Reviews by giddy

I have to be missing something, right? Like, there's no way I like their debut MORE than this? Well, I guess I do, but I reslly don't know why. I mean, this one is decent, but even the good songs I can't remember after finishing them, and his voice feels really grating when not doing proper punk tunes. There is enough here to be enjoyable, but that's probably because it's a double album that goes much longer than it needed to. Really mixed on this way, but I for sure don't see the hype.

Not at quite the same quality as Supa Dupa Fly, but the features are still used very well, and some of the beats are nice. I like the emphasised use of R&B stylings, because Missy Elliott can certainly sing, makes me surprised she didn't do one that's just that. Unless, of course, it's not her singing on some of these? I suppose that's possible. Anyway, still decent.

I've been interested in this one, considering it's believed to be up there as one of the hip-hop greats, and it was certainly good, but I did expect a bit more. For instance, this is labeled Jazz-Rap, but I feel the jazz influences are very light, due to the simplified production. You won't be finding any interesting jazz riffs save for one or two. Q-Tip's voice and flow is still super tight though, and I really recommend you walk with earbuds whilst listening, and you'll get pretty into it. This one may grow on me in future listens, but for now, while I get the praise, I don't think I can put it way up there.

Of course I know Rage Against the Machine, but I've never really listened to any of their deep cuts, save for one or two, so listening to a whole albums of theirs is new for me. I do quite enjoy this, super bumping with each song, just probably a bit repetitive, with each song following the same general format. Still good, and goes hard.

I was worried at first, as the first few tracks were certainly not grabbing my attention, despite being the singles for the album so I was worried that despite my (controversial) love for A Short Album About Love that this album would not reach even close to the same level of quality. However, after those first tracks, this album just starts rocketing off with quality song after quality song. Hannon's voice starts shining through again, and the strings are just as excellent as always. I've also come to really appreciate the goofy lyrics, as so much Britpop takes itself too seriously, and this feels like this guy was certainly in on the joke. I do wish the album grabbed me quicker and was shorter, but I really like quite a few tracks here, and look forward to getting to know them better.

This dude really likes horses, huh?

You know what, fuck it, this album is also amazing. I re-listened, and while some of the early tracks are still lacking, all the tracks after are so amazing, like Franz Ferdinand's lead singer singing parody James Bond themes, its the perfect schlocky album but in the best of ways. Plus, it could use the extra help on the average rating, it seems. I suppose I can officially say I'm a fan of the Divine Comedy.

MGMT understands the enjoyment of being enveloped in a wave of sound like a shoegaze album whilst keeping the catchy hooks like your favorite pop song. This leads to an album that certainly has its fantastic hits and moments on it, and the whole album otherwise is still incredibly solid. My only worry, and the reason it stays from the five range, is I question how much this will stick with me past the singles. Some of the sounds of songs already allude me just after the album ends, and it does sort of give off the vibe of the music the alternative kid listens to just to stand out, albeit far better than most other groups that fall into that genre. I certainly don't dislike it, far from it, I just could use some more form in my pop and some more overwhelming noises in my wall of sound.

This definitely peaks with the first song, as the rest of the album is very bland proto-rock 'n' roll with no substance save for some nice instrumentals and surprises peppered throughout (the instrumental, the guitar in the final track, etc.). It certainly isn't a bad album, but considering this album is already confusing enough to track down what to listen to, it isn't really worth the end result.

I've actually heard this album before via my partner getting it probably nearly a year ago now. I do remember liking it more then, as a lot of songs here do blend into each other for me into one homogenised "album", never feeling a drive to listen to a single song, but that isn't a bad thing, right? That's sort of the point of an album, at least in 1968 it was. I still like this quite a bit, with her voice being a standout point of the album for me, and musically it is very pretty too. It's a lighter four than expected, but it has that same melancholic enjoyment as something like a Simon and Garfunkel album.

Can I stop listening to this? This is boring at best and disgusting at worst. Nothing here earns that musical quality seal to excuse some of the things said on here, and while I know that's the point, that doesn't mean I want to listen to it. Yes, the scratching and some of the beats are rarely good, but any album that thinks using Canon in D as a back beat is clever is no musical genius in my eyes. I'm only halfway through this and already want to stop, and that's rare for an album, even my one stars.

After finishing it (although I did skip a good chunk of the songs once I figured out he was just gonna be rapping about rectums once again) I can confirm this is the lowest of the low. This may be my least favorite album so far, and if not, it's still terrible.

I'm a big fan of the shared riffs between the bass and guitar throughout the album, it not only feels very vindicating to get an album with the bass playing at the forefront, but it makes it so they're all catchy too. I'll admit every song here starts to sound the same, I wouldn't be surprised if they were all born from the same general idea, but the slight changes they make to each one pushes some songs to being really pumping tunes, like the opening credits to a really fast paced film. I just wish the singing on it fit the oomph of the rest of the instruments a bit more, as his voice can feel a little wimpy, like Ray Davies trying to sing how he sings on Village Green whilst performing You Really Got Me. Then again, someone else sang on this album at a point, and that voice sounded much worse, so maybe it's for the best? Album could've stood to be shorter, even at it's short runtime already (again, lots of repeats), but if you're in the right mood, the blood-pumping is good.

I have to agree with the top review, this is the best Elvis Costello I've heard, but I don't mean that in quite as negative of a light! There is quite a bit here to enjoy, with Costello feeling liking he is putting the most effort into the music he's making more than anything else that I've heard, and it doesn't fall into that problem a lot of his music has where he never hooks me with the songs, as there are quite a few songs here that catch my attention. The issue is that even with most of the songs being pretty short they still feel too long and never do anything particularly interesting, at least, most of the time. Good album, I'd say, but still doesn't quite hit that four star mark, and I'm worried if this one doesn't, none of them will.

We did it everyone, a rap album has received a five! It took over a year, but I kind of figured this would be the first, and I hadn't even heard it before. Kendrick Lamar has certainly become someone I highly respect since I got Good Kid a while ago, being such an excellent artist that I will happily praise in my free time, and this artist was my white whale that I was waiting for the right time to listen to, and after finally getting to, I understand all of the hype. Not only is the story and lyrical content interest enough that I'm invested throughout, something that a lot of hip-hop albums struggle to get me attached to, but the jazz influences throughout make the album something so wildly different from everything else in the genre that there is nothing to match it. Each song fits with the ones before and after it while still feeling wildly unique. Even the songs I would consider "lesser" on the album had me getting into them pretty closely, and despite the length of the album, I never once was dreading the next song. Features were well thought out and used incredibly well, and again I just have to praise the instrumentation. I can totally see why Bowie was influenced so much by this on Blackstar, and that just earns the album more praise from me. A true masterpiece.

I'm a fan of Johnny Cash when he's on and performing, but I've never gone outta my way to listen to his music, and this hasn't really changed my mind, but it was still a nice enough live performance. Pretty crazy to think the room is full of criminals and he's just cracking jokes about the wardens with them, really makes him seem like a cool dude, but the music itself was just okay. Got a bit repetitive near the end.

I thought this would be right up my alley, but it's just okay. I think it isn't funky enough for my taste, and I don't see this album doing anything that Talking Heads doesn't do better. It has got some pretty funny and non-serious lyrics, which I appreciate quite a bit.

I may just not be the mood for an album like this at the moment, but this album impressed me far less than their prior album. I feel a lot of songs almost hit the mark, but then either went on too long and made me lose interest, or felt more like I was being yelled at, in a weird, not yell-y way. Pros are there, such as the inclusion of pretty solid string sections, and a song like Been Caught Stealing is of course a banger, but this just feels like snippets of a better album, yet runs longer than that better album probably would. I sound overwhelmingly negative here, so I should specify that this is still an alright album, and will be getting a light three, but I am pretty disappointed. Again, though, could be that I'm just not in the mood for this style of music.

This album is really cool sounding, it feels like nothing else I've ever heard. Sure, that does equate to a lot of it just coming off as harsh noise and not something I'd listen to casually all the time, but this does feel like a natural evolution of much of the music that was being made out of the UK in the 90s and early 00s. It's like some really heavy metal, but lightened up with some alternative dust and synths to make it more appealing, and it works. Could see myself liking this more on a future listen, so I'll get ahead of the curb and give this a solid score now.

Despite some of the songs on this album sounding like the soundtrack to a Ford truck commercial, this album does enough to stand out as its own thing and not the just be the rock band you hear on the "alternative" rock radio station. However, that difference is still rather boring, with songs blending together towards the halfway point of the album, and very little making it easy to tell the tracks apart. I wouldn't call this solely a rock album, but just like that genre, it's so vague what this album presents it's hard to have strong feelings about it. The film centered around this band from the same year seems interesting though, and I assume that may be why this album was on the list. Also weird that Julian Casablancas got it distributed over here in the United States. Small musical world.

An album that is definitely proto-punk from the mid-60s. Sadly, it doesn't nail either side of the coin, just leaving no impression. Some of the lyrics are kind of funny, and the instruments at times nail that intensity that punk has, but its pretty forgettable all things considered. I can see why I had to hear this, but it isn't going in my musical rotation any time soon.

How is this supposed to be on here? I'm guessing because it's traditional country in an era of Reagan-infused-country, but that doesn't make this good. Were this an album from the 50s or early 60s I'd give it some wiggle room, but this is the same year as Teenage Riot, for God's sake, Havwe some edge, something interesting, ANYTHING. It's a two star album, but this gets a one on principle. I will say the instrumentals are nice.

It's kind of hard to rate this album, as I've known most of these tracks for quite a few years now, into my single digits, so to critically rate them is hard to do as something fresh. I used to think that this album went too far off the deep end compared to Nevermind, but listening to this now, while I'll still say this is lesser to Nevermind, this is also fantastic. You can tell Cobain and crew were much more into the music they were making here, and the creative variety really shines here. I could see why some may see this as too much, but that's exactly what makes it so fantastic. It's that first Nirvana album mixed with the commercial success they tasted from Nevermind, making just hit after hit, turning out an album in which a song like "Rape Me" could become a relatively mainstream hit. No other band could even dream of doing that. Kurt's voice is fantastic, the drums are great, and it'd be hard to discredit anything here. It's like Endless, Nameless becoming a full album, and just like that song, it takes a few listens, but then it truly becomes something fantastic.