Reviews by magsmusic

I went into this one excited, Queen Latifah is such an icon and rightly deserves the title Queen. But I was honestly a little underwhelmed. Start off, she rocks the feminist vibes and supports her cultural vibes. She also doesn't focus on bad language or lyrical shock value to get her points across. Which I love. But....there were songs she barely sang on and others where she she seemed like an add on. The songs were good but others have done it a lot better. Her raps where clever, but others are more clever. She was fast, but not that fast. The beats were catchy but others are more catchy. She laid groundwork for women in rap and hip hop and that cannot be denied.

I don't hate it, its actually not bad. But there is something about his voice and what he alludes while he is singing that makes me feel like he is a bit much and too full of himself. Like Certain People I Know or We Hate it When our Friends Become Successful....I liked the tunes, they were catchy and a little ironic with the lyrics. But then his voice just feels a little uppity and high and mighty. The way he sings Your the One for me, Fatty kind of makes me want to punch him in the face and Seasick is just sooooo dramatic. I think I would have rated a little higher if it weren't for the little edge of snarkiness he seems to have.

I like the fiddle and it has some neat parts. Just drags at times and get somewhat repetitive. It has some jazzy influence when aren't always my favorite but its not bad.

Its fine....its Elvis. I am not a fan of Elvis and his voice. Now I am sure if I was a teenage girl in the 50's I would have screamed, yelled and fainted at the site of his hips and the crooning of this voice. But today, having all sorts of music in my past his voice actually annoys me. There are some really pretty songs and ones that connect with my rural background (true love on a gravel road) but his voice just drags to me. The songs on this also weren't that different to me, they were more traditional rock country. But maybe they weren't then....maybe I would be throwing my panties on stage for him back in the day because it was new and made my heart (and other parts) be all a flutter. But today I give it a 3...

I love Green Day so this is a little biased. I tried to just think about this album only and not everything. This is the album that put them on the map, and for good reason. Its a group embodying British punk with their American spin on it. Some of the topics are a bit juvenile but they were young at the time. Everything for me works on this one. I want to pop and rock and sing out loud.

So it was a weird phenomenon...I would check song names because I liked them. Then feeling like a lot of time would go by I would check the next song and somehow only one song had passed. I don't know if it was me or the album. I liked it, but then felt like it went forever. Not sure what that says

This would have been background music at Abercrombie or another trendy store in the 90's.
There are some beautiful parts that made me feel like I was floating in a super calm sea or the ocean. I have a difficult time connecting to music without lyrics. Maybe if I had the opportunity to sit in a field somewhere and just appreciate every note in the songs without life getting in the way I could appreciate it more, but sadly I am just not there with this type of music.
She had a nice voice, the piano was pretty, and it was all connected to itself but just not my thing.

I enjoyed it, it was very punk, but a little different and a little more rock and roll. The vocals were all punk and had a very traditional vibe with that. But the guitar and drums had a little different flair. Not different enough to be amazing, but not bad.

Hmmm, so on one hand this album is awesome....
They take rap and make it uniquely their own. I don't always want to consider them rap, because it is just so different but all of the elements are their. Mixing, sampling, rhyming, beats, etc. Its all there and done well but without sounding like anyone else. They have some awesome lyrics as well. Yes they are for young pot smoking white folks, but they are still really good. They are controversial but in all the right ways and not the bad ways. Shoutout to Sabatoge...awesome song. I even liked the musical instrumental breaks in between, Futterman's Rule was awesome!
It is a chaotic album...and not always in a good way. Some bits weren't bad but just felt out of place (Ricky's Theme and Shambala). They have great lyrics but at times they were so distorted you couldn't understand them. Overall it was a good album and one that deserved to be on this list, but its not perfect.

This one goes back and forth for me between hard rock and metal. For those I consider more hard rock songs (Epic, War Pigs, From Out of Nowhere) I am a big fan. I don't love it everyday but I do like to rock out from time to time.
For those that are more Metal (Surprise! Your Dead!) I am not as much of a fan, more because its not my music, not necessarily because they did it poorly). I would really like a 3.5 but since that isn't a choice...

I started and stopped this album about three times, and while I enjoyed it each time I also realized I didn't remember what I had and hadn't listened to because it was all sort of blah...

Guessing its not a coincidence to we got this album the day after Brian Wilson dies (RIP).
The Beach Boys getting deep and taking in their blue period. Its a swift departure from what they were so well known for. I think it is awesome that they tried to go this route and share more than the beach and the waves, but something about their style just doesn't lend itself as well to this kind of music. I liked Student Demonstration Time (eerily timely as well). I am glad to see they tried to change it up, but not surprised this is the first I am hearing of these songs and no real hits came off the album.

It started as a performance art piece and somehow ended with a pop/folk/rock album. The last three songs were great, but the first part was just wonky to me.

Fun and 70's kooky

This was a nice easy start to a Monday. It was pretty and a little unique. The sounds were familiar but mixed with different instruments and unique pairings. We did simple folk up to rocking out. It was a little full and felt like there were a lot of ideas (the album cover is a perfect metaphor), sort of like a seek and find, trying to find all the pieces or details. All of the pieces were good and really built upon each other (like a fancy seven course dinner), there were just a lot. Definitely interested more in this band.

This sort of became background noise after a while. Not to say I can't appreciate the sound they have for the late 80's. This sound is really reminds me of the early-mid 90's with grunge rocks. They were likely early influencers of this sound, but I also don't think they did it best. So in the overall world of music I can see how it is influential, but nothing about it amazes me today.

As I listened to this album there was something so familiar about it and then I heard Monster and Me and it clicked...Shrek!
It was also interesting how that song put context for this whole album even before I knew they sang it. There is something childish but dark and haunting about it from the beginning. It connects to the inner dark childlike soul in my and I like that. One critique is that everything sort of sounds the same, but that sound is his and ties it all together.

Songs were long and repetitive, but also had good beats and made me want to dance. Songs had good lyrics and told stories. Funk may not be my thing but I appreciate the album

So it was so 80's, but also different and unique feeling. 80's can be super cheesy and over the top, but something about it took in the 80's vibes and felt unique and sincere. It had deep inner feelings taking in the times.

It was fine, nothing spectacular or overly amazing but it was pretty and had some beauty. Overall it was flat though, nothing stirring or making me want to immerse myself into the music.