Reviews by linkyboy

Damn, some people on this site really hate women artists. Joan Baez a legend of folk, and for 1960, this record sounds crystal clear. Her voice is beautiful, her guitar playing is excellent, and her arrangements are top notch. I just don’t get the criticisms that her voice is “shrill.” It just… isn’t.

A solid entry, and one I’m sure I’ll listen to again.

A pioneering entry in the world of electronic music. Fun, imaginative, captivating, mesmerizing. If I have any criticism, it’s that the vocals on the title track took me out of the soundscapes a bit, and just seemed rather goofy. Then again, I spent the rest of the day singing “Fahren fahren fahren auf der Autobahn,” so maybe it’s good, actually? In any case, there’s no doubt it deserves a place on this list.

I’m no blues expert, but I know Muddy Waters was one of the greats. I liked this album well enough, though it didn’t get me particularly excited. Off of a pure listening experience, I’d give it 3.5, but I’m rounding up given the clear influence this had on so many of my favorite artists from the 70s.

Jerry Lee Lewis was, by most accounts, a piece of shit. But the man could rile up a crowd and put on a show (albeit, a 22 minute show, but with that kind of energy, who could blame him?). The way he slams those piano keys, the way he croons in this ragged way—it’s easy to see why he was one of Rock & Roll’s big stars. I’m a bit torn. I enjoyed the album, and it deserves to be on the list, but 1964 is just about at the point R&R was running its course, and nothing feels particularly inventive about this. I think it’s more about the palpable energy in the room. I’m going to give it 3.5 stars rounded down, but I may revisit that choice later.

This is an album that is more important than it is good. I did like it, but mostly, I appreciated it. It sounds radical for 1967, musically, lyrically, and stylistically. Early psychedelia, transgressive, lo-fi. And with an iconic album cover. I’m also not generally crazy about Nico, though I think she works fairly well here.

What’s not to like? Fun, well produced, well performed pop. It may not reach the upper echelons of being great album for me, but it’s an excellent collection of songs. Gotta love ABBA.

A decent country album with some solid lyric writing. Ultimately a bit too run of the mill sonically, for my taste. But I appreciate the craft Prine brought to songwriting.

Almost like The Doors meets early XTC. I liked it, but it doesn’t hold a candle to some of the other post-punk bands thriving at the time (Talking Heads, The Damned, the aforementioned XTC) from a sheer songwriting perspective. Glad I listened, but I wasn’t blown away.

A decent album, enjoyable enough to listen to, never offended my ears. There were occasional moments that I found interesting, but on the whole, it sounded like run-of-the-mill Coldplay-adjacent pop. I'm not convinced I needed to hear it before I die, but I didn't mind listening to it.

The answer to the question: "What if Don Henley wrote 'The Boys of Summer' 10 more times?"

To be clear, I love "The Boys of Summer." And this album is not only listenable, but enjoyable. Nonetheless, I can't help but feel it's more Nostalgia-Bait than anything (even if pleasant).

I saw the War on Drugs in concert a couple years ago, and they were alright, but I think this music works better in the earphones (or, say, while driving down a country road at sunset).

It’s not a bad album, but it really should not be on this list when so many other, more consequential artists have been left off.

The album is fine enough, but it seems to be designed to impress the person who says "They don't make any good music these days," and has forgotten that 2004 was 22 years ago. Listenable, well played, but not particularly inventive, memorable, or meaningful. A pastiche of bygone styles. I have trouble seeing how it made the list, so it's getting rounded down on that basis. I certainly could have missed this one before I die.

I had a friend in college whose favorite band was The Smashing Pumpkins. My awareness of them was limited to their goofy band name and the fact that they misspelled “melancholy.” I heard about 15 seconds of Billy Corgan singing and decided I couldn’t get past his harsh, pinched voice. Up until now, that was the only intentional interaction I’ve had with The Smashing Pumpkins.

But I got this album today, and was excited to give them another chance. In college, I was a needlessly judgmental music major (undergrad insecurity mixed with narrow pop exposure). My tastes have developed significantly, my opinions have developed much greater nuance, and my ears appreciate different sounds now.

My god, I loved this. A tour de force of songwriting, an exceptional mishmash of genres, an expertly curated collection of sounds, tones, and production. Billy Corgan’s voice is certainly not pretty, but it works. It suits the songs, and as the album wears on, I’d find myself appreciating his vocal performances more than I’d ever imagined.

A new favorite, and one that enters the pantheon of great discoveries from this project.

"Hey Hey, My My" would sounds amazing with a more rocking singer. Neil Young's singing is the worst thing about Neil Young songs. The music is good, the band is solid, the songwriting is decent, but the vocals just don't fit. I'm also annoyed that he slags off the other members of CSNY, calling them dead weight. Fuck you, man! You might have been the most popular member of the band (for reasons that will always evade me), but you were not the best member (and easily the worst singer). I was between a 2 and 3 for this album, but denigrating his former band members, who I will always prefer, knocks him down a peg. It also balances the time I rounded "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" up to a 3.

It’s cacophonous, it’s imperfect, and I do like it. Some songs are more song-y, some are more noisy. Track 1 was solid, and if the rest of the album followed its quality, this would have been an easy 4 stars. Still, a deserving entry, something I may revisit, and which I’m glad to have heard before I die. Dinosaur Jr.’s influence on grunge is apparent, and that alone is worth something.

I was a music major in college, and inevitably, you get to a point in music history where you must talk about Arnold Shoenberg, widely considered one of the greatest composers of the 20th century. He was, without a doubt, deeply creative and immensely influential. And yet, I never want to listen to anything he ever wrote. Yes, I can stop everything and pay attention, and gain appreciation for what he’d written, but I will never seek out his music for pleasure, and I certainly won’t enjoy it if I do listen to it.

Leonard Cohen is similar for me. But replace “composer” with “songwriter.” He just doesn’t do anything for me, even if he’s technically brilliant. And, as far as I’m concerned, there were other great songwriters at the same time who actually wrote music that was worth listening to. I will pick those songwriters every time.

I just read Misery by Stephen King. Annie Wilkes is fucked up. She's scary, she says horrific things, she runs over a state trooper with a ride-on lawnmower. It's terrifying and disgusting. And it's a great book. Now, I wouldn't go so far as to say Stephen King is a terrible person for imagining such a character. Why should I? He's an artist creating a character and depicting it the way she should be depicted.

It's interesting that we rarely treat songwriters the same way. Eminem's Slim Shady alter ego is clearly a character who does and says terrible things. This is a challenging album to listen to, due to the homophobia, misogyny, and violence expressed throughout it—but it's important to recognize that it was meant to be that. He's playing a character. He even, essentially, expresses that several times throughout the record. But still, many people would say he is "glorifying" homophobia, rape, misogyny, and violence. But... does it really? I don't know. People do and believe terrible things, and we're willing to watch films and read books about it. Why are we so afraid of music about it?

I'm not immune to judging an artist's character in my ratings. I know it has affected how I've rated Morrissey, Tupac, Kanye West. And so, in that spirit, I'm going to look at who Eminem has become as a person. His actions in this world point to him being pro-gay rights, pro-women's rights, pro-gun control. I think it's clear where he falls, and it's clear that the shocking lyrics exist to shock, not to represent actual beliefs.

Regardless of all of these thoughts, Eminem is clearly an incredible talent. His delivery and lyricism are distinctive and memorable. His influence on hip hop and popular culture are undeniable. The word "stan" exists in the dictionary because of a song from this record. For all these reasons, it's a deserving 5 stars, even if it's a challenging 5 stars.

While country will never really be “my thing,” there’s no denying the skill Dolly Parton has as a singer and songwriter. She weaves together these intimate tales and ideas of womanhood in such a satisfying package, it’s hard not to get a smile on your face as you listen. The melodies and rhymes are predictable, but I think that is part of the satisfaction.

Perhaps the greatest “sad boy” songwriter of all time. Of his big three albums, this is actually the one I’ve spent the least time with, though I need to rectify that. I’ve always been partial to “Xo” which isn’t on the list. "Figure 8" feels like a marriage of the palettes of "Xo" and "Either/Or," and may be more accessible than both. It also has an iconic album cover.

I admire Elliott Smith as a melodist, lyricist, and guitarist. His music makes me happy and sad at the same time. It's hard to explain why.

As always, it’s difficult for me, who is woefully monolingual, to rate a non-English album when lyrics are the focal point if the songs. Evidently, Brel was deeply influential in France and Belgium. Unfortunately, I don’t really understand why—just that he WAS. This album didn’t offend my ears, but it seemed behind the times for the 1960s, so, perhaps unfairly, I’m giving it a 2.

Here’s my take: “Sweet Child O’ Mine” is one of the greatest rock songs of the 80s, and “Welcome to the Jungle” is a 10/10 introduction to a band. Beyond that, the album is fine, but fairly run-of-the-mill Van Halen-styled heavy metal. Yet those two tracks buoy the rest of the album, deservedly so.