Reviews by meemesker

Kinda comes across as a semi throwback to earlier hip hop than it's own era. Very listenable but nothing really stuck out to me.

This first album comes off like a more laid back Sonic Youth, but with a sense of humor and a sensibility for brighter/catchier hooks. Stephen Malkmus' approach to songwriting, particularly his lyrics, blew me away when I first started really paying attention to them. Largely free of rhyme schemes, yet utterly memorable. Obviously very well educated with vocabulary and obscure references in spades, yet he pops his own intellectual bubbles by tempering it with whimsical goofiness and the mundane. The delivery and phrasing also underscore this in their playful and "casual" nature. Although this may sound very "normal" and familiar now, it is because their sound and approach have been so completely absorbed into modern indie music that it is almost difficult to recognize their originality in hindsight. One of the main tributaries of influence in indie rock. An absolute pillar. Loosen up.

I think there is a strong case for this album being their best.

Listenable. Very of it's time. Bittersweet Symphony stands out. Nothing else really grabs me.

I love Ray Charles and was obsessed with him for awhile. I love his phrasing on nearly everything. His music is like a comfort food to me. The Atlantic years are definitely my favorite period but the recording on this album is kinda harsh, especially when listened to on headphones. Wish I had this on vinyl. Definitely prefer side B with the more low key arrangements that allow you to hear his piano playing more clearly. Kinda wish the whole album was in that more restrained style but "Let The Good Times Roll" from Side A really swings.

Not my thing. Kind of drifted off while listening. Could be I'm just tired but I also don't find this very compelling. As usual, it is mostly due to a distaste for the vocal style. This sort of sounds like it is a from a musical to me. There's this sense of a forced theatricality to it.

Dig the chill down tempo vibe. Unique and very friendly/comfy sound.

I must say I don't love the virtuosic bass. I feel it interferes with the piano rather than supporting or driving and is simply playing too many notes and often too high for my taste. Wish their had been more individual mics on the drums. Sounds of the club atmosphere aren't too distracting but don't really do a whole lot for me either. I like a good jazz trio but the bass dominates to my ear so much I feel like it should be called the Scott LaFaro Trio not the Bill Evans Trio.

REM is one of those rare bands where I like pretty much everything they put out throughout their entire career. This album might be their most dramatic. Has some really iconic songs on it. This was one that was in the CD players of the cars I would ride in back in it's day. Favorite tracks are Man on the Moon and Nightswimming.

Appreciate the minimalism but the mood and inflection stays so flat. Somehow weirdly comes across as both emotionally distant and melodramatic at the same time. Nothing really bothered me but I can't say I enjoyed it... Actually this started to annoy me around the second half of the record. Sounds like a woman numbed up on pain killers having a moaning session with a lovesick zombie.

Important link in the folk tradition. To me this music is like vegetables that are good for you on a crudite plate and not like a cheeseburger or a slice of pizza. This analogy depends heavily on your opinions of vegetables on a crudite plate vs cheeseburgers and pizza but I think the analogy still holds up regardless of differences of opinion.

Wore thin pretty quick with me. I gravitate more towards doom/sludge than thrash when it comes to metal.

To me Can is like a genre unto themselves in that they are utterly unique. They are comprised of such an interesting combination of individual backgrounds but yet they are all completely devoted to a group mentality so that it doesn't get pushed in any one individual direction more than another, and that, I think is the secret to their success. It sounds like they really listened to each other when they played and fed off of each other. I tend to gravitate towards music you can get lost in/hypnotized by and Can does that with some of the funkiest grooves ever put to record. Bewitching. The closest thing I can compare it to is Miles Davis' fusion era but Can is even more boundary-less in their search for a sound. The album covers such a rare emotional range that it is beyond words, as are most of Damo Suzuki's lyrics! Tago Mago is their sprawling masterpiece and where they really caught fire, and I do love it, but I actually prefer their next album Ege Bamyasi for it's tighter construction. Unfortunately that album is not part of this list (but I am glad to see that Future Days is). I think the first two sides (or four songs) of Tago Mago are nearly flawless, and that would have been a fantastic album in and of itself. When you get to sides 3 & 4 they are much more experimental, and while I do appreciate them conceptually, etc., having listened to this album many times, I'm not always in the right place to listen to Aumgn or Peking O. It's kind of like the White Album in that way. How many times do you really listen to Revolution #9 the whole way through without skipping? Still, this is 5 stars for me simply for their efforts in making the journey to find their own wholly original sound, which they would go on to perfect in subsequent albums IMHO. Listen to the 40th anniversary edition to hear on the bonus tracks how differently these songs could be performed live!

Have this one on vinyl. A fan obviously. I'm a sucker for most British sophistipop. Love the Thomas Dolby production. Very crisp and three dimensional. Sounds great on headphones. So many nice touches in the arrangements throughout. The banjo on Faron Young may be my favorite use of banjo in all of recorded music. The more I listen to this the more details I enjoy.

Ambitious but comes across kinda bland. The country flavored songs are the weakest and that material should've been a separate album. Think I like side 3 best.

Prog is not a four letter word. Embrace the dramatic power.

May not be their best album but may be their most enjoyable.

Works for me. Sounds like a good drinking album. Kinda wish Rod Stewart sang lead on every track though.

Has that wall of guitar sound that comes across kinda dated to me now. Some catchy bits throughout but it all comes down to the fact that I don't like Billy Corgan's voice.

Some good songs here but a little too live for me.