Reviews by similartie

Really nice album. Got it a few days ago and have listened to it three times. Hell, I'll listen to it again right now.

The keywords for this album include: noise, angry, hate, abrasive, loud, intense, etc. Not my usual fare. And the truth is, I didn't enjoy about 75% of this album, but Closer and Hurt sort of tie it all together and justify the experience. I can respect the artistry in something I don't find aesthetically pleasing.

An artist I’m familiar with from a genre I like: usually a one-way ticket to four-star city. This one however is missing the magic pixie dust. I enjoyed it, but I don’t think I would actively listen to it again with purpose, and therefore I must give it three.

Not really sure what they were going for here.

God awful. I'd like to take this opportunity to say fuck you to everyone who made this album possible, including: Aaron Lepley, Al Sutton, Andrew Nehra, Damon Wimbley, Dave Robinson, David Bottrill, Derek Matuja, J. Williams, Jalil Hutchins, Jason Krause, Jennifer Barbato, Jimmy Bones, Joe C., John Travis, Joseph Cultice, Kenny Olson, L. Michael Smith, Lindsey Buckingham, M. Morales, Mark Schafer, Marshall Mathers, Misty Love, Randy G., Shirley Hayden, Stefanie Eulinberg, The Twisted Brown Trucker Band, Todd Shaw, Tony Dawsey, Tweeds Kracker, and Holland/Dozier/Holland.

I kinda agree with the good reviews and the bad reviews.

I'm not smart enough to know why it works, but it kinda does. If it were more psychedelic and less cheese-grater-y I probably would have enjoyed it more.

I had no idea this band hit it so big in the UK. And it's a little sad that they could scarcely muster a second album, and ages too late.

It's a decent album. It seems like the band accomplished what they set out to do, but it's just not really to my taste.

1998. Probably the closest I ever came to having indie rock street cred. I was 17 of course and in high school and green as hell. I even applied to be the music director of our high school radio station. We had a 100 watt transmitter on the roof of the school. The broadcast radius was about 3 miles, IIRC, and most of that was out into Lake Michigan (I didn't get the gig, but I was a DJ for four years). Apparently the transmitter was originally installed to be able to transmit homework assignments to students who were home sick. Diabolical.

Anyway, around that time I also started a record label with a friend of mine. Why did we decide to do that? I don't remember. I was in charge of creating the website and graphics; which, I must say, looked pretty good to me. I probably have the files backed up on a Zip disk somewhere. Anyway, this QOTSA album sounds like something that would have been submitted to our record label. Sadly, that first split 7-inch never was released, nor was it recorded. We never did any business at all, as a matter of fact. But we did get some people to send us demo tapes. My buddy, co-partner, and head of A&R, hated all of them.

So, when I was about 30 years old I moved to a new city and I needed a job badly. I ended up working at this sandwich shop that was attached to sort-of-a cultural center. It was really slow most of the time and there were just three people working: me (the cashier), this guy Sasha (the manager), and a cook whose name I don't recall. The cook pretty much minded his own business.

But I had to stand around awkwardly with Sasha for hours on end. He was a nice dude; nevertheless, we ran out of stuff to talk about pretty early on in our relationship. There were long periods of silence and this was before the smart phone era, so we'd often just be staring out the window. No one walking by. Not many cars.

Anyway, one day we are standing there. I was on the right by the register and he was on the left by the display case. The cook worked behind the same counter, but with his back to us, facing his station.

So one day we're standing there and Take Five comes on over the sound system. There is no other noise in the place except maybe the air conditioner. Just dead. The song goes on for like 4 and a half minutes and, you know, there's this kind of lowkey drum workout with the endless piano vamp, etc. Then the hook finally comes back in, right? Well, Sasha and I both start whistling the the tune at the exact same time (you know the part, ba DA da da bada bada ba DA da da, bada bada ba DA da da...) and then we both stopped, again, at the same time.

The moment hung in the air for a long while, slowly fading away, and then we went back to staring out the window. None of us ever spoke of this moment again.

Better than you think it would be based on the song Lovefool. Not that it’s a bad song (I like it), it just sounds like the type of song a mediocre band would accidentally have a hit with and then millions would buy the album and be like wtf is this mediocre crap on the rest of the album. It’s not like that.

Instantly triggered my gag reflex and never recovered from there.

I just have no frame of reference for this stuff. If you told me this was one of the best hip hop albums of 2006 or if you told me it was a record from someone who was washed up or had never been, I wouldn't know the difference.

Terrible music. No redeeming qualities.

I think I need to listen to this one again. Cursory 4.

Admittedly, I'm more of an Eno guy than a David Byrne guy; I have to say, I think Eno's vision of an electric, ambient, psychedelic Africa pretty much carries this album. Maybe Byrne was just along for the ride? I don't know. I did a cursory dive and I didn't see much written about the creation of this album. It's pretty good though.

Oof. Fuck Michael Jackson, but Thriller and Off the Wall are four-star albums. This one is pretty... wait for it... wait for it..... terrible.

Everything on this record is great. I'm not sure the little medley was 100% necessary, but that's a minor quibble.

Tracks 1, 2 & 3 are, off the top of my head, the strongest opener of any album that I've had from the generator so far. And surely it's one of the strongest openings of any debut album ever. Jimi arrived in 1967 fully formed.

Pretty middle-of-the-road stuff. I'm unlikely to remember anything about this one.