Reviews by jaileer5

Why? What the fuck are we even doing here?

It's fine. It's pretty good.

Lots of conflicting thoughts on this. On one hand, It's good to really good and I really, really wish we had half stars because this is an easy 3.5. On the other hand, it's goddamn an hour and a half. That is too long. That is too much Bob Dylan. Disc 1 is, like, the perfect amount. The man is an excellent storyteller, but there isn't a ton of variety in his songs. Disc 1 is great.

7 Bob Dylan albums is too many Bob Dylan albums. He's great, I get it. I promise you that no one under the age of 75 either wants or needs to hear 7 Bob Dylan albums before they die. This isn't a huge problem in and of itself, but the closer to the end of this project I get, the more galling it is that certain artists have been left off this project entirely, while certain artists are massively overrepresented. Whether you like the music or not, there is no goddamned reason for there to be TWO Christina Aguilera albums, but not a single Tool album. TWO Paul Walker albums, but no MF DOOM albums. THREE Tim Buckley albums, but none from Deftones. I bitch about this all the time, so I won't go on, but the list of influential bands and albums that didn't make it while this project is crammed full of obscure 60s bullshit is staggering.

Anyway, enough shouting into the void. At one point I was tempted to give this 4 stars but, man. 90 minutes is so many minutes and it just started to drone. Disc 1 was a borderline 4, Disc 2 is a definite 3.

This is truly awful, and my life is worse for having heard it.

Like a prayer is a bit of a bop, though, so two stars.

Is it a joke band? There's a song called The Worst Band In The World where they sing about how terrible they are. Is this the 70s version of Weird Al Yankovic, or the rock version of The Monkeys? Why am I listening to this?

Goddammit, I'm so over this project, man.

I started this project to try to uncover previously unknown gems, to broaden my horizons and open my mind. And, in some cases it absolutely has. Jagged Little Pill, Slint, PJ Harvey, Skunk Anansie, Nitin Sawhney, Elbow, and many more. Hell, I even gave the first album I got by Scott Walker three stars. It was unhinged, but it expanded my horizons and I was happy!

But this album is shit. It's getting a low score on its own merits, but it's also getting a low score because - TWO Scott Walker albums? Exactly fucking why, if you please? On a project that doesn't include a single Tool album, or Deftones? Death Grips, J Cole, or MF DOOM? But I need to listen to two Scott Walker albums before I die?

GTFO.

It’s not bad, I guess. Is it good? Also no. But for 1001 Albums To Listen To That Make You Want To Die, I’ll take it.

Another day, another confusing album selection.

1001 Albums to Slog Through Before You Die.

Man, this is dreary. It's so painfully 80s.

I don't know, man. When you famously fuck kids, maybe you should get 1 star?

When this first popped up, I was slightly intrigued, because I've heard of this album mentioned as a masterpiece, but I was also a bit worried because 1.) This project is absolutely lousy with 70s rock albums, and 2.) I don't particularly like 70s rock.

I was right to be worried. I don't know why this is considered great. It's fine? I guess? I think it's famous because he does the little mouth thing that sounds like a weird harmonica but is actually through his guitar or something? I don't know, it's not that exciting. His voice is annoying, and there's nothing on here that makes me think he's some sort of guitar god like Hendrix, which kind of lets you get away with having a mediocre voice. The songs are...fine? I don't know. It's fine, I guess is the point.

2.5 stars, I guess? I'm just so sick of 70s albums I might give it 2 stars.

Aw hell, it's an hour and 18 minutes. 2 stars it is. That's too goddamned long, man.

Gorgeous album. There are a couple fillers, but my god - Everybody Hurts is worth 5 stars on its own.

I’d probably give it 4.5 stars if I could, but this is an amazing album that benefits from special audio, and has held up incredibly well.

It's like if The Cure had 70% less talent but still got lucky enough to write a hit.

Two songs that are pretty awesome, and a bunch that are pretty ok.

3.5 stars

I'm giving it 4 stars, but barely. It starts to feel same-y after a while, but it has the decency to only be 34 minutes. I'd give it 3.5 if I could, but it's miles better than half the crap I give 3 stars, so here we are.

Look, is it the *best* Led Zeppelin album? I don't think it is. I think some of the songs on this album are pretty boring, like You Shook Me, or Your Time is Gonna Come.

But it starts with Good Times Bad Times, Dazed and Confused and Black Mountain Side are on this album. How does that not get at least 4 stars?

What in the name of lounge singing is this shit? I *had* to listen to this before I died? Exactly why, may I ask?

Pretty great. Really cool downtempo stuff. I’m a fan.

Man, I really did not want to listen to this. I don’t like this stuff. The first song sounds exactly like what I expected - a Beatles wanna-be clone. But then it got a bit interesting and toe-tappy. It was like every other song was pretty good. So I don’t know what to make of it. The last song was garbage, but there were some good songs on here, so I’ll give it a 3. Probably should be 2.5

This is album 1001, and even though it’s not the actual final album, it is an important milestone, and I am thrilled that it’s a great listen. I’m also thrilled it’s not another 70s rock album.

Also, in a little bit of weirdness, I literally listened to this *last night*, so my notes will be a little bit of an amalgamation between my feelings during last night’s listen and this morning’s.

First, I adore Portishead. In fact, in my review of Dummy, I called it “perfection.” That album, and their second self-titled album, were in incredibly heavy rotation for me at a certain time of my (much younger) life, and bring back so many memories. I was desperate for Trip-Hop albums, desperate to hear sounds that made me feel the things that Beth’s voice made me feel, but alas, Portishead are one of a kind.

Fast forward eleven years. Since Portishead last released an album, I had joined and left the military, lived in six different states, completed a lifelong dream of living in Los Angeles, started an IT career, met my wife, had a child, left my IT career, and moved away from Los Angeles, and California, completely. To say that I am a very different person with a very different life would be an understatement. So, I think I kind of missed this release. That’s not to say I never listened to it, I’m sure I did, but it didn’t stick like the others. Whether that’s because of the change in their sound (which I’ll get to), or my place in the world, or whether it’s because the way that we consume music had drastically changed, with iTunes and streaming, who can tell? But I didn’t breathe this album like I did the other two.

So onto the review.

It’s excellent. But full disclosure, it took me three listens to connect to it. There are a couple of reasons, I think. The first being that I expected it to be the same Portishead as I listened to on the first two albums. But as I sit here thinking about it, I write all of that stuff above (which I wrote before listening today) about how much my life and mindset and personality and location changed in the eleven years between albums. Why wouldn’t I think that the people in Portishead had changed just as much? And why wouldn’t that be reflected in their music?

The second reason dovetails into the first. This album is really different! On the previous two albums there was a haunting quality to both the music and the vocals. But throughout, both music and vocals aligned perfectly in mood and tone. On this album, there is a dissonance between the vocals and music. The downtempo, Portishead feel, the haunting quality of the music and vocals are still there, but they are not aligned. They battle each other in a way that is not necessarily immediately obvious. You notice that something is “off,” but you can’t put your fingers on it. It’s like they’re telling the same story but the perspectives are different. Why is that disconcerting? Because usually the music and vocals of a song tell a story, and the listener interprets it in a way that is meaningful to them. But on this album, the listener gets the story two different ways. So whose perspective resonates? What interpretation moves you? How do you, the listener, interpret two stories at once? It’s almost like listening to two conversations at the same time, it’s overwhelming.

At the end of my second listen, on the song Threads, it clicked.

I battle my thoughts
I find, I can't explain
I've traveled so far
But somehow feel the same
I'm worn, tired of my mind
I'm worn out, thinking of why
I'm always so unsure

The journey I spoke of above. No matter where I go, I’m always there. No matter how much I change, I’m always me. No matter how much I grow, I’m always so unsure that I’m doing the right thing, being the right kind of husband, being the best parent to my boys, being the best citizen of the world possible.

Incredible album.