Reviews by kuvien

"Mahavishnu", in the Hindu belief system, is the world-soul, that spiritual entity made up of all living things. The Force? I guess so. Yet another example of the West's dubious flirtation with Eastern religions, as the quest for Truth continues. Are we not all (or rather do we not want to be) vessels of divine purity and beauty as we float down the stream of time which we perceive as our own individual lives? Well, let's not over-ponder this thing. Bring some American swagger into it and dance!

This one has been in my collection for 10 years. Are you Josh, by the way??

Original review: Tokumaru Shugo is like an overjoyed kindergarten teacher, except instead of a kindergarten, it's his studio. And we're all his students. Some of us will learn great things from this music, and others who already know the joy of life will just take this time to dance and play.

one of the worst albums of all time... the fuck were you thinking?

I prefer Folds' solo stuff, but this is an excellent album overall. There's the catchy lead, "Brick", of course, but for me, there are two songs that makes this album: "Song for the Dumped" and "Steven's Last Night in Town", the former because it's what we're all thinking anyway, and the latter because it's Ben Folds at his most surreal and zany.

I fell in love with Elliott Smith the day after he died, consumed his discography like a madman, and was left feeling simultaneously satisfied and hungry for more. With the posthumous release of this album almost exactly one year after his death, his fans had something new, something beautiful, something at last we could listen to and say goodbye to. It's weird, discovering and loving an artist only after his death and then getting new material not soon after the initial discovery. "Sunshine been keeping me up for days...I felt so ugly before." Yeah, I bet, Elliott. There's a lot of desperation and not-so-subtle allusions to substance abuse all over this last, sad musical document of a brilliant young man. Whenever I hear "King's Crossing", I'm transported into Elliott's anthemic melancholy, that same darkness that leads him to his date with a "rich white lady", so when he sings, "Give me one good reason not to do it", I sing with all my might the answer his most-devoted fans would always answer at his live shows: "Because we love you".

This album is the perfect example of my "decided not to curate at this time" rating. I have fond memories of listening to this album on release day. What a magical moment! But as time went on, I realized the moment was not just the music but the company I was with and the setting I was in. And so I decided not to curate this album because I'm not the kind of guy who lives in the past and tries to relive past glories. I also don't keep the same haircut from "the halcyon days" of my life. I love music, but music must stand on its own without fuzzy-feeling context. This is a good album with good memories attached, but is it worthy of curation? Not for me.

fuck you

This album is a music golem, its limbs stitched together from different bodies. And through the music, you get glimpses into the minds of all its contributing members, some minds happy, some funky, some mad...and that madness spreads to the host, incorporating every other state of mind into itself.

Imagine being an ambassador of peace and enlightenment, and you visit a small backwater world, trying to make first contact, trying to bring some elevation to the existence of the worms that crawl upon the nickel and iron ball's surface, but they kill you because they misinterpret your natural harsh opera tone, thinking you're going to destroy them all.

When a day lasts forever just by making it so, by forgetting you’re a man with everyday, humdrum concerns and by remembering that you are a child. When you forget how to feel regret and allow a playful orchestra to sweep you away into what is basically a cartoon. This is where classical music and rock collide—or, rather, embrace gently and warmly. The birth of progressive rock is just around the corner. Oh, and that forever-day? Turns out that night fell after all, but that’s just fine. You’ve got plenty of satin to lose yourself in. Alone.

lmao this bullshit? go back to Reddit

degeneracy

fuck you

Is there an album out there faster out of the blocks than this one? What a banger to open with! Morgan's front-and-center trumpet, Timmons' classy piano work, but oh my... Blakey's percussion... side B opens with the "Drum Thunder Suite", and it's a joy to listen to, to follow its three-part structure, hearing Blakey show off just what he can do, not only with the physical instruments but with his own sense of how to handle three disparate themes. Blakey carouses here, his drums like cannons, firing to the heavens only to have the sky echo back his own music... in thunder.

this has always sucked

Obviously a giant of a progressive album where every corner of the music is brilliant. "Starless" is one of the best rock compositions ever created, but I also love "Providence", because I like it when structure in songs seems to break down, even though the breakdown is deliberate and meticulously crafted.

This album is a fun trip through some zany tunes. This is as good as Lincoln. The weird thing about TMBG is that they actually tackle some serious, dark topics, but they do it with such glibness that many people don't take their songs seriously. I find this paradox to be the duo's strength. They really make me stop and listen, but at the same time I can just sing along and feel happy singing some dark lines like "I lost my lucky ball and chain...and now I rock the bar stool...I thought I was so cool...I just stood there whistling 'there goes the bride' as she walked out the door". Also, "Minimum Wage" might just be the most scathingly satirical song ever written.

🤣 fr??

I was surprised, when checking the liner notes, to see Herbie Hanock's name. I'm a huge fan of his stuff, so I'm pleased to see him here playing is part well. Apparently this is the electric bass album to end all others. I don't have an ear for that, but I do feel this is a solid, satisfying album. Bass, piano, strings, and flutes all perform their parts admirably, and the result is a lively display of chops.

The gospel-tinged shouting in the background of the first track, the explosions of joy on the horns, the constant underlying boogie throughout that reaches heights as easily as it does depths--all this starts this amazing jazz album off with an unforgettable beginning. The whole album alternates pretty consistently between smooth 'n lazy and jumping 'n energetic. From beginning to end, this album feels like the stages of an all-night party.