Reviews by meowmeow

Qualities I appreciate in music:
- experimentation
- a sense of humor
- enough dynamic range to make using over-ear headphones worth it
- an energetic tempo

So, I'd never sat down and actually listened to 10cc before - I've heard them on occasion on classic rock radio, but that's the extent of my familiarity.

This is an album that pushes the "happy chemicals" button inside my brain. I'm adding it to my library after only a single listen.

I most recently listened to this a week and a half ago for funsies, what kind of star rating do you expect from me? I am heckin' biased, friends!

The auditory equivalent of an alpaca fleece: sure, it's incredibly soft, but it's not very practical for making everyday garments. Alpaca would make a nice basic scarf to show off at the coffee shop where you're playing your acoustic guitar, though.

Music for ren faire weirdos! I found it delightful, but then, I'm a ren faire weirdo.

Meh.

I know why Billie Holiday was significant, but this isn't the sort of music I listen to for fun.

track 1: holding hands at the roller rink

track 2: awkward fumbling attempt at touching a boob

track 3: back to skating, no holding hands this time

track 4: "okay, wait until we're in the parking lot and then you can touch a boob"

track 5: faux pas committed, offer rescinded

track 6: *awkward teenage boy sobs*

track 7: school isn't going to be fun tomorrow

I've just been violently flung into my memories of high school. Ouch.

Meh. Maybe I'll revisit this one later, but it's not working for me now.

I'm listening to this album around 7 in the morning on a gray, chilly Tuesday in early November, the day after my most recent temp placement ended, feeling uncertain about the future while I wait to hear back about the next one...

I'm not completely focused on the music, but it's providing an excellent soundtrack for this particular moment in my life, you know?

1978 Bruce Springsteen and 2025 Bruce Springsteen are very different people. The '78 version seemed to be in need of some good snuggle time with the friendly animal of his choice. I've been snuggling with a six month old kitten, and she does wonders for my mood.

Anyway, this Bruce doesn't sound like he was in the best place mentally. The listening was a challenge! But then: kitten snuggles, all better.

Challenging listens aren't bad. I'm not adding this to my regular rotation by any means, but it was definitely a worthwhile experience.

I'm not dressed appropriately for listening to incredibly energetic electronica from 1994. I need a necklace that's just several colorful plastic pacifiers on a string, and one of those felt Cat In The Hat-style hats. For atmospheric reasons, you understand.

Way to sneak an extra Bowie album onto the list, Dimery!

Hmmm. First impression: this music is way too treble-heavy for my tastes. Did this help set the trend for annoyingly tinny pop that seems to have taken over the airwaves as I age into my curmudgeon era?

Ah, yes, there are three songs on here that get enough radio play for me to recognize, but I wouldn't say I'd ever ENJOYED those tracks.

Meh. Mildly irritating, but I don't hate it. That's a two.

Either I've grown and changed in the 11 months I've been doing this project, or I've developed something akin to Stockholm Syndrome for this variety of folksy poetry recital. Either way, I actually enjoyed listening to this album!

Goldfrapp: really good at putting me to sleep.

That's not a complaint, I have insomnia half the time. Still. Difficult to judge it on its merits when I'm drifting off, you know?

Prince has always been one of those artists I only end up listening to because other people like him, and this album didn't change my mind one bit. I'm not going to leave the room if this comes on, but I'd much rather listen to Trout Mask Replica.

Good beats, if you can ignore the lyrics.

Unfortunately, I can't ignore the lyrics. The cover art is a pretty good clue about how much objectification of women is going on here. Grotesque.

You know, the original Candle In the Wind is a lot easier to listen to than the '97 version. It just feels kind of wistful, remembering a superstar from Elton's youth who imploded at a young age, not like the bizarre parasocial raw grief of the Princess Di rewrite that got severely overplayed during my early teenage years.

Ahem.

My Elder Millennial youth experience aside, this is a damn good album, and even as a double it never really dragged (my least favorite track being second, it's all up from there!) and didn't feel excessive. Elton was wandering all over the place, experimenting with different styles, and I am here for it.

(O.G. Candle In the Wind is decent enough to not knock the album as a whole down to four stars, but I still don't LIKE it. C'est la vie.)

I'm glad I was too old for kid's movies by the time Randy Newman started doing their soundtracks. His style really doesn't work for me.