Reviews by meemesker

Can't believe I've slept on this one all these years! So much forward momentum to the beats. Love the positive vibes.

Definitely their most commercial sounding record. Wild atmosphere but still very melodic and generally pleasant. Very playful, almost like a psychedelic cartoon.

Although I respect her as an artist for rerecording her own material to reclaim ownership from her label, and even perhaps as a person for her acts of generosity to independent record stores, I can't say I enjoyed this. I have tried to listen to these two more recent albums of hers being touted as experimental and I had high hopes of being pleasantly surprised but I just don't hear it. This sounds very much like other pop music of the past 20 years or so. Granted, she herself has informed that sound for at least 3/4 of that time, but it is a sound that I generally dislike and that occasionally makes me cringe. The guest artists only seem to make it worse. I really tried to stay open minded and give this one a chance, but in the end it's just not for me. I'll write this off to me getting older and becoming a curmudgeon. Sorry TSwift fans.

Starting with "Hidden Place" it seems to pick up where her previous album, "Homogenic," left off, but then "Cocoon" takes the album in a more intimate direction. Definitely lends itself to headphones. Really like the textured beats, especially as they mesh with the string and vocal arrangements.

Not a huge fan of live albums in general and this one is particularly annoying in that the crowd is continually hooting and howling and whistling in the middle of the songs, which was absolutely a conscious choice to mic them and incorporate that element prominently in the mix. The guitar playing seems to be the centerpiece here but unfortunately I feel like the songs themselves are just mediocre so that it all comes across flat. The final strike against it is that it's simply unnecessarily too long as a double album.

I have a soft spot for hardcore punk. Had this one on cassette back in the day and they had the album 2xs back to back on side 1, and side 2 was just blank and you were encouraged to record what you wanted on it.

Sounds like a crazed R.E.M.

This is where Dylan began to establish himself as a serious songwriter and accidentally ended up changing songwriting itself. Starts incredibly strongly with the first three songs being absolutely timeless pillars of music that will last through the ages. It's almost as if Dylan was a human version of the monolith from "2001: A Space Odyssey" and everyone who came into contact with his music began to evolve after listening to it. He's still in the shadow of Woody Guthrie here when he wants to be, but at this point I think it's more to temper the sheer power that is pouring out of him with something more down to earth.

Despite having origins in my hometown of Cincinnati, I somehow completely missed the boat with The National. Now, listening to them consciously for the first time, I can see why: it's very competent music but it also sort of just blends into the general milieu of the indie rock of its time. And since they seem to almost exclusively dwell in a state of heavy melancholy, the album collapses under its own weight rather quickly for me. Come to think of it, "Heavy Melancholy" should be a subgenre of indie rock. If it were used as a label it would be really useful, because it would make it so much easier for me to avoid exhausting albums like this one.

I like Talk Talk's final two albums: "Spirit of Eden" and "Laughing Stock," but I am largely underwhelmed by this one. It's a transition point for them, only hinting at the nearly genreless direction they were about to go in. This one's just kind of there and doesn't really grab me even after repeated listens.

Has a sound somewhat similar to Public Enemy from the same era, but lyrically more focused on hardcore street life than political awareness. They definitely have unique voices and flows. But where they shine, in my opinion, is when they incorporate Latin percussion and Spanish lyrics. Ultimately, I find the gangster rap thing kind of exhausting over the course of an album though.

Even though I'm not the biggest Led Zeppelin fan, I have to admit this is an iconic album that deserves respect. And it's another great example which supports my theory that bands often produce their best work when they go off into the country and record in the comfort of relative isolation; encouraging jamming and exploration. Produced really well with some interesting sonic touches throughout, but nothing so overbearing that it's distracting from the songs themselves. I don't know if you'll ever hear a more badass drum sound than on "When the Levee Breaks." This album is a near perfect balance of their influences, from blues, to folk, to Tolkein. Yeah, you know they were fucking nerds.

I love Stevie Wonder and I feel this album is underrated in his catalog. Goes down easy all while making some genuinely heartfelt and poignant statements. No small feat. I used to put "They won't go when I go" on mixtapes and we'd get high and listen to it in silence and it would give us chills. Stevie is the real deal.

I'm not sure I can do this tonight. Not in the mood for Morrissey's moody brooding. I don't hate it and I can't say I even dislike it, but I very seldom want to listen to it.

A very even keeled album. Solid and dependable to the point where it verges on being boring for me. Just kind of starts blurring together after the first few tracks. I like Jay Z's voice but the mixing on the album sometimes sounds a bit wonky to my ear. Some details stick out more than they should and maybe I just want more reverb or something to smooth it out and give it more atmosphere. As is it's a bit too clean to the point of coming across kinda flat.

The Fall is one of those bands who have a vast and largely consistent discography, which makes it hard to know where to begin. So, thanks to 1001 for pointing me to this album. I do enjoy Mark E Smith's idiosyncratic vocal delivery but I can see why it wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea. It's like a drunk man under hypnosis.

I unabashedly like Christmas music and always have. This is a bona fide classic in heavy rotation around the holidays in my house which is beloved by all ages. It's in my top 3 Christmas albums of all time, along with The Vince Guaraldi Trio's "Charlie Brown Christmas," and Nat King Cole's "The Christmas Song." I love Phil Spector's big sound and densely layered arrangements. I do not love his personal message at the end of the album however, and I usually scramble to try to skip the track when I hear his creepy little voice come on. Hands down the best Christmas album ever produced by someone who would go on to become a convicted murderer.

The first in the trilogy of albums Dylan recorded in 1965. Three iconic pillars of rock that changed songwriting forever. Three. In. One. Fucking. Year... Let that sink in. Dylan could have never recorded anything again in his life after "Blonde on Blonde" and we'd still be feeling the shockwave he produced to this day.

He set a new bar for what was possible in terms of songwriting. Blowing the doors wide open. Furthermore, perhaps moreso than, and certainly before The Beatles, he was, like an alchemist, transforming rock music from something largely considered lightweight entertainment for teenagers into something that was worthy of study. He elevated rock music into high art and in doing so inspired others to join him, including The Beatles.

He's drawing from so many places here, some musical, others more literary, and all filtered through his brilliant and chemically altered mind - soaking in everything around him and synthesizing it all into stunning cryptic diamonds.

How did he do it? It's almost as if he were channeling the divine at this point. As if he's simply writing the language of the future as it pours out of him. He is without a doubt one of most unique and distinct lyricists of all time. And certainly the most influential. While I said above that he elevated rock music into something to take seriously, that doesn't mean he took out the fun. He can be quite lighthearted in fact, albeit in a dazzling, stream of consciousness kind of way. He can also be quite humorous in this regard and I really appreciate that range. For example, on this album, going from something like the surreal romp of "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream" to nearly any of the emotionally piercing songs from side 2.

Speaking of sides, this is where he takes his first step solidly into electric rock territory on side 1. But he still keeps one foot planted in his ever evolving stream of consciousness brand of folk on side 2. I think it's a brilliant way to break up the album to make that transition and I think he did it in the correct order, even though it seems somewhat counter intuitive. Lead with the new, the thing that is unexpected, then give them the thing they are more accustomed to while they recover from that initial shock. Side 2 is also much heavier emotionally than side 1 and I think that makes alot of sense to weight it that way too. He would of course go on to be accused of being the Judas of the folk scene but Dylan didn't look back.

I love this album. I have listened to it so many times I don't really need to listen to it again as I have it nearly memorized. But it's such a joy that I will listen to it again, several times in fact.

Picked this one up at Hidden World the night of the FoD show. It's a trip to be sure. Definitely has a chaotic atmosphere from the synths that I feel a kinship with. A landmark album really considering its use use of synths for its time. I like that the synths are a bit more crude than keyboard controlled Moogs and that they were also used to process other sounds. Definitely drawing from a variety of atypical influences to produce a very unique sound. Wish they were able to go on to make more music and refine their sound but I'll take this wild ride of a record. A very enjoyable experiment.

Peter Tosh and Bob Marley are like the Lennon & McCartney of Reggae. Both are absolute pillars of influence in the genre. While Marley gets the lion's share of attention, this album proves how capable and even masterful Peter Tosh was in the absence of Marley.