre of its own (albeit with some help of the likes of Brian Eno and Pere Ubu years before) its no wonder that this is considered essential listening today. It just strikes you the longer it goes on that you are listening to one of the highest forms of musical art, and I cannot express how amazing yet oddly terrifying that is at the same time.

I know this is probably the opposite of what many who love this album would want to hear, but someone please rap over this album, I beg of you! The drums, the bass, the samples, the mixes, it all beckons even the most simple minded, creatively stricken individual to start perusing his mind for a simple bar or two that would fit just right between the man and woman saying orange back and forth.

Otherwise, this album has an incredibly solid foundation that sadly is rarely built upon in a manner to warrant its egregious run time, both as a whole album, and on a song by song basis. This songs can be funky, cosy, hell, half the tracks can be downright creepy, but the feeling almost always abandons the listener by the end of the track because each song seems determined to either be too short to process, or too long to remember any important changes. Its a shame, because I would often get into every track, but the feeling of grooving along or just chilling would go away, and then I'd realize I still have three minutes of song left. Boards of Canada must be aware of this issue too, as the best song, Roygbiv, isn't even three minutes long, and takes full advantage of this time. I think were this to be produced outside of the CD era, it would be more efficient in its production, and this thing really does sound like its from the future, so this releasing even a decade later wouldn't hurt it at all. It really is crazy that this is 1998, but it either needs more to the songs, or less of them.

An honestly very jam band-y album, which while not unheard of in 1969 by any means, feels oddly out of place in an album format during a period of tight, condensed rock masterpieces. Instead, The Youngbloods seem to go in a different direction of something a bit more messy, with lots of influences from country, jazz, and psychedelia, and while it struggles to make it work for a good chunk of the album, it is commendable. Songs containing more laid out, predictable song structures seem to run away with my heart pretty easily, to the point where I wish it was mainly that, as they are often very pretty, with soft vocals and instrumentals while still having a tiny kick to them to ensure the listener doesn't fall asleep. However, nearly every song that doesn't follow this ideology is often iffy at best. Long, drawn out periods of seemingly random instruments playing with no cohesion or thought, stretched out sections that add nothing to the album, or at best you get a dull folk rock track that leaves far too much to be desired to be a true tip. Sunlight and Ride the Wind are easily my favorites, but the other thirty minutes can have you tuning out and just like that four songs have gone by with nothing to grab the listeners interest. Its an album of potential, but considering they seemed to do very little like this album before or after, mainly reaching for that blues rock crowd, I imagine this faded mainly into obscurity until being included on the 1001 Album list, and I can find very little to say otherwise.

This is the peak of electronic music, this is where it ends, and while other albums have tried to revitalize it in its entirety, whether that be the rise and fall of dubstep, its influence on pop music, or even good attempts such as Daft Punk's Random Access Memories, this is still where I consider it to have gone all out. It scratches every itch in my brain with its sharp melodies, while still knowing when to make a fantastic pop song or two, and on the opposite spectrum making the most sinister club bangers to ever be on market, all made on GarageBand of all things. There's rich instrumentation, fantastic bass, and I really love the more experimental stuff, such as the radio fuzz in Newjack, or the raw terror of Stress, which is perhaps the most apt song title in music history. Every single song here gets me hyped instantly, whether I actually feel like moving, am just driving my car, or sitting at home, this album always gets me in the mood to fucking jam. And those transitions! They're holy, some of the best in music. You can start this album and play it through to the end as one big song and be just as satisfied, something I feel a lot of albums from the 2000s lack. There isn't a track on here that I haven't adored at some point, and I truly find it to be a masterclass of music in general. I see why some would find it be generic, especially after the before mentioned dupstep boom, but for 2006 this is out of this world. It wears its influences on its sleeve, yes, but it elevates those influences to be something greater, and I truly think there is no match for it, save for perhaps Daft Punk's Discovery (well, and Sparks' No. 1 in Heaven but we're talking about another world with that one) and I'm so glad to have it in my life. The whole album is as if you were to ascend to Heaven and find out its just one big rave up there, and that is perhaps my favorite depiction of Heaven, and the religious iconography is a cool set piece without feeling cheesy. I just adore this record. God!

This certainly pulled itself together at the last second to become something I can at least say was alright, but for most of this album I found myself bored of Julian Cope's impression of Iggy Pop performing Velvet Underground songs that plagued the first half, and the more out there stuff on the second half, while better, often struggled to gather my attention more than a simple head bop, but at least it started to do something that didn't feel like britpop's response to the more avant-garde, and I'd even say I enjoyed a bit of it by closing time, but it just took far too long to get there, with very little happening that you could just achieve by listening to any other musical artist, most of which made said better songs and albums two decades or more before this. It isn't bad, just unnecessary really, and the CD era strikes again to hammer that feeling in further.

The Police have some great tracks, we all know this, but how many of us have taken it upon themselves to explore a whole album from the band? Well, obviously quite a few of us, but the point still stands, I was going in completely blind here despite my knowledge of the first track on here, and while at first I was worried because the A-Side seemed to feature similar, arguably repetitive tracks that were technically good, but boring otherwise, but the B-side was filled with that weird shit that I quite like. The drummer singing? Sure! More odd backing tracks rather than the stereotypical bloopy reggae stuff? Go for it! I just appreciated the change up, it made the album feel a lot more memorable, and while the A-side was far more in line with what I imagine Police fans would want, I was digging the B-side's zainy nature a lot more. Nothing here beats the song Synchronicity II, and in turn I'm excited to get around to that album more than this one, but I was pretty happy with this one. Here's hoping that I enjoy the Police as a hits band and a deep cuts band.

You know, I really thought I'd hate this enough that it would instantly go into my shit list. I mean, I always thought AC/DC sucked, and I still do; the vocals are terrible, the riffs are boring, and each song feels like a copy paste job of the last, although usually worse. HOWEVER, this album was just dreadfully boring, and I don't know if that's enough of a sin to be instantly cast away. It's repetitive, but at least its relatively short, they could have easily stretched this out another twenty minutes and sixty year old dudes would still lap it up as if its the highest form of music, so I respect it for keeping it mercifully brief. Some of the tracks on here suck, and the whole thing reeks of soiled adult diapers, but I just don't have enough energy to care. Its bad, its terrible even, but its not the worst. Still getting a one though, lol

Still flabbergast by my opinion of Disintegration, I've been even more shocked by the fact that I seem to enjoy every other Cure album (that I've heard) more!

This album has those moody bass riffs, that brooding atmosphere, and just an overall cold exterior yet warm interior that will make a listener feel right at home as they ooze into the angst of it all, but just threatening enough to scare off any unwanted guests. Sometimes they dive too deep into this side of them, leading to songs that feel like lesser copies of others, but often times it hits it right on the head to deliver something that feels like the perfect statement entering the 1980s. None of this is startling, per se, but it is distant, and you have to reach out for it in order to make a true connection with the songs here, and while not everything hits, its still doing its best to invite you into a growing subculture that I think this album is a great poster-child for. Not too pop-y, not too alienating, its the perfect goth rock album, and while that can only get you so far in today's world, I find this to be an incredible solid piece of work for that time-frame. Perhaps its the cold exterior of this album instead of the lush instrumentals of Disintegration that makes me prefer it, who knows? All I'm saying is I had a very good time here, and the short run time certainly helps.

It takes some getting used to her voice, and in turn I could see listening to the songs on this album out of context from each other could lead to annoyance, but once I got over that hurdle, this was a pretty good punk album. It feels just pop enough for its anti-establishment attitude to feel a tad tongue and cheek, something the album refers to a decent amount of time, and the variation on the genre, not only with a female lead vocalist in a male-dominated genre, but also with the inclusion of new wave elements a year before The Clash made that a standard in London Calling, and saxophone playing to make it stand out instrumentally as well. It doesn't even suffer from the repetitive tone issues that plague many a punk album, having enough speed-up and slowdown to feel like there was actually some thought put behind it all. It can still fall into that grating sound at times, and I'll admit I don't remember a great deal about the record when it comes to specifics, but as a whole I'm glad I enjoyed this pretty solidly, and perhaps this means I should start exploring the feminine side of the punk movement, because so far it seems a lot more honest, and therefore, good, in my eyes.

I've had high hopes for this album, and I'll be honest, I'm not totally sure why. Perhaps because I like the album cover, or the outfit Patti Smith is wearing, but I hardly knew anything about the music itself. So, going in and realizing it wasn't totally my cup of tea did hurt a little, as I really wanted to like this, but it never really grabbed me, save for a manic display of songwriting power here and there. It is good though, I can recognize that, it really does feel like "stream of consciousness" the album, and that can be a blessing, and a curse. However, as someone who generally fails to get passed the intial barrier of entry for proto-punk, you can do a lot worse than this.

My sibling has always said this album reminded them of my late grandfather, and while I don't totally see it, I do get the vibe that those who would've heard this album when it released would've been the coolest of cool, a total cowboy in the truest of (fictional) forms. The guitar playing is great, the singing is great, and its all got this mix of coziness and great storytelling, like watching one of those Western TV shows. Its repetitive, I'd even say some songs sound the exact same save for a chord here or there, but I still enjoyed myself enough. Perhaps cut out some of the fluff and this would be like an exciting addition to a story you were already in the middle of, but instead it has too much filler. Someone should make a list of all the episodes (songs) I have to watch (listen to) so I can skip the fluff, eh?

The album instantly hits you with a fully realized version of multiple music tropes. You have the "I Can't Help Falling In Love With You" cover, you've got the Canon in D like chord progression, and you've got it all under the veil of British sadness that was oh so prevalent. Normally this would be a terrible combination that I would hate listening to even a second of, but Spiritualized does it with such finesse and beauty that its hard not to be blown away by something you've assuredly heard thousands of times in other songs. Perhaps its the space-age instrumentation, or the layering upon layering of vocals, all until your brain is fuzzy, but no matter what it is great, and was worth the price of admission alone.

However, the rest of the album is mostly a snooze fest, ranging from generic 90s rock that doesn't stand out whatsoever among its contemporaries, to music that is just random noises for the sake of what I can only assume is creating the best drug trip album ever, and not actually for the sake of music. Sometimes you will get something good peeking through, such as the devastating Broken Heart or the Pink Floyd-inspired Stay With Me and Cop Shoot Cop... but most of this album is forgettable to even bad at points, and should have honestly stuck with the "floating in space" mindset the first track nails, rather than bringing it back down to Earth for needless blues rock-esque numbers and thinking random instruments layered with no cohesion is even kind of achieving the effect they're going for. If anything its sobering, which is not a good thing for this sort of album. Its an album with hints of something better, but the best way to describe it is as a disappointment, with moments that shine through to keep the experience somewhat positive. I was, however, just waiting for the whole album to end so I could re-listen to the first track again, so I'd say stick with that one.

This album is proof to me that I've gone soft whennit comes to music. That, or I've broadened my horizons when it comes to the medium, but I'd be surprised something like that happened so quickly. I say that because I used to quite dislike this album, and as recently as Autumn of 2023, I still didn't get the Band. However, this listen I found myself quite enjoying this. Sure, its got a lot of dull moments, especially in the middle of the album, but it has a feeling of amateur, fireside music with some true passion behind the music, and I found a lot of the songs sticking with me more than I would have ever expected it to. Its repetitive tonally, I don't think all the hits are zingers, and I still totally see why I disliked this only half a year ago, but there was just something nice about this go around. Perhaps that's the power of a good set of headphones, or maybe I'm getting soft suddenly, but I enioyed this. I'm actually quite happy about that, as I've always enjoyed Bob Dylan's artwork as the cover, so I was sad all that time that this didn't live up to the hype for me. Still just an alright album, but I'll say I'm certainly pleasantly surprised. Suppose that should tell you to check in with the music you don't like every now and then, you may just change your mind.

Save for the first track, I recognize the album cover more than any of the tracks on the album. They're not bad songs, but they can tend to be dull, and feel ot their era, which just means I imagine this album will get worse with age, but at least I would call nothing on the record bad, just a bit dry, and could stand to vary itself a bit. There's cool moments such as that iconic intro or the overwhelming bass on Fantasy, but otherwise this feels like an album reaching for the critical acclaim, and judging from the reaction at the time, I'd say they got what they wanted. However, I've seen no one mention the xx since, and it has me wondering how many agree with my poorly aged sentiment. For now, its just okay. Light three.

If you want to know how ignorant I was (and arguably still am) about music, I'd not heard of Japan until I played Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain a number of years ago, and I always remembered Quiet Life being one of the weaker tracks on that game's soundtrack. To be fair, its hard to discern quality over the sound effects of a guy huffing and puffing, but I basically did not touch this song, and in turn this album, until right now, nearly a decade later. I wasn't NOT looking forward to this though, I mean, Japan is pretty well liked in small circles, and there is no denying that David Sylvian isn't SO HOT DUDE OH MY GOD HUBBA HUBBA AWOOGA HONK HON-

Excuse me.

So, I had some amount of hope this would be a good time, and I'd say it was! Quiet Life is far more appealing with a good set of headphones, and the whole album gives me Duran Duran vibes, but in a good, more sophisticated way, as if I'm listening to Hungry Like the Wolf for the intellectual. It isn't really like that, its pretty predictable, albeit grand pop music, but I still had a good time listening, and I think this album has its own charm that sets it apart from its contemporaries, such as tHE LEAD SINGER MMM GIVE ME SOME OF THAT B-OING WOO WO-

But I seriously think this could be a good time if you go in knowing what to expect. Its a tad dated, and starts to drag near the end, but there's enough here to be a more romantic view of a musical era (new wave) that tends to be overdone in a modern setting. Looking forward to digging into more Japan stuff in the future, I've heard their albums after this one are even better.

There's some part of my brain that seems to have taught itself that Megadeth was the weakest link of the "big four," with them just eating Metallica's dust. However, actually listening to their respective albums has taught me anything but. This album goes hard, REAL hard, and tapes you to your seat instantly with the one-two combo that is Holy Wars and Hangar 18 back-to-back. Its an insane pair that sets the tone for the rest of the album perfectly, something it rarely strays from, and other than some miniscule hiccups, the album keeps you enthralled with excellent instrumentation and Dave Mustaine's unique yet catchy vocal delivery. I understand why would could find this grating, but you're doing it wrong if you don't find at least one song to love here. Best part is it doesn't overstay its welcome, leading to a brisk pace that makes sure the listener isn't just sitting there waiting for the next tune. I mean, you already heard the best at the start, so why not just enjoy the rest? Not to say the rest isn't trying to be just as good, with golden nuggets of thrash excellency peppered all over the record, with the whole album truly climaxing at that Tornado of Souls solo, which still stands to be one of the best in the industry. Just a destructive force of album, but one that perhaps it would be worth to reckon with, just so you too can understand Megadeth superiority.

Surprisingly good for what I expected to be just a stereotypical pick for the 1001 Albums list to fill out a quota, and while some of that generic sound is there, especially in the middle, the instrumentation is catchy, the singing is usually quality, and I would say I enjoyed a good chunk of the songs to some extent, especially that opener, what a great tune! It just fails to leave a lasting impression compared to film soundtracks, and as an album its lacking, but taking it at face value I'll admit I was expecting worse, so this was a pleasant, albeit forgettable, surprise.

I understand that UB40 is a very left leaning, interracial, mega reggae band from a time when most of those words in that order could make an old woman faint with shock whilst her husband shakes his head disapprovingly, but this music feels anything but rebellious; I'd even say it even comes off a bit ignorant, but I know very little of the socio-economic status in the United Kingdom forty years ago, so perhaps I'm the ignorant one. It just all feels like capitalizing on others' sounds and songs to make bloopy, outdated pop tracks that you could see making their way to and through the radio waves, and spinning it to feel like you're fighting against something big and overpowering like the UK government, but in reality those within the UK government were the ones spinning the record! I think it all lines up pretty well with tha album having a cover of Strange Fruit to (basically) close out the record. Does it fit the M.O. of the band and their beliefs? Yes, undoubtedly, but a song so powerful and heartbreaking feels nothing but disrespected to be surrounded by tracks for forty-year-old hipsters to get high to, while the cover itself is already rough with its synth-heavy wubs and beachy tones. Does it all match reggae and the genre's goal? Sure, but it just feels too quaint for the subject matter at hand, and the whole record matches that issue. Throw in way too many instrumental tracks that seemingly serve no purpose in an already bloated track listing (seventy minutes? And they have the audacity to make the D-side only nine minutes long? Seems like highway robbery) and you've got yourself a record that perhaps would've done something en masse in 1980, but now just comes off in poor taste at best, purposefully malicious at worst.

As for the songs themselves? They're fine, incredibly dull and repetitive, with very little in the way of getting the listener re-engageed, save for throwing one of the singles in halfway through to wake everyone up, but they certainly aren't bad songs, save for one or two. Its just a shame that something that easily could've been a random record with nothing offensive or inoffensive and been forgotten near instantly is instead probably going to stick with me due to its over zealous nature, and that will only lead to more disdain as time passes.