Reviews by jaileer5

This is hovering at a 2.5 for me. It’s not good, but it’s relatively inoffensive. It’s another artist that’s a “megastar” that I’m completely confused as to why.

I’m 1040 albums into this thing and I’ve been subjected to way too many mediocre 70s albums, so say goodbye to that half star, Paul.

This is an odd inclusion to this list. It’s not groundbreaking, it’s not genre shifting or defining. It’s just sort of there. It’s toast without butter. It’s fine, but man, it could be so much better.

Better than I expected. I like the gauzy, breathy sound, but I have to say that the music was a bit abrasive in ways that I didn't really enjoy. Not all the time, but enough that it would be difficult for me to recommend this album to anyone. It just made it sound a bit drone-y at times. Solid album, though, and based on the year, I'm sure it's massively influential in the shoe gaze genre.

You know how in mathematics, they have, like, $1 million dollar prizes for anybody who can solve these unsolvable equations? They should have one of those for anyone who can explain why Elvis Costello is a thing.

I made it to “all it takes is one itchy trigger, one more widow, one less white nigger.” That’s enough Elvis Costello for me, thanks.

Well, I had something snarky all teed up when I saw this pop up today. The thing, though, is that it’s pretty excellent. It’s a pretty wonderful mix of blues and rock, and even though I’m not generally a huge fan of jam bands, this one hits just right. 3.5 stars, but I’ll tip it to 4 stars because I don’t detect any overt country music influences, and the guitar work is absolutely exceptional.

I do not like Pearl Jam. I don’t particularly like Vedder’s voice, and I think they’re boring. The biggest reason I dislike Pearl Jam is because this album is a goddamned banger, and I expected so much more from them after it released. Versus was hit and miss and then they kind of turned to shit. But this album? A goddamn banger.

It sounds like Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan had a baby, and that baby had a moderately better voice than either of his parents, and decided he'd like to carve out his own niche in the world so he started listening to pouty indie rock like Arcade Fire and Wilco, but also layered a tiny bit of atmospheric guitar-driven rock like Godspeed, or Mogwai into his inspirations. Sadly, there's also a piece of the baby that decided to rebel, and so every so often he allows country music to seep into his life, causing him to want to play around with sliding guitars and twang, and that really sucks.

Overall, the baby is better than his Dad Bruce who massively sucks, and even though he's not anywhere near as good as Daddy Bob, he's a lot more varied, and I guess that counts for something.

The first half of it sound like Bruce Springsteen if he had a decent voice. The second half —the better half — sounds like the soundtrack to Train Dreams.

I listened to this and promptly forgot everything about it. In terms of how awful most 80s music is, that’s an upgrade.

I'm really excited to see this pop up! I have seen this album thrown around as being great for a long time, but for some reason I've just never taken the time to listen, so I'm stoked for this.

I feel like it's good to very good, without being spectacular. There are some songs that are very, very good, and then there are some that are strep-of-conciousness indulgent, if that makes sense.

I'd love to give this 3.5 stars, but I can't give it 4 stars, because I can't imagine I'll ever select this album on my own just for a casual listen.

I wanted this album to be better. N.E.R.D. and Pharrell Williams were such MASSIVE influences on the sound of Hip Hop in the early 21st century that I really wanted this to be a banger. In reality, it's ok, but honestly a bit forgettable. It's like they saved all of their best stuff for other people.

It's sad Williams and Hugo are beefing. They really did some great things together.

It's fine? I grew up in the 90s hearing about this band but never seemed to hear many of their songs, and I guess the ones I did hear didn't stick because I couldn't tell you one thing they've done.

I think this record is fine. I know they were massively influential, so I understand why this album is not his project. For me, I think the singer is pretty monotone so the album starts to drone after a bit, but it's not a bad listen.

When this popped up, I thought it was going to be country music. I don't know why, I guess the name Dusty just sounds country-ish to me. Which is funny, because apparently she's British.

All of that is more interesting than the album, which sounds like every 50s album ever, despite the fact that it was released in 1964. It's also apparently an album of covers. I cannot, for the life of me, understand why this is on the list. But it's not country, so it gets an extra star just for that.

I think this is pretty good for an early 90s hip hop album. I know it's going to have a very low score because this project is filled with 70-year-old white men who think Beatles are the pinnacle of music, but I honestly can't go any higher than 3 stars.

I actually think that, musically, it holds up pretty damn well, and the vocalists are obviously talented. But, man, it gets so preachy. This band were the face of "conscious" rap in the early 90s, but there are so many songs and lines and references on god that I feel like this would have been right at home on Christian radio stations. It's catchy, but it's a lot, man.

I also find the constant yelling and chanting and vocalizations in the background of every goddamned song to be fairly distracting. It's a decent time capsule, but a 3 is probably right where it belongs.

Wait - I thought The Kinks were punk? This just sounds like the Beatles decided to make 2 minute songs. Yuck.

I'll tell you this - I don't understand why I like Tom Waits, but goddammit, I like Tom Waits. A lot. I had never heard a single song of his before starting this project, and I've now heard 5 albums (which, let's be honest, is too many albums to be on a project without a single Tool album), and I've liked them all.

Anyway, I think maybe Tom Waits is very much an "in the mood" listen. I think this is a pretty good album. Not one of his best, but pretty good, nonetheless. It starts out like gangbusters with the title track, which I would argue is the best track on the album, but there are several songs where it seems like Waits is trying to be, for lack of a better term, a crooner. it doesn't work. I like Waits's voice, and I think it makes sense for him to lean into it - but he's no songbird. So, for me, this album is a little slow.

It's a 56-year-old David Bowie, in 2013, trying to make music that appeals to young people, by sounding like 2003-era The Vines/The Strokes. It's impressive in that a 56-year-old man can pull it off, even if he's a decade late with the sound.

I'll be honest, though, it's pretty fucking good. Bowie is just is just so special, he drags something that might otherwise be fairly mediocre and he makes it very good.

I don't know how to rate this. it's 3.5 if we had half stars. I'll give it 4 stars because I gave Fiona Apple's Fetch The Bolt Cutters 3 stars and this album is light years better than that one.

So, Tidal was surprisingly excellent and I gave it 4 stars. But this... this is not Tidal.

Is it OK? Sure. Like, I don't hate it, but it's just kind of messy. Apple Music says it was recorded in her home, and they framed it like it's some kind of notable feat. To me it just sounds amateurish, like she's mailing it in. I feel like Fiona Apple is always talking directly to a group that I'm not in and, furthermore, there's very little overlap between our respective Venn Diagram circles.

Man, this album is so good. It's got some classic bangers on it, and although it also has some filler, surprising non-singles like Odfellows Local 151 are so, so good that it almost elevates this album to 5 stars. 4.5 stars for me, but not quite up to the tippy top of the mountain.

it's really good for what it is, but it's a little too long. She has a very distinct voice that's awesome, but over an hour it's too much. I'd give it 3.5 stars if I could, but since I can't, I'll give it 4 stars so I seem sophisticated.