Reviews by michaewaratealbums

I pretended this was a different artist while listening and it helped, a little. Loads of talent, just didn't blow my hair back.

I don't think this was quite Sgt. Pepper but I did like it quite a bit. How have I never heard of it? You have failed me, internets. Well, at least until yesterday, that is. Nevermind.

Lot of hate. "If Coldplay was a spice they would be flour."
I thought the whole thing was nice to listen to. Some of the songs are a little overplayed, but for a reason. US 97 gets the Led out nightly because the music kicks ass. I guess it is hipster to dislike the popular. Have fun staying poor, suckas.

Strong dislike from the jump. The voice is unlistenable for me.
I'm sticking with it.
This guy chose his name by listening to Captain Beefheart and this is what he makes??
One song I think is passable. Just sickeningly sweet.

I kinda love it. Fucked up and they own it. Drop that honking sax and I'm all in, Comrade.

You'd like a nice cup of tea. The only teabag you have is a dried up old thing stuck to the bottom of a cup from yesterday that has already been steeped twice. You add warm water and savor...nothing but vaguely tea-flavored water. This was just like that.

Oh, good. More Bowie. First impression is the second song is just self indulgent noise.
Update: it gets a little better but not much.

First listen was definitely not enough. Odd and very interesting, enjoyed it. Will be back.

Need to try again. Pleasant but didn't hold my interest. Big folk vibes, sometimes you're just not in that mood.

Emo Beach Boys.
First impression: didn't enjoy, felt a little too turtlenecky.
Second listen: more open minded, good harmony, counterpoint, &tc. Plus I read the story about the fake Zombies, wild stuff Imagine waking up a year later having moved on from your failure to find you were a hit band touring in the US.

I went in seeking melody, harmony, and counterpoint. When I realized they were not to be had I closed my Western mind and listened to both kinds of music instead: country and western.
Maybe if I grew up around this I would feel differently. The polyrhythmic drums are nice but the sitar makes me feel anxious. When I feel anxious I'm not very open minded.

What timing, Dolly passed away yesterday. Rest in peace to one of the top ten humans. Her voice is a treasure, I'm honored to have been alive to hear her.
This album is not my favorite, a little heavy handed on the old vibrado. And viola.

I guess, given Limp Bizkit and No Doubt and Bush &tc, this was inevitable. Very much of the late 90s riding in Negative Nate's Durango on the way home from a trail ride in SMSP. Not super memorable. Not terrible, just filling in the blanks.

LRHS weight room. Old car stereo head unit rigged into the wall with crappy speakers. This cassette on perma-rotation. Finish a set, flip to side B. A guilty pleasure, cheese factor is real but hard to imagine a more powerful and impactful debut. Still sounds good to me on slightly better speakers while working out.
4.4

Incredibly beautiful and raw. I saw her perform in the late 90s, what a gift. Just her on stage with a piano holding court for hours. So funny, dirty, and true. 4.6

Sad Beck is sad. Make me sad.

Limp lettuce? Maybe that is a little too unkind, fellow listener. Overproduced and commercialized for sure. So much less enjoyable than others - I love Puppets and have a soft spot for Justice based on when I started carrying around a walkman.
Definitely some gateway drug material here to introduce the average listener to the older, better material in the catalog. I still would like to see the live despite my being 50+.
3.8

I wish I could have heard it when it was released, I'm sure it was revolutionary. I enjoyed it and can appreciate it, but didn't blow me away, just a little repetitive.
3.8

O the feels. The day I turned 16 I got my license and drove around on a beautiful fall day, skipping school and listening to this song. The mood was perfect, a lot of the songs from this one and Violator are baked into my brain. I was worried it wouldn't hold up well but very pleasantly surprised. Not too much queso, really hit the spot.

I kind of forgot about Pleasure Little Treasure, I'm here for the soundtrack vibes.

I can appreciate what is happening here but I didn't enjoy it. Too unlike the normal song structure I am used to. It is t you, it is me.
I played it for my wife and she said it was like she was at a coffee shop. A more biting criticism I do not think I have ever heard. Can you imagine, coffee?