Reviews by scribeben

An oddly 80s sounding record for 94. I like a lot of the elements in it, reminding me of Bowie and U2. It’s a little too musical theatery for me to really love but it’s not bad at all.

This was the first Radiohead record since their debut that didn’t completely blow my mind on first listen. Still a strong record, though not quite on the level of their six masterpieces.

None of the fun campy disco I’ve come to know from these guys. Just sappy cheese. The song “Israel” destroyed any good will I had for this record.

In middle school and high school this record was universally regarded as a masterpiece. It hasn’t aged too well since then. I find Anthony Kiedis obnoxious and honestly abhorrent. But it’s hard to hate the hard rock funk of the rest of the band and “Under The Bridge” is a great song.

I have a soft spot for this era of commercial hip hop even though we always felt it was kind of a joke back in the day. The record has some epic hooks though, and not just in the hits (of which there are more than I had remembered!)

Like Rammstein if they had some aesthetic subtlety. Pretty incredible that this is on this list.

It’s weird hearing Ian Astbury sing on an AC/DC record. Still not a bad record, though. Has a few gems.

Given the general vibe and a few very strong tunes, this is probably my favorite Peter Gabriel record I’ve heard so far.

Enjoyable but mostly unremarkable trip hop. Has some cool moments though.

Commercial proto-psych pop. Not bad for what it is. Couple of gems. Could do without the “Hey Joe” rendition though.

Another one from Rotten & co. This time with more instruments but sometimes no instruments. I think I prefer it to the other one. Gets a bit tedious though.

This wasn’t nearly as bad as I had expected and actually has some cool moments. “Three Great Alabama Icons” is worth hearing just for the history lesson and in general the record works well as a monument to the history of Southern Rock in all its variety. Unfortunately most of those varieties don’t really appeal to me much.

So this is what all those terrible hipster punk bands were trying to sound like. It does rock pretty hard. I’m sure the live shows were fun back in the day. Better than the Rolling Stones anyway.

This is pretty chill, meditative, almost desert blues but more laid back.

I had skipped this one when it came out. I had assumed it was an unnecessarily long collection of ballads which I had enough of on No More Shall We Part (my favorite Nick Cave album). But there’s a lot more variety here than I expected. Disc one has some tracks that feel a bit like okder Cave though sans Blixa and plus gospel backup singers. Disc two brings the soft ballads and stuff that sounds like Jimmy Buffet. A mixed bag for sure. More is less here and it’s far from a classic Nick Cave record.

This record is so full of undeniably classic hard rocking riffs that I can almost forgive Robert Plant’s vocal sexual assault.

Kate Bush/Bowie/Sparks inspired naughties twee pop. I kinda dig it though.

Amazing discovery. Gorgeous music and a powerful, inspiring story of resilience and resistance.

Brilliant concept and execution. Waits is at his most melodious and entertaining. He hadn’t yet turned to the abrasive and abstract sound characteristic of his later and more well known period.

Tepid fast fast shopping music.