Reviews by meemesker

All the Big Star albums were a big part of the soundtrack to my college years, but this one in particular is their best. The dynamic between Bell and Chilton had a certain irreplaceable magic. They capture beautifully what it feels like to be young.

I think I've developed a Britpop intolerance. I mean I can listen to it, I don't immediately break out in hives or anything, but it's only a matter of time before the diarrhea starts flowing. I probably would have never figured this out, but because there are so many fucking mediocre examples of the genre on this list, I was eventually able to figure out the pattern and make the connection.

This may come off as quaint, or even passe, but Buddy Holly is one of the major seed crystals of rock n roll. I don't just respect this music though, I genuinely enjoy it.

This one took me several listens to fully digest. This is one strange beast of an album. It almost sounds like incredibly articulate outsider music. I vacillated between being charmed and annoyed by it. The one thing that stood out head and shoulders above everything else was "A Very Cellular Song." I love the way they weaved that one together. A real musical journey. Almost makes me wish they'd stretched it out to a full side of an album and then did the same thing with a medley of their stronger material on the other side. Although I wouldn't put this album on for my own enjoyment, this is exactly the sort of musical challenge I signed up for.

This isn't a perfect album, but the influence this has had is incalculable. Nile Rogers is a national treasure.

I like their bass forward sound, but I don't love the vocals. The structures keep you on your toes, but I'm not sure why this is even on here when The Minutemen are already present. I'll give 'em a 3 for their generally intriguing idiosyncrasies though.

Simultaneously charming and off-putting. Seems more intentionally weird and difficult than their debut "Dub Housing," which I prefer.

I have fond memories of the humpty dance on MTV and at roller rinks and stuff, and I like their more whimsical funk approach in theory, but the songs are way too long - every single one overstays its welcome. Despite being described as a concept album, it seems completely unfocused. Some of the rhymes are clunky and the scratching is kinda lazy. Humpty Dance is the standout track. It's no wonder they started the album off with it. Kept waiting for another track to match it, but it never came. Though I didn't really enjoy the album as a whole, I'll give it a 3 just for the humpty dance and their general weirdness.

Listening to this after having a Stevie Wonder album the previous day made this especially jarring. Then, having to listen to it on YouTube with extremely commercial ads in between made it almost surreal.

I don't dislike the sound, but I am not a fan of the lyrics. They are intended to provoke and be intentionally ugly, but are also quite crude and inarticulate to the point of sounding immature. "Kerosene" in particular felt like a high school level shock value thing. I can understand a song or two like that on an album, but an unrelenting torrent of negativity just isn't the whole picture, it's not realistic in that sense, and I simply don't understand choosing to dwell in that headspace. It also loses its potency when done in that manner with no relief. I stopped being shocked and simply began waiting for it to be over before it was halfway through.

Even though I don't really want to listen to this album ever again, I will say something in their favor: for the time this was made, they were definitely forging their own sound - one that has certainly gone on to influence many others. Beyond that, the thing I respect most about the band is simply their whole approach to being a band. They did everything on their own terms, no contracts, no managers, paid for their own shit, etc. - all to retain complete creative freedom. Even though I'm not a huge fan of some of their artistic choices, I admire them for sticking to their vision, and pulling it off in such a way that they wouldn't be tempted to alter their course. They did exactly what they set out to do, and didn't give a fuck what anybody thought, one way or another. In my view, that's about the only way to get to pure creative expression, and I admire the discipline it must've taken to keep it that way. I wish there were more bands like this, with similar principles. I think we'd have a much richer musical palette that wasn't as defined by genre labels and marketing tactics.

Now I'm gonna go back to listening to Stevie Wonder...

I would love to live in the world that Stevie Wonder conjures through his music. This may not be the first album from his classic era with his newfound artistic freedom, but I think it's where he really found his footing and became more comfortable as a songwriter and in the recording studio. These songs are much stronger than the material on "Music of My Mind." Stevie is one of the most authentic musical geniuses of the 20th Century and this is where he really starts to blossom. It's beautiful to behold.

Post punk and synth pop are two genres that are normally right up my alley, but there's something I always find slightly off-putting about The The. I think it's mostly the lyrics, and partially his vocal delivery. Plus, I don't really like the arrangements with the folksier instruments like a fiddle, accordion, harmonica, etc. I like my synth pop synthy. That said, the marimba works for me I guess because I actually quite like the track "Giant." Overall I enjoy this album much more than their follow up "Infected" from '86, which was also on the list.

Can't really say I love a whole album of this, but I'll give it 3 stars just to stick up for humor in music. That, and I love that they essentially recorded it live to capture more spontaneity.

I wouldn't say this is musical wallpaper, or even background music. Some of the samples are a bit too foregrounded for that. It definitely isn't in your face though. Fills a nice musical niche: headphone music to get lost in. Dreamy, headbobbin' stuff.

I'll join the chorus and say I like The Who, but it's a live album, and that generally doesn't sizzle my bacon. At least there isn't too much crowd noise throughout. The one track I really love here is "A Quick One While He's Away," which I think is actually superior to the studio version. And the way they are able to hop from song to song so seamlessly in those medleys certainly is impressive.

Spirit is severely underrated. You can usually find their records pretty cheap, even in bargain bins, and I'm honestly sort of baffled by this. I consider this album a lost gem, and am glad to see it on the list. Spirit have a very unique brand of psychedelia that brings many influences together. They definitely get a little weird from time to time, as is customary in psychedelia, but it's not overdone, and they keep it all grounded with tasty hooks underlying everything. One thing I'm absolutely loving while listening to this album on headphones is that muted bass tone! So deep and rich. Definitely a P Bass. My platonic ideal. Brings so much power to the songs. This is their last great album before they fell apart. Absolutely top tier psychedelia. If you like this, definitely check out their first three records.

This whole thing sounds like the soundtrack to some gritty HBO or Showtime series set in the southwest. Is it any good? It's alright I guess. Does it belong on the list? Probably not.

Trying too hard.

This might be my favorite Beatles album - warts and all. Raw creativity just flooding out of them. A musical rollercoaster ride of the highest order. All over the place in the best way. Like an exquisite buffet. "Oh I'll try some of that, and some of this, and a couple of those, and what's this???" So much fun to hear them really cut loose and just let it all hang out, even if they were falling apart at the seams in the process. This is the sound of exceptionally talented people with complete creative freedom, going in every direction at once.

I'd also like to point out one more thing: sometimes people rip on Paul, hell, even John did, saying his tunes are soft, etc... Dude wrote "Helter Skelter." It's called range.

I'm not a huge fan or anything, but this isn't even their best album.

A little noise, a little jazz, a little avant garde minimalism, all prog. Though I like their first two albums a bit more, this is bold stuff, and holds up well alongside other prog rock and jazz fusion of the era.