Reviews by michaewaratealbums

I was pretty excited when I saw this one pop up. I like punk and I like screamy noise for the most part. Somehow I never listened to this in all my days of listening to loud and aggressive music. But hey, I was only 3 when this came out so...

I love all that this cleared the way for and what it represents, but musically it just doesn't blow my hair back.

If I discovered it at 14 I would probably love it today, but on first complete listen I'm not finding anything to move the needle much past 3 stars.

I can appreciate what it was at the time, but it feels a little bland when you consider all the other folk options from the same era.

I never knew about the controversy, I guess if they were still performing in 2026 they would have been a no-brainer pick for the TPUSA alternative halftime show.

I didn't hate it but I don't think I'll be returning often.

On the plus side you can listen to the whole thing in the time it takes to pinch a loaf.

Nostalgia bomb. I've gravitated to Security in recent past but So was my introduction.

This held up well, great range and never a dull moment.

Plus interspecies internet FTW!

At first I liked it more than I thought I would. It wasn't "clown music" as another reviewer noted.

Sick Things seemed to last 80 minutes, had to skip. I read that this is a masterpiece. That is not the word I would have chosen.

When I think of weird I think of Mr. Bungle, this just seemed pretty tame and maybe a little aspirationally odd. Didn't scratch the weird itch nor the rock one.

I was introduced to AC with Poison, and I liked it when I was 14 because MTV told me to. Now I'm closing with Love The Dead and pretty glad this is ending. Sorry if this means I don't understand music history but this wasn't enjoyable.

Saccharine sweet, but hard to think of a better example of feel-good pop music. Fun in small doses, but probably not something I'm going to have on heavy rotation.

I spent 3 weeks when I was young at corporate training that included a LOT of non-US individuals. One thing is certain, they LOVED ABBA - I probably heard Dancing Queen and Fernando at least once a night.

h/t to the Core 7, RIP Trista.

I love how polarizing this is.

Personally I found it goofy. Frantic organ power noodling.

I understand the term "prog" and I hear it used a lot, but if this is peak prog I don't think I want to stay on the ride.

I saw another review talking about boss music - that is kind of how I felt listening. Like I was at the end stage of the game where you're frantically dodging fireballs and hammers and having a full body seizure trying to save the prince(ss).

Unrelaxing.

ETA Nutrocker isn't bad. Still feels arcade-y.

I couldn't love this more. It was a permanent fixture in the CD player of my car for years. I can't think of many albums that mainline fun and energy to my brain quite like this.

Listened to it again yesterday for the 2,567 and 2,568th time. Still holds up.

Have had this one playing in the background for a couple of hours, it really blends in and while nothing jumps out it is easy to listen to. Definitely enjoyable.

Albums like this make me wish there was a 10-point rating scale. 3 doesn't do it justice, but 4 feels a little much. 3.8.

Not always in the mood for shredding to the max but this is pretty fun. Good for Friday night field party with jean jacket natural light &tx

On the heels of Disintegration it was a relief.

Sounds like some controversy about how live it actually is, but if it sounded anything like this I would have rocked out with my hawk out.

Just between us girls my wife said it was scaring our dog and made me turn it off but she left so we're jamming..

3.9

This is pretty good. I do like the Cure but this is not my favorite album.
Mr. Smith turned the dial to "sad & dark" from "dark & weird" for this one and it was a little more than I was ready for. 70+ minutes of mid tempo goth without a palette cleanser is a lot.

Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me had a couple of 'template' songs but I find it to be a lot more fun to listen to, and nothing really compares to Staring at the Sea.

3.4

I read another review that described this as a "limp dick dipped in cold custard."

I thought to myself "how can I know for sure?"

I asked my wife to whip up some crème anglaise as depending on how you make custard it can be quite a bit thicker and not really good for dipping. She's taken a shine to baking shows (especially the Great British one) and loves to practice the staples she sees there.

As described, after preparing it we put it in the fridge to chill - the anticipation was quite overwhelming to be quite honest.

When the moment finally arrived to put our plan into action my part was a little more difficult but the temperature helped a lot. She said it was actually not bad - a little sweet perhaps but good mouthfeel and smooth texture.

The album though - what a stinker. My first one star review. Sorry, Blue Eyes.

✅ Sad
✅ Atonal
✅ Challenging

I was on the periphery of this aesthetic in high school - my 'weird' friends listened to Peter Murphy and Skinny Puppy and Joy Division, and my jock friends listened to Vanilla Ice and Milli Vanilli.

I quite like a lot of the darker music, Swing the Heartache became one of my favorites from that time.

This one just feels hard, not really enjoyable or musically remarkable. I know the backstory and can appreciate the outpouring of emotion in this album, but it wasn't listenable. 2 days ago The Downward Spiral popped up on my list - arguably a very similar 'suicide note' type of album. That one felt raw and visceral and textured in a lot of ways that Closer didn't.

2.5

Y'all five star mafia making me feel like a cretin here.

I can appreciate the talent and I recognize the cultural and historical significance, I just didn't think it was that fun to listen to.

How Mr. Reznor can take so much pain and suffering, translate it to industrial sounds and make it so listenable is amazing.
I grew up with Pretty Hate Machine and this came out when I was 20. It resonated with me in a profound way then, and I was surprised how well it held up to a relisten when I'm in my 50's.
The textures are so interesting and engaging, I thought I would be turned off by the screaming now that I've mellowed a little bit but it still hits.
I only docked it a half star just because I couldn't listen to it very often because of how angsty it is. 4.5

I read about this album before listening and I think it was built up a little too much. When it came out I am sure it was revolutionary but maybe didn't hold up that well. I found a few moments of brilliance but after a couple of listens just didn't get that engaged. 3.5

Dig this one, lot of fun.
I once saw the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion open for the Breeders in Columbia, MO. The day of the show I was driving around with my friend Chris from New York and we saw this land yacht driving around COMO with something spray painted on the side (I think it said ORANGE).
Chris goaded me into a high speed chase to catch up to them to meet his heros from Pussy Galore, which cassettes he loaned me to expand my musical horizons. We never caught them, but a wild start to a wild day that ended with me getting my shoulder dislocated at the show and loving every second of it.
Anyway, this album captures that energy and what I guess you'd call the "angular" new york sound.
I've tried for years unsuccessfully to track down Chris to see what he's been up to. Would love to jam with him to this album.

I liked this one quite a bit. Marquee Moon I had heard several times, but the rest of it was good. Just a few soft spots but will definitely put this on rotation.

floot grooves.

I'm sure it was great in the context of the movie, struggled to engage without.

I had this one in high school. Didn't listen to it then.
I didn't hate it as much as some of y'all did, but pretty lite and not super interesting aside from the main attraction. I went back and listened a 2nd time and softened a little bit.

Somehow Legend got injected into my cultural awareness when I was 14 and I have a lot of fond memories of that album and reggae in general. I'll often turn on Reggae Classics on Spotify and play that for a couple of hours as good background music. When that is what you're in the mood for, the 'one note' feeling isn't really a bad thing.

I liked this one, some good tracks beyond the obvious ones but I couldn't really find anything to latch on to. I'll probably revisit this one a few times, but (from my perspective, anyway) nothing terribly interesting or eye-opening here, just sort of follows the formula.

3.2