Reviews by mark-bionix

I appreciate that XTC are a very clever band, but perhaps by 1999 they'd gotten a bit too clever? "Dictionary" is super cringe. Other than that, there's an awful lot to like here sonically (and lyrically, too, sometimes). Makes me want to dive into some of the classic XTC records, but I'd file this one as just ok.

Enjoyed it. Crazy story about what happened to this guy.

Nah, dude, this sucks shit. Thanks a bunch for making me listen to "Smack My Bitch Up." I don't get why this is here. I guess maybe they've influenced some modern EDM stuff? But honestly there's just nothing fun about it musically, and it just doesn't seem to have all that much to say. I knew the singles well enough because I was alive then, but could have gotten by just fine without hearing the whole album. (Also I hope this bad cameo isn't the only time Kool Keith makes an appearance on this list)

[Only listened to the self-titled 1996 album because that's the part that's on the list] I didn't really like this, and it's not really representative of what Throwing Muses did later in their career. Appreciated hearing a 40-year-old Tanya Donnelly song I never knew existed, though! (It's the best song on the record by a lot)

Eels were always somewhat of a mystery to me, so I kind of avoided them. I liked having to listen to a full record of theres. I really loved a lot of this, especially "Not Ready Yet." Some of it doesn't work as well, but I got really into the groove of it as a whole. The noise gate and kind of compressed sound they always use take a little getting used to, but feel very cool in the context of a full album. It can feel a little clinical but E's voice and some of the instrumentation have a really unique human quality that makes the whole thing work.

Continuing my established tradition of giving four stars to vibey early Cure records.

This is a kick ass live record. The Platonic ideal of the rock guitar sound. Last note of "Cowboy Song" right into "Boys are Back in Town" fucking rules.

Very pleasant. I would like to samba on the beach. Really could've done without "You Didn't Have to Be So Nice," though. Creepy.

There are some bits I like in here, but it's really confounding music in a lot of places. Even if I didn't know it was all performed by one guy, those cracks really show when there are some odd tempo changes, riffs that kind of don't feel full when the movement abruptly goes somewhere else. And the calling out of instruments and some of the other vocalizations are just odd and off-putting.

I liked it! So much familiar stuff on here. Not the kind of thing I'd listen to every day, but fun background for a dinner party or something.

Love it. Some stone cold classics on here, and I really appreciate all the instrumentals, too. Definitely from the peak CD era where artists were trying to fill up the whole disc. Could use some editing.

It's solid, with a bunch of good tunes and really good production. I don't really know enough about grime as a genre to explain why it sounds good to me but it does. "It Ain't Safe" is the one that'll be stuck in my head.

If I'm being objective, this is a 2. But I loved it when I was in high school, so I'm bumping it up.

Had never once heard of this person, but it's good!

Yeah it's fuckin' great. Was never totally won over by "This Woman's Work" as I was hearing it in this context. Favorite part of the album is the moment when "Rocket's Tail" opens up.

It's great. Lots of Devo classics on here.

God I wish I could figure out how to replicate Mark Knopfler's guitar tone. Also, "Sultans of Swing" is an absolutely perfect song. But the rest of the album is solid, not great. I'm a Brothers in Arms guy anyway.

Have always had kind of a love-hate relationship with this album (O.K. Computer is pretty much perfect, then this was the start of a big falloff). I liked listening to it today, though.

MJ has two five-star albums, and this isn't one.

Ok, so I'm the biggest REM fan on earth but I do not understand why this is on the 1001 list. It's by far the worst record of the Bill Berry era of the band (and worse than a couple of the ones from after he left). Obviously it's still and REM record so there's a lot of redeemable material on here. "World Leader Pretend" is great, "Orange Crush" rips, but the tone is really off for the most part, like it's got one foot in Document and one foot jumping ahead to Out of Time, both of which are superior albums.