Reviews by magsmusic

Lupe, why do you have to be a controversial individual.
This was actually pretty good and I loved that part of the reason he strayed away from hip hop was because of the misogyny and vulgarity. He was trying to make a statement and work towards change, appreciating the life he grew up with but not glamorizing it and tearing others down. But then life happened...
Overall this was pretty good and it made me dance, sing and think. I had a chance to discuss the points he was making and evoke others to think. Real, Just Might be Ok, Instrumental and American Tourist were all good. Kick, Push was such an awesome little love song and so catchy. The Outro didn't really seem necessary, seemed like the Grammy speech he knew they would cut short. This was good and made me want to listen to him more.

Folksy, calm, border line psycadelic rock. It was fine, something that could be playing and I wouldn't turn it off. There were some decent lyrics that did make an impact.

Turns out he is a real jerk and crappy person...
Prior to learning I still did not like this album. This all felt a little stalker, serial killer to me. His voice dragged through the album and he was just so whiny but in a full of himself kind of way.

It was fine. I don't think I was blown away by anything. It is hipster rock of the 2000's. To me they don't really do anything that blows you out of the water. I am not sure they are even subtle enough to blow me out of the water. I have heard good things about this album but it was just okay.

I didn't need to read to hear that this album was influenced by the 1980's. At first I thought Tom Petty had written Suffering and Springsteen was singing in Red Eyes. Its a little deep and sad, and in ways perfect on a snowy day being stuck indoors (Lost in a Dream just felt mystical in a way with the snow gently falling). It was nice and some days I feel like I could fall into it deeply and feel it like a warm hug, where other days it just wouldn't be the right fit. I think my biggest criticism is that its less inspired by the 80's as it is emulating the 80's.

Since this is the second of her album on the list I can only guess the author of this book was Team Christina in the early 2000's. She has a great voice and this album gave us time to appreciate it more. She didn't feel forced and there was some genuine emotion in it. I also appreciate the spirit of reminding us where the roots of R&B came from and not acting like she was completely unique in her styling. However that is where it almost stops for me. I think she was till trying to play off the female sexualization that pop culture made her embrace...she might love it (Candyman is fun) but it also just feels so generic at times that it makes me question how much she loves the character she had become or just didn't know where else to go. At this point she was 26, so I had hoped she would be a little deeper and more mature in her music but still just a pop album that was fairly uninspired. However, there is just something in me that can't give it a 2

I was not expecting to like this so much. The variety of instruments was awesome and really kept me on my toes. Generation landslide and Mary Ann were my favorites. I just appreciated the diversity of the music and how they were all done so well.

First off it has a way more modern feel then 1969. I feel like this could have easily come out in the 2000's. (Except the backup vocals, something about a small group of ladies as your backup singers really screams 60's and 70's.) For its time I can see where this was different and pushed the envelope in terms of instruments and melodies. But its actually kind of boring and kind goes on and on. Hyperbolicsyllabise....seemed to drag on longer than the title. Then By the Time I Get to Phoenix had an unnecessarily long explanation or story that really hyped up the song that ended up being nothing. If he had shortened songs up and written one or two other songs I think it would have been much more impressive. I also was slightly disappointed I didn't get to hear him sing and have his voice by more central. Knowing he voiced Chef I thought that his voice would be stronger and more powerful, but honestly it felt like his voice wasn't meant to be the star of the songs. Overall this was kind of a throw away album.

I love Pinball Wizard but it really came out of nowhere on this album. It just felt like they knew they should throw in something that could be played on the radio because the rest of it is just random. Reading about this and the acclaim slightly shocked me. It makes perfect sense that it was turned into a play, because it sounds like broadway music that is just too literal and too the point. I didn't read all the information until after so I kept hoping it wasn't that straight forward and the subtle symbolism would creep in (which is bad because I typically hate symbolism) but it never came. It just kept being straight forward and not great. I am sure at the time it was different and revolutionary but now its just blah and meh

She has a pretty voice and it is a good mix of a country voice with a more rock sound. This was a really a quintessential sound of the 80's, this rock/country sound that they incorporated some blue and folk into. There was something sort of mellow and emo about this kind of music that is very subtle and in retrospect feels a little built off of bands like Fleetwood Mac. She kind of created her own sound that didn't really fit anywhere. Due to the subtleness of it nothing struck me as amazing, but I do appreciate the sound and the girl power of it.

I don't know...its not unlistenable, the sounds are all okay but they don't make sense. I want to connect and fall into it but I don't even understand what I am connecting to. Like the Carrier sounded like whale sounds I would hear in an aquarium layered with African tribal chants...why? I could have maybe done a 3, but it just felt so long and unnecessary to continue.

I felt like I was visiting a Renaissance Fair and this was a ministerial sharing all the local legends. I don't hate it, I sometimes even enjoy it (I really liked Come All Ye). But I am not sure this will make the normal rotation. I also find it interesting that they say this was the introduction of British folk, but it felt so old at its core that I don't see how it was really new. They used old fashioned instruments and music and threw in a guitar or a synthesizer every once in a while. I also saw a lot of aspects of Celtic music and her voice was very old style.

It was fine, it was Bruce Springsteen. He had some good guitar and some saxophone, his voice was the grainy emotion I expect from him and it was good. But there wasn't anything in it that I loved. It just felt fine. The lyrics were good, but not great. Maybe if I dug into it deeper I would find more to love but for now on the surface it was fine.

So this is not my genre. I love the female empowerment and embracing female sexuality. The language is a little rougher then I usually use, but I also appreciate her being all about it and not being afraid to talk about sex from a female perspective. It did run together a little and not always differentiate much between songs. If it weren't for the interludes I am not sure I would have always heard the song changes.

This was deep and heavy. It was good and the lyrics were very descriptive and the emotions were all over the album. But I am not sure I will come back this as it is just a little too much and too deep for me to have in a regular routine. It also just all felt the same and blending together. Now I get it, not sure how you would throw something light and airy onto this album but still something to just give me a slight break or a hard rock out might have worked to break it up a little.

It was good, I think though PJ has been on here a lot and I need a little break or just expecting something more because she is on here so much.

Side note listening this morning made me a little nostalgic for music of the 70's. Its so much rawer and simpler. Bob Dylan could never be so popular today. His imperfect voice, with his imperfect sound would never pass today. We expect so much with synthesizers, editing and sound manipulation. And it made me sad because there is some so beautiful and simple in his sound. It is so pedestrian and simple, helping the everyday person connect. He then pairs it with his poetic scathing lyrics and it elevates it to art. I know he is a jerk and pretentious which I usually hate, but he just makes it work, maybe because he truly is talented. Then you add the guitar and harmonica (I am a sucker for a harmonica) to his sound and it continues to elevate it while also keeping it simple. He is not my favorite, but its still great.

I imagine this is what happened in the studio....Oh my gosh we just laid down a banger with this new song Layla. Everyone is going to love that song so much that we need to release it ASAP, but we don't have anything else really ready so let's write a whole bunch of throw away background songs and hide Layla at the end so it sounds everyone forgets about how they listened to all these throw away songs for the last hour.
Personal rant...this was love in the 70's, she left me, she won't stay with me, she won't put up with all my crap and just deal with all the bad things I do to her...how dare she! If she just loved me exactly how I am and let me do whatever I wanted we would have a perfect love.
I liked the guitar in I am Yours and Layla is a banger (even if the lyrics are actually subpar). But I am just not sure they really save the rest of this blah album about love for me.

I had to go back and listen again because I sometimes miss what she is saying. I know it is strong because of the emotion she evokes with her voices. Sometimes that is a bit over the top, but overall it worked for this album. I am really enjoying more of this girl rock.

Starting off I had most of these songs already Liked so I knew I would overall really like listening to this album, so I tried to be extra critical of it. I will admit the songs don't go deep enough and are very surface level. I needed to look up a lot of them and figure out what exactly he was trying to sing about because I don't think he went far enough with the lyrics. I also see a little fboy, douchyness here, its early 2000's indie hipster boy energy that can be a little too far and too 'cool.' However, I can't help but love it and want to sing and dance along. They are catchy and fun and give a happy energy to hipster emo indie rock feelings.