Reviews by heavymetal

This fits somewhere between avant-garde jazz and prog rock and is fully experimental in nature, which I absolutely loved. My only gripe is his singing on Moon in June. I am all for an unconventional singer and have no issues with the stream of consciousness lyrics, but this wasn’t a gravelly Tom Waits or a nasally Bob Dylan or even a lispy Isaac Brock. It was just tuneless and not enjoyable to listen to.

I genuinely cannot stand this guy's delivery. It's not even proper spoken word. It's all stunted. He has negative flow. I also just didn't care for the concept or story. Overall, I did not enjoy this album at all.

The Beach Boys have really been growing on me throughout this project. Going in I really only knew their hits and I genuinely didn’t understand the praise or comparisons they frequently drew, which to be fair they are not a greatest hits kind of band and are best experienced through full albums. They finally clicked for me some time during my second listen of Pet Sounds, which was the last album the generator gave me.

Surf’s up is the first Beach Boys album that pulled me in right away. Likely because I finally started to understand and appreciate them after Pet Sounds, but also partially because this is the most outwardly psychedelic sounding album of theirs that I’ve heard.

I’m surprised to see so much dislike for Student Demonstration Time. I genuinely didn’t think it was a bad song despite the lyrics being a bit too easily construed as an anti-protest song. I was expecting Revolution 9 levels of experimentalism, which is actually another maligned song that I really don’t mind.

Also, aside from the music, the cover for Surf’s Up is probably one of my all-time favourite album covers.

I had absolutely no context going into this album, but it was a fun mix of genres. Felt a bit like Beck from the UK with some Indian music roots. I had a great time with it.

For an album that didn't sell well, was critically ignored, and wasn't released outside the UK until nearly 10 years later, this was a surprisingly good folk rock album. That said, it does lose a little steam by the end and I'm not sure if I'll ever return to this one.

This has been one of the more interesting listening experiences I’ve had from the project. First of all, I managed to completely overlooked this album because of the name change from the Stooges to Iggy & the Stooges. I guess I shouldn't have assumed that all of their music was in one place on streaming services.

Anyways, I started with Iggy’s mix because, in general, I always prefer to hear what the artist actually wants to be heard. Unsurprisingly, I loved the album because I am a sucker for proto-punk and I love the Stooges. However, I had to follow it up with the Bowie mix to see how different it was and, wow, is it ever different! They’re basically two different albums and I genuinely wasn’t sure which one I preferred, so I ended up doing a final track-by-track comparison of both mixes.

Apparently I’m split right down the middle on this one, and I feel like this will change the next time I listen to this album, but my preferences as of right now:
- Search and Destroy - Iggy mix
- Gimme Danger - Bowie mix
- Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell - Bowie mix
- Penetration - Iggy mix
- Raw Power - Bowie mix
- I Need Somebody - Bowie mix
- Shake Appeal - Iggy mix
- Death Trip - Iggy mix

I feel like Iggy’s mix was a bit more cohesive, but also ended up being a bit muddy at times. Nothing really stood out and some of the instrumentation kind of faded into the background. Bowie’s mix on the other hand provides a lot more clarity and separation, but it doesn’t always feel as cohesive and sometimes feels a bit thin. Reading up on the recording and mixing process and it doesn’t seem like it was an ideal situation for anyone involved. I haven’t studied music production or engineering (although I have strongly considered it), but this album should probably have at least a lesson or two dedicated to it.

I really enjoyed this album; a very interesting mix of African and South American sounds and rhythms with old school hip-hop. Malcolm McLaren was absolutely ahead of the curve with this album (and apparently many other trends), but it's an absolute shame that the didn't credit any of the actual world musicians that actually wrote the majority of the music on this album. Shout out to the real heroes: Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens, the Boyoyo Boys, MD Shirinda and the Gaza Sisters, The Roan Mountain Hilltoppers, and all the other uncredited, unknown session musicians.

An interesting read with some direct comparisons to the songs that he ripped off: https://www.sundaytimes.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times/lifestyle/2021-03-28-criminal-record-how-malcolm-mcclaren-ripped-off-sa-musicians/

This was good, but I didn't quite enjoy it as much as Sound Affects. They definitely wear their influences on their sleeves; I found there were a few songs on Sound Affects that sounded a lot like Beatles and there's a few songs on All Mod Con that sound a lot like the Who. There's also bits that sound a bit like the Clash and the Police although they were all around at the same time as the Jam, so it'd be hard to say who influenced who. On the other side, I feel like Oasis definitely owe a lot of their sound and image to these guys.

I want to like this album. A Toronto based alt-country band records an entire album around a single microphone in a church. That sounds great! And it was a very pleasant album, but it was slooooooooooooooooow and nothing really grabbed my attention or really stood out beyond the Velvet Underground cover. I am happy to have listened to it, but I was really hoping for a bit more grit from a band called the Cowboy Junkies, and I don’t see myself returning to this one.

A protopunk band that feels like direct descendants of the Velvet Underground and the Doors? On paper I should love this band and I'm honestly not sure why it didn't quite hit right for me this morning. That said, I didn't dislike it. I did enjoy listening to it; it just didn't blow me away and I don't have a strong desire to return to it.

While Kate Bush found a perfect mix of 80s pop sensibilities and experimentalism on Hounds of Love, she was going full on experimental art pop for the Dreaming. There are still some pop sensibilities on the Dreaming, but they're hiding behind layers of strange samples and instrumentation, weird singing styles and effects, and unconventional song structures. It takes a few listens to really start making any sense of this album, but it's quite rewarding once you get there.

This was an interesting listen. I really enjoyed a few songs on here like Friday Night and Dreamer. Dreamer in particular is a really cool, funky song with the incredibly deep tuba and the horn section. Thoughts of You sounds like it could have been a Daniel Johnston song had he recorded in a full studio rather than on a 4-track. Overall, not sure if I'll ever come back to this, but I did like it a lot more than at least one of the Beach Boys albums I've been generated.

The Jesus and Mary Chain are another band I've heard mentioned countless times that I've just never gotten around to checking out. This feels like a mix of 60s psychedelic jangle pop and 80s gothic new wave. It all comes together as a solid alt rock album that was clearly quite influential. Reading that they felt burdened by accusations that they were hiding behind feedback and the wall of noise approach on Psychocandy makes me suspect I'll actually like Psychocandy a fair bit more.

Fela Kuti is by far one of my favourite discoveries from this list. I ended up listening to this album as well as several others after having Zombie generated on day 56 and I've come back to them many times since then. Afrobeat is just so infectious and hypnotic; I could listen to this all day.

I always know it’s going to be a great day when the generator graces me with a Tom Waits album. I'm a bit sad that I only have two more to look forward to from the generator after this.

Nighthawks at the Diner is so focused on the atmosphere that it feels overdone, almost satirical. This isn’t just some jazz band playing any old jazz club, it’s an absolute caricature of the jazz band playing the seediest, late night, smoke filled jazz club. Everything is accentuated; it’s the corniest jokes, the wildest of stories, the most gravelly singing, the most enthusiastic cheers, jeers, and jabs from the audience, the smoothest bass, the most sensual saxophone, the smokiest smoke, and the strongest cocktails. All of it is turned up to 11. It’s also wild that, while this was technically recorded in a studio, it was actually setup and played as a live show, including an old-time burlesque dancer that Tom knew as an opening act. That would have definitely helped set the incredibly seedy mood they were going for on this album.

While I prefer the junkyard persona that he adopts in later years, I’d be happy listening to Tom Waits reading the news out loud with some smooth jazz in the background any day, which is something he basically does on Emotional Weather Report. I would have killed to have been in the audience for one of these two shows.

Animal Collective have always been a band that I felt I should like as they’re psychedelic, experimental, and weird, which is exactly what I like in a band. I have tried to get into them several times in the past and, while I've never disliked what I heard, it never really stuck with me. However, something finally clicked while listening to Merriweather Post Pavilion today. Maybe it’s because I was listening with a more critical ear or maybe I’ve just finally heard it enough that I started to properly understand it, but either way I really enjoyed this this morning. It feels like a perfect psychedelic summer chill album and it makes me want to go smoke a joint and float down a river.

Also, I really like the album cover and how it has been squirming around at the edge of my vision the whole time I've written this review.

Seriously, a third Echo and the Bunnymen album on this list?! I've had both Crocodile and Porcupine in the past few months and neither of them really left any impression on me. I felt like they were both just alright post-punk albums; nothing bad, but nothing to write home about either. I find it hard to believe we really need all three of these albums on the list and per Dimery himself in this book, "[Ocean Rain] stands the test of time better than any other Bunnymen album". So, I guess if I had to pick one for the list, it would be this one.

That said, Ocean Rain actually is by far my favourite out of the three and I can see myself returning to this one. Honestly, I don't know what exactly is different on this album compared to the last two, but I have no desire to return to either Crocodile or Porcupine to figure it out. I do know that Thorn of Crowns is a great song and is giving me early Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds / The Birthday Party vibes. The Killing Moon is another great song and is the only Echo and the Bunnymen song that I knew going into this.

What a unique and ambitious album! I really enjoyed this for the most part, but there were a few electronica influenced tracks that, while impressive they were done fully (or mostly?) vocally, were not my favourite. Personally, I want more of the weird, experimental tracks that are exploring the limit of the human voice, like Ancestors. I'm still very happy to have heard this album and think it deserves a spot on the list for the uniqueness alone.

I like this a bit more than Garbage 2.0, but it's the same mix of 90s electronica and 90s alt rock that just doesn't really interest me in the slightest.

I thoroughly enjoyed this album. It's a short, pleasant folk record with some interesting arrangements, superb production, and some psychedelic jams.