Reviews by jacjac

The only thing these songs have in common to me is that they are just unmistakedly British. The first song sounds like an over-orchestrated proto-Cage the Elephant song from an unreleased James Bond film. The rest are just sort of uber-lyrical indie songs featuring a modern take on 60s mod sound. The best demonstration of the Bond vibe was in "My Mistakes Were Made For You" - everything really comes together here. However, it was overall so middling sounding to me that I couldn't imagine having a really strong opinion on this, hence the rating.

Favorite tracks: The Chamber, My Mistakes Were Made For You, I Don't Like You Anymore

I've always thought that Norah Jones has one of the most beautiful voices, and yet I never got around to listening to her debut album until today. This is a lovely contemporary jazz album, though it is pleasant almost to a fault (I can understand why people are calling this "Starbucks music"). I don't often turn to music this agreeable, so I can't see myself listening to this all that frequently. As beautiful as I can appreciate this to be, it's not exactly my speed.

Favorite tracks: Don't Know Why, Shoot The Moon

I had the best luck ever and got to listen to this on Joe Strummer's birthday, so that was pretty cool (and probably biased me a little bit). It turns out I really like early British punk music (shoutout Sex Pistols for their 5-star 1977 banger). Back-to-back bangers throughout, featuring that classic thrashy early punk sound. Tight guitar solos, stellar drumming, poignant political lyricism with unabashed delivery - I loved everything about this. Need the physical album expeditiously. 4.5/5 rounded up

Favorite tracks: I'm so Bored with the U.S.A., Deny, Cheat (and I could keep going...)

I was pretty bummed at how unmemorable this was, beyond "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone", which I had already heard before. Some good grooves on the B side, but I had to go back and listen to the A again afterward because it just didn't grab me the first time (which is not really a good thing in my mind). I thought the fake live arrangement of the first track was really strange and unnecessary (plus the mixing was terrible), and I just don't see myself listening to this often.

Favorite tracks: Papa Was A Rollin' Stone, Mother Nature

I know this is a Zappa production that is well loved by a specific group of music nerds, but I unfortunately do not "get it" enough to be in that group (which must comprise, in my mind, of intersecting Ween and Beach Boys enjoyers). I just did not have the patience for this, nor do I have the patience for this kind of trolling music basically ever. I understand what an album like this is trying to do, but it's just not for me. The whole time I was listening, I was picturing the person at my local karaoke spot who would absolutely attempt any one of these songs and how not funny it would be. So yeah, this one just kind of irritated me...bummer.

Favorite tracks (if you could even call them that): Any Way The Wind Blows, Trouble Every Day

I went into this completely blind having never heard of this group before, and was pleasantly surprised by what I found after a quick jaunt over to the ol' YouTube. I love a wonky mashup of samples over a funky beat, and this was an album chock full of exactly that. 90's house production has this weird charm that I fall for nearly every time, so needless to say I had a great time listening to this one. I wish it wasn't only on YT so I could listen to it more often! A great find I would never have known about if not for this list.

Favorite tracks: My Telephone, Smoke Dis One, Not Paid Enough

I will start off by saying that this review is certainly going to be biased, as I used an instrumental version of "Bitter Sweet Symphony" as my floor routine music in high school gymnastics; it has since become "our song" in the eyes of my mom and I. All that aside, this album is pretty classic Britpop, with very clear influences from U2, Oasis, and Radiohead. At several points, I thought about how I easily could have been tricked into thinking these were U2 songs if I didn't know any better. A little slow, a little boring at times, and overall pretty middling.

Favorite tracks: Bitter Sweet Symphony, Catching The Butterfly, Lucky Man

Well, shit - I completely regret my negative attitude going into this because it was a damn good time. Every song was short and sweet, and my rating is only as such because this isn't a genre (or musical decade) I return to often. Regardless, I can absolutely see why this album made it onto this list, since Fats is a pioneer when it comes to early rock & roll. He's got a great voice and is a stellar pianist to boot.

Favorite tracks: Blueberry Hill, Blue Monday, You Done Me Wrong

This album somehow made me bored and overwhelmed at the same time. The guitars were a bit screechy for my taste, and they were paired with an overuse of overdrive that I really didn't care for. I have once again been reminded that I will not become a metal fan any time soon.

Favorite track (if I had to pick one): Hollow (only because there's finally no raspy screaming for one second)

I had more fun with this one than I expected! Of course, I went in knowing a few songs from this album, and those are still my favorites, but there were a couple others that I enjoyed as well. I didn't care for the content or the quantity of interludes, but otherwise I thought this was pretty fun. The 90s R&B/soul sound really hits for me sometimes.

Favorite tracks: Creep, Kick Your Game, Waterfalls

Marvin evidently has a lot of feelings about his divorce, and from my perspective, it's just straight up groveling for over an hour. Since the theme doesn't change at all from song to song, it begins to feel quite a bit one-note. Like, we get it, you're upset your wife left you and you can't (or won't) understand why, where did the love go, et cetera et cetera. Usually I like Marvin Gaye too, so this was a bit of a letdown.

Favorite tracks: Time To Get It Together, You Can Leave, But It's Going To Cost You

What a great start to the week! Despite containing what I believe are two of the greatest TH songs ever, I think this is my second favorite album by them. Full of great grooves and very evident Fela Kuti influences, this is such an experimental and unabashedly weird collection of songs (which, as a lifelong TH fan, I will eat right up).

Favorite tracks: Born Under Punches, Crosseyed and Painless, Once in a Lifetime

Yes, I am from Seattle. And yes, I adore Nirvana and will never rate this album anything lower than a 5. It is *the* grunge album in my book, and it is absolutely required listening. Love you and miss you, Kurt <3

Favorite tracks: In Bloom, Lithium, Drain You

Having heard quite a few songs from TVOTR, it was really cool to go back in time and see how they debuted on the scene. I'm a bit obsessed with the early 2000's Brooklyn indie scene, and TVOTR is no exception. This album is experimental, droning, dark, and even hypnotic at times. I'm a big fan of Tunde's voice, so I'm definitely not as worked up about all the a cappella stuff as other people. Anyway, I really enjoyed this, and I'm hoping for more TVOTR on this list!

Favorite tracks: Staring at the Sun, King Eternal, Don't Love You

As a child, listening to this on repeat on my first iPod courtesy of my mom's iTunes purchase, this album would have been an easy 5/5. It is mercilessly funky, incredibly produced, and SO fun. However, in 2026, I can't in good conscience separate the art from the artist, so I can't rate this as anything other than a 1. (And, might I add, it's unbelievable we're in the midst of an attempt to launder a pedophile's image with a flashy biopic.)

You know what, I quite enjoy some classic rock from time to time, and Aerosmith really delivered on this one. I never in my life thought I would be voluntarily listening to an Aerosmith album, but I admittedly had some fun with this one! There's nothing like a little blues guitar to soothe the soul (maybe not everyone's soul...but you get the point). Short and sweet, this album was rockin' in exactly the way I expect from Steven Tyler & company.

Favorite tracks: Last Child, Combination, Sick As A Dog

I will NEVER get tired of Zack de la Rocha going "UH" in every goddamn RATM song. In my opinion, this album goes unbelievably hard. The slap bass? Absolutely. Aggressive vocal delivery? Hell yes. Tight drumming? Oh yeah. A sprinkle of a guitar solo? Now that's the cherry on top. Some will say this is repetitive, some will say RATM *are* the machine, but I seriously could not care less. This album rules, and I can't believe it took me 27 years to appreciate it fully.

Favorite tracks: Bombtrack, Killing In the Name, Settle for Nothing

I am certainly a little sick of the two big hits of this album, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the other tracks! The instrumentals are really tight and fun, and though I almost wish it was someone other than Cyndi who got to sing over them, it still worked for me. This was exactly the kind of 80's girl pop that I enjoy, as it has just enough edge to it that I'm not rolling my eyes from it being overly saccharine.

Favorite tracks: Money Changes Everything, When You Were Mine

Apparently I'm really not a new wave fan like I thought I was? I'm really starting to get sick of all of these albums that only charted in the UK. This was quite annoying to listen to (why do none of the beats actually line up?). These guys really thought they were doing something profound and experimental, and instead it's just straight up not good. Let's just say I got excited when I realized I could skip the last 7 songs on the Spotify version of the album since they weren't part of the original release.

Favorite tracks (maybe?): Bap De La Bap

This album cover really paints the 2-tone movement in a terrible light & unfortunately left a bad taste in my mouth from the jump...

I really wanted to like this one, but I actually found it quite boring. Everything beyond "Our House" was pretty flat & forgettable (and I only remember that one because I've been hearing it my whole life). I can see why this song is the only one that caught on in the U.S. It wasn't quite as peppy as I expected from a ska band, and I was left feeling disappointed.

Favorite track: Our House