Reviews by jkegz

4/5 - Nobody is here for the marimba; let's be honest. It's hard to ding any album by The White Stripes, but this wouldn't be in my top 3 by them, so a 4 it is.

1/5 - Would rate very highly on my list of 1,001 albums to listen to after I die.

2/5 - If someone compiled 10 good Tom Waits songs for me, I might enjoy it. Unfortunately, Tom Waits is unable to do this himself. A small portion of the time, you get something that is unlike anything else you've heard before and hits just right. For most of the rest, he brings you back to that Thanksgiving dinner when your drunk uncle is banging pots and pans while growling at your dog.

2/5 - If all music sounded like this, poetry would be much more popular.

3/5 - I liked this the more of it I heard, especially when it broke out of the background music vibe, like on A&E. Likely won’t stay with me, but pleasant enough.

4/5 - I know this album well enough that it's a 4. Vocals are obviously amazing; songwriting hooks are there. You should listen to it if you never have.

4/5 - Not much misses here. Solid 90s alternative sound. Awful is probably my favorite track.

3.5/5 - This is a man who says what he means and means what he says. No beating around the bush with metaphor or poetic devices. The backing music doesn't do much for me, but the lyrics are worth the price of admission. Sigourney Weaver, Jesus Hates Faggots, Queen of Denmark, and Marz were all repeat listens. This was much better than I expected. Rounding up for "GMF" from one of his later albums, which I really like.

1/5 - I won't judge the album by its cover, but I'll judge it for having a song titled "Tit Smoking in the Temple of Artesan Mimicry." This guy sucks.

3/5 - I like the lead track and generally their synth sound and vocals here. This album feels like it's more one for the dedicated PSB fan, whereas I'd count myself more in for the greatest hits collection.

3/5 - Juvenile (to be generous), but genuinely funny in parts. The songs were a good time, and I appreciated the less aggressive style, but, honestly, this isn't getting anywhere near my listening rotation.

2/5 - One album of this guy was enough

3/5 - Ultima I and Wizardry defined the computer role playing game genre in the early 80s. There'd be no Baldur's Gate 3, Skyrim, or Disco Elysium without those works. That doesn't mean I want to go back and play them for more than a quick laugh at how clunky games used to feel.

The rating is purely for influence; have no desire to spend time here.

3/5 - Beautiful dream pop, certainly one of the best early examples, so a spot on the list makes sense. Iceblink Luck and the title track were my favorites, but this genre generally blends into the background too much for me.

4/5 - This is a tough one to rate for me. The production was dated, but fun, and the lyrical topics were a refreshing change, but there just weren't any real hooks to sink into. I gave it a second listen, and I got kinda bored. Album cover is A+ (A Nintendo DS?!)

I came back to this and it’s in the rotation. Bumped up to a 4. I just find it a really fun listen.

4/5 - Pretty damn good 80s sound in a bottle. The hits are great, and the rest isn't far off. Belongs on this list for sure.

2.5/5 - My ceiling for this style of pop is about 2.5, and this hit it. I'll never listen to this again, but I didn't reach to turn it off either.

5/5 - First hip-hop album from this list I played again as soon as it was over. I don't have the critical vocabulary to describe what drew me in, but the wordplay is hypnotic. Favorite track: Swimming Pools

4/5 - The trio of Gigantic, River Euphrates, Where is My MInd? plus Bone Machine and Break My Body are great. I'm still gonna take Doolittle over Surfer Rosa.

3.5/5 - I believe this is just the opening salvo of EC on the 1,001 list, so I'll keep my rating powder dry. I was prepared to dislike this for reasons unknown to me, but once I got past Oliver's Army, which I've heard at least 500 times too many on WXRT Chicago when I lived there, I was pretty happy. We'll see if this holds on the first 2 Elvis records, this being the 3rd, but I liked the album cuts more than the hits here. Oh, and Steve Nieve is great.