Reviews by heavymetal

Well, I'll do my best to separate art from artist here, but there is a lot to separate. I’ve been avoiding Kanye since long before he became a Nazi; I just cannot stand his narcissistic and egotistical persona.

How am I not even halfway through this album yet? This album is too long. Ugh, and just when I thought it was done with annoying skits, another one pops up. Seriously, why do rap albums need skits? I'm also not a fan of this whole "chipmunk soul" style; something about pitched and sped up samples just gets on my nerves after a while.

Ok, ok, I'll try to be a bit more positive. I did like this a lot more than some of the previous hip hop albums I've been generated. Lyrically, it's a lot more interesting and it doesn't just devolve into generic gangsta rap cliches. A few tracks stood out too. In particular, I did like School Spirit and Two Words quite a bit.

Oh my god, I thought I was almost done, but noticed the last track is almost 13 minutes. I'll say it again, this album is way too long. Oh good, it’s
a 13 minute long autobiographical rant/rap? Just what I wanted to listen to from a narcissist. Holy shit, this track just destroyed any positive feelings I had for this album. I genuinely hated that.

I tried, but this just isn't for me and Kanye is a fucking tool.

I enjoyed this one a lot more than Here, My Dear. The same smooth, funky, soul music, but this time it's more sexy and less resentful divorcee. Also a much more manageable run time to this one.

This is the third or fourth album in the past couple weeks that I was fully expecting to dislike, but came away pleasantly surprised. I love the jangly, funky guitar and the bass is super smooth. However, some of the songs get a bit too repetitive and long; At Last I Am Free in particular was getting on my nerves by the end.

There’s definitely a time and place for this music. That said, if I ever magically happened to find myself in a disco club in the late 70s, I’d hightail it out of there and head straight to CBGBs instead

My only experience with bossa nova music is knowing the Girl from Ipanema like basically everyone else in the world and using the bossa nova setting on the funky little 1970s drum machine I own. Overall, this album feels like a great introduction to bossa nova music. It was an enjoyable and very fun listen, but I felt it was a bit repetitive near the end and was maybe a bit too easy listening at times. Luckily, it really doesn't overstay its welcome at all.

I honestly wasn’t expecting to like this one at all, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was really quite an enjoyable listen and Son of a Preacher Man is such a classic!

This album has a pretty different vibe than the last Tim Buckley album that was generated. Where Happy Sad was a maudlin folk and jazz fusion, Goodbye and Hello has a lot more psychedelic and fantasy/renaissance influence and feels a bit happier. Overall, enjoyed this one quite a bit. Probably a little more than Happy Sad even.

Another electronica album that I actually enjoyed a lot more than I was expecting. It helps that I actually knew a few songs on here, like Praise You and Right Here, Right Now. Both of which are nostalgic songs that remind me of listening to Big Shiny Tunes CDs growing up.

That said, I was getting pretty tired of the repetitiveness of the album about halfway through. So yeah, a few awesome songs on here, but I still don't love electronica

I've been a fan of the Silver Jews for a while now. They've got a great alt-country/indie rock vibe, but I feel like I need to be in the right mood to listen to their music. This album is a bit on the dark and depressing side, which doesn't always make for the best listening experience.

Hell yes, this is why I’m doing this project! So far two of my best discoveries have been the Violent Femmes and the Minutemen. Both were bands I’d been aware of, but had never really explored. Firehose on the other hand, I’d never even heard of, but they sound like a mix of the Violent Femmes and Minutemen. Great album!

Not quite as magical as his father's work, but still an absolutely fun listen! I am always down for a little bit of afrobeat!

Another band that I used to absolutely adore when I was younger, but it just doesn't do all that much for me now. It was fun revisiting this heavy, sludgy desert rock, but I don't think it's convinced me to return any more frequently. Still a solid album though!

Back in 2008, I bought tickets to see R.E.M., Modest Mouse, and the National. I was mainly interested in Modest Mouse, but I knew a couple R.E.M. and National songs, so I was fairly excited for all three. It turns out the National were by far the best band on stage that night, which ignited an obsession that lasted a few years.

High Violet isn’t my favourite National album, but it is up near the top. Probably top 3 at least. And it has some of my favourite National songs on it like Lemonworld and Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks. I still think Alligator or Boxer would have been a better pick for this list.

I am surprised how much I enjoyed this album. The 80s production is incredibly dated at a few points and some of the songs are incredibly cheesy, but there are also some pretty great tracks on here. In particular, the opening track If You All Get to Heaven and the closing track Who’s Loving You both do the rocking soul thing pretty well. And the singing in As Yet Untitled was phenomenal

Had I been asked if I’d ever heard anything by Moby before, I’d probably would have said, “maybe, but I couldn’t be sure”, but it turns out I actually knew several tracks on this album.

Also surprising that I might actually like this? As far as electronica goes, this was pretty enjoyable as it was a lot more than just repetitive dance beats.

This is some incredibly cheesy 80s synthpop. It’s well done; great beats, great production, but just too cheesy for my taste.

Rocking in the New Year with some Radiohead and a nasty flu. I don’t have the energy to think of something witty or interesting to say about this album. It’s just a great album

Honestly, not much to say about this one. It’s smooth funky soul music. I enjoyed listening to it, but it definitely overstayed its welcome a bit especially with the whole theme of complaining about his divorce. There were a few individual tracks I really enjoyed, but I can’t see myself returning to this one as whole in the future.

This band is pure nostalgia for me. It’s 1998, I'm 7 years old, and my neighbours just got a PlayStation. We’re sitting there playing Crash Bandicoot and the older brother puts on the Offspring’s Americana. I’m blown away as this is the first time I’m really hearing music other than what my parents normally listen to and it’s just so damned cool! Smash and Americana went on to become the soundtrack to playing PlayStation at their house that summer.

Once again I am finding that I just absolutely love these early punk / proto-punk bands. This album was a great time!

It's kind of funny, my summary has punk listed as my favourite genre from the generator and yet, I don't think I've really gotten a single true punk or hardcore record. Several proto-punk and post-punk records, but no Ramones, Sex Pistols, Black Flag, Minor Threat, etc.

I’ve spoken pretty poorly about britpop throughout this project; I even groaned when I saw it was another britpop album this morning. Luckily, when I threw this album on, I was reminded that Pulp are probably the britpop act I’ve enjoyed the most so far. There’s definitely a lot more of a Bowie influence that I can hear in Pulp than a lot of the other britpop acts.