Reviews by jaileer5

It's not my thing. It sounds very early new wave, and I find that a bit boring.

For what it is, it's really good.

It's kind of folksy, kind of rocky, with a bit of navel-gazing mixed in. It has some interesting sounds and the vocals just fit perfectly with the music and style.

It's really difficult to score, because I don't know if it's a home run 4 stars, but it's far better than a "meh, it's fine" 3 stars. I'm giving it 4 because I really liked it, acknowledging that at the end of this project this one may look a bit of an outsider.

Not great.

So, the Pumpkins are from my time period in the genre that I primarily listened to at the time. But past Siamese Dream, which is a masterpiece, I've never really been able to get into them. I don't think I've ever listened to this album all the way through - I've only heard the radio songs - so this will be interesting.

It's simultaneously very good, and also I didn't really connect to it. But you really can't argue with an album that has Tonight, Tonight, Zero, Bullet With Butterfly Wings, 1979, and Thirty-Three. As previously mentioned, this was my era, so I can appreciate how different this album was than the normal fare while also staying (mostly) true to itself. So I'll give the fact that it's a double album a little leeway, because 2 hours of Smashing Pumpkins is too goddamned long.

This is one of those albums again, where I really wish I had half stars to play with. The album is so much better than many albums I've rated three stars, but nowhere near as good as most of the albums I've rated 4 stars. I guess I'd give it 3.5 stars if I could. That said, I'm going to lean into recency bias a bit. I gave Dinosaur Jr. three stars yesterday and this album is light years better than that, so 4 stars it is.

I don’t love dinosaur jr, so I’m not thrilled about this album. It’ll probably be three stars. That said, it’s not from the 70s, so that’s something.

Yeah, it's exactly what I thought. fine, I guess. I find the lyricist whiny and boring, but it doesn't suck. 3 stars it is. Ho hum.

Cool. More 70s rock. C’mon, man. The new Kendrick Lamar dropped yesterday and I have to listen to this trash. FML.

It’s whatever. Watered down classic rock.

They should rename this project to 1001 Albums From The 70s.

Two songs in. I've heard Aqualung before, it's a pretty solid song. Cross-Eyed Mary is an unexpected banger! Like, what? 70s Prog Rock FLUTE is not what I had on my bingo card for this morning, I'll tell you that for free.

Overall, pretty damn good - and interesting - album. 3.5 stars.

Oh look, more 70s music. Shocker. This should be interesting, though. I’m too young to have seen the movie, but the song is pop culture royalty.

It's mainly just a score, which I was a little surprised about. The issue with that is that it just sounds like a cheesy 70s movie, which isn't extraordinary, it's just kind of forgettable. For a soundtrack to be something one "must listen to before you die" I would think it would need to be something exceptionally different or groundbreaking. For example:

Judgement Night - forgettable movie, but the soundtrack was really breaking ground by putting major hip hop artists with major rock artists. The rap/rock hybrid sort of became the dominant sound of the mid 90s, but this album predated that dominance and, in fact, heavily influenced it.

Purple Rain - I mean, just a masterpiece on so many levels. I know it's already in this project so I won't belabor the point, but THIS is an album you have to hear at least once before you die.

Saturday Night Fever - Look, I don't like disco, and this album isn't my cup of tea. But if you're talking about albums to listen to before you die, this is one of them. Whether you like the music or not, it tells a story. It is a love note to a very specific time and place. There are instructions in this album, there is history in this album. It is a time capsule and, for a moment at least, it was perfection.

Oh Brother Where Art Thou - This soundtrack took music that was close to 100 years old and somehow catapulted the album to number 1 on all the charts! Why? What was the allure? How the hell? Exactly! Don't you want to know the answers? Don't you want - no, *need* - to listen to that album before you die? Exactly!

There are literally dozens of soundtracks that are more deserving of being on list of Albums to hear before you die. Even if you're looking more at scores than soundtracks, literally anything by John Williams, Gladiator, Chariots of Fire, Interstellar, Last of the Mohicans, FFS!

Anyway, this album was underwhelming.

Initial reaction: FUCK.

I’d say that this album is approximating good. I don’t know if it’s quite 3 stars because I don’t really ever want to listen to it again, but it was miles better than the first Springsteen album I listened to, which I gave 2.5 stars.

I’m going to give it 3 stars if only to not be a contrarian prick. I’m not sure how much I agree with that as a rating, but I’m also not sure it doesn’t deserve it.

Initial reaction to the album reveal: I am 49 years old. Prior to beginning this project, my entire exposure to Joni Mitchell is the line in Janet Jackson's Got Til It's Gone when Q-Tip says, "Joni Mitchell never lies." Based on the albums of hers I've heard during the last year of this project, I wish that were still my entire Joni Mitchell experience.

It's probably the best one of hers I've heard so far. It's still droning and tedious. I sincerely hope there aren't any more Joni Mitchell albums.

This is a difficult one. As a cultural touchstone, it's epic. It's Eminem's magnum opus. No one can rhyme like Em, no one can tell a story like Em. It's actually difficult to listen to this while doing something else, it's almost like reading a book. You're doing yourself a disservice if you're not listening to the words.

On the other hand, It's a tough listen in places. The violent and constant homophobia is gross. The violent and constant misogyny is exhausting. I'm not pearl clutching here, I know they're "jokes" or whatever, and I'm not offended, as it were, but it's just not appealing. I guess that's what happens when you push the line to get a reaction - eventually the line moves and what are you left with? An album that was once shocking but now, as society and culture have progressed, can come across as tired and cringe.

If I rank it according to its popularity at the time of release, it's an easy 5 stars. If I rank it based on how I feel about it now, I don't think its repeat listenability is at the level you'd expect from a 5 star. Honestly, whether I rank it 4 or 5 stars, it'll be both very fair and extremely unfair.

Really enjoyable. Nice and calming, many of the songs were almost straight up blues. 3.5 stars.

It’s pretty ok for what it is. I got tired of it after awhile, but overall it’s solid.

Hooray, more classic rock! Oh my god, it's been SIX WHOLE DAYS since I've gotten a 70s (close enough) rock album! I wasn't quite sure how I was going to survive without listening to another goddamned 70s album but THANK GOD that dry spell is over.

OK, now that the snark is over...It's not bad.

I never really connected with Sonic Youth in the 90s, but I gave their other album 3 stars, so let's see how this goes. I wouldn't say i'm excited for this, but I am feeling significant relief that it's not another goddamn 70s album.

Final verdict: It's fine. Whatever. Sounds like Sonic Youth.

30 seconds in, I'll say that I'm intrigued. Who knows if I'll like it (so far it sounds a little like circus music), but it's going to be completely new to me, and that's fun and interesting. I've gotten so tired of cookie cutter 70s rock, so anything new and/or different is so refreshing.

OK, on to the actual thoughts about the album: It's not great. I don't know who this is for, really. It kind of reminds me of industrial in parts, but there's also a whole lot of something that sounds like an accordion. The vocals are kind of shit. All the lyrics are in French, so maybe it's genius lyrically, but I don't speak French. Overall, it's kind of experimental rock. Not the worst I've heard, but nothing I'm clamoring to hear again.

Look, I stand by everything I said in the first paragraph. Discovering music is fun and energizing, and it's really the whole reason I started this project. That said, they can't all be zingers! And that's OK! So 5 stars to the project for including something unique and original, and 2 stars to the album for being a bit shit.

It's...not great. I don't really think it stands out. It sounds like stereotypical early 90s rock. That time where grunge was starting to wind down, but there were these acts that were kind of stuck between grunge and Clapton era classic guitar rock. 2 stars

I have had such a terrible week or so of albums, so thank god for the few rays of sunshine I have gotten. This album is awesome. It's so fun, and bouncy, and unique - I love it. Although I think they've done some solid work since this released, I don't think they've ever again quite reached these heights.

WEIRD.

I kinda liked it.

Fuck sake. Two Temptations albums in three days. It's fine. Probably even good, but I don't need two Temptations albums in three days.