Reviews by sterry2289

How the fuck have I not listened to this? Hey Ya has been in my life for 2 decades and I never considered listening to the album it was on? I gotta believe I tried and it just didn't resonate and I blocked it out.

In any case, this album, mostly the Love Below side, really makes me love Outkast and in particular Andre3000. I complained about Kendrick not expressing any kind of joy....welp here's the antidote. This dude is a fucking star and obviously LOVES music (Prince in particular). Some of the influences are too apparent at times, but 90% it works well and they put their own stamp on it.

A lot of this album just sounds like a blast. This is speculation but on Behold a Lady when he says "clap clap" I bet it was a direction to whoever was on the drum machine and he just liked how it sounded.

I saw the album was 2 hours and was immediately annoyed, threw it on and didn't once wish it would stop. It seemed like each time a song was in a rut they make a chord change, the song ends, a new instrument layers in etc. and it keeps your interest.

40 songs and 2+ hours obviously there are some misses, but strangely here it adds to the charm. A lot of good clean fun.

Roses and Hey Ya are all time great songs.

I gave Stankonia 4 and I like this one so much more so gotta go 5. Impressed! LFG Outkast.

If there was ever a weekend album this is it. Lot to think about here, which speaks to what makes Kendrick special and how he’s elevated the genre. If you didn’t do the deep dive, this is a concept album with each song representing a scene over the course of days (with some exception for some introspection/reflections). In a way, this is the Compton version of Bat Out of Hell. Kendrick is trying to get laid and things go sideways.

When it comes to KL I’ve always struggled with whether or not I listen to music for storytelling. The stories and subject matter are no doubt more interesting than almost all other rap, but what makes music music is not the words but the emotions a given song or album invokes. The ability to communicate thoughts and feelings without explicitly saying anything, or maybe it’s a phrase you ponder for years (I.e. Eating up the scum).

Either way, credit where credit is due. 1. Without knowing anything about the concept some of these songs are hits and have been in the rotation for a decade (money trees, bitch don’t kill my vibe, Compton etc.) Making music that is both meaningful and slaps is an accomplishment. 2. Elevating a genre.

Why it’s not a 5. I sense absolutely no joy or really passion. Obviously this is not a joyous topic, but usually you can sense the joy in making music. Kendrick is bummed out and even the breakthrough on the final two tracks didn’t showcase that feeling of happiness he no doubt had (when he found god and started working with Dr Dre). I think this album could have used a “Memory Lane” like track on the front to show what about life he enjoyed and was worth saving. The best we got was Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe…

I also had the same feeling on a few tracks when you’re about 75% of the way through a non-fiction book “I get it… it was bad”

High level, very happy someone is spending time to really make meaningful music and take the Hip Hop genre new places. Probably the best rapper of our generation.

Cool to learn about Liz Phair - heard the name many times but hadn't heard any of this. The homage to Exile is cool too. Not really for me but did enjoy Soap Star Joe, reminded me the most of Exile.

Reggae is great but what makes it a genre is also limiting, which leads to a lot of bad/boring reggae. For me, this falls into that category. Some of the best reggae is raw, funky and soulful (Toots) and then there's Marley who does that and also writes great songs. This album lacks creativity in song writing and boring instrumentation. Interesting reading about Marcus Garvey though.

This album was completely NEU to me and after a couple times through I'm feeling like I'll need several more to really form a strong opinion. After two times through I'm pretty high on it though. I read that these two guys couldn't agree on a direction - the ambient style or rock so they split the album. I enjoyed both sides and although the second half is very different I think there is enough of a throughline to make it work. I may prefer the front half. The sound quality stands out throughout. Some good rocking on the second half but slightly less interesting than the front, probably because of my familiarity with rock.

Neil Young is going to come out of this exercise the big winner. Whether it’s CSNY, Buffalo Springfield or his early solo career, it’s all as good as it gets. This one might be his peak. It’s more cogent than his previous record, none of the valleys, also fewer high highs. Neil’s style is all very soft and easy while always maintaining an edge. His edge is what separates him from James Taylor or other soft rock/folk singers. Love Neil Young!

Fun. Love the harmonies. Will have to be a very specific circumstance if I come back to this.

I enjoyed this. Hard to tell if im over reacting to how bad I thought it was going to be. Might not fit neatly into the brit pop category, but if we put it there its definitely my favorite from the genre so far. Production is very good. Pulling from a lot of the classics without sounding like hacks. Only Fools Rush In was borderline. Super emotional tracks too. Lyrics seem to be lacking but haven't read through them. Prob a 3.5 and rounding up.

Title track rocks.

Really good. Not really sure what I would change and what's keep this from being a 5/5, maybe just personal preference. Protecting the 5 spot for all time greats. This was surprising to me though. I've always wanted to do a Pixies deep dive and don't think I've heard any of these, aside from Where is my mind.

On another note - I've already realized I underrated Jesus and MC... Hit me on the Hardest Walk. Great song. Def a 4 or 5 album. My b.

I played in a band where the primary song writer was a bassist. He would write the songs using his bass, play it to us then ask me to figure out which chords should go over the bass line. In some cases it was obvious, but in others it could be either a minor key or major, and others fitting chords on top of those bass lines just didn't make sense. In that case I may have to play single note melodies or riffs etc. I have a strong sense this is what Joy Division was doing. It can work, and a lot of these songs do, but it also makes the arrangements feel a little thin. That aside, this was better than i thought it would be. I'm sure very influential. Shadowplay was a highlight.

As good as hip hop gets I think? Creating a musical world by blending hard core rap with the sounds of martial arts movies is pretty innovative and works really well. Through a full listen I do wonder if it’s all really dumb though. Who cares if all these guys are tough? Went through a phase with Wu Tang and still come back to GZA’s Liquid Swords.

This might be the more responsible cousin of Kollaps. Still unhinged, but tethered to reality. I feel like I’ll need a lot more time to process this one. My initial reaction is the white noise distortion, down the hall reverb and train screeching may be too much for me. These guys are authentic and very talented, not hiding behind these effects and recording styles but using them to make what they want. Right now it’s a 3 but u have a feeling it’ll grow into a 4.

Was told about these guys by a drummer who was telling me about them because of the guitar playing. His point was they have a sort of blend between lead/solos and rhythm parts, not quite either and creates a pretty great and unique sound. These guys have a lot of live recordings and they’re better in that format. Kind of a jam band but really tight and structured. 3.75 and rounding up.

Hysteria sounds like every musical idea and recording they had was fed back into a machine and sythesized so many times that the end result is a blur of 80's hair rock, with no clear definition, thoughtfullness or soul. Hysteria is everything that sucks about 80's music and a lot of 80's pop culture. If anyone listens to Sonic Youth and asks "why?!" I'll show them Hysteria.

FUCK YOU, I WON'T DO WHAT YOU TELL ME!!!!!! FUCK YOU, I WON'T DO WHAT YOU TELL ME!!!!!! FUCK YOU, I WON'T DO WHAT YOU TELL ME!!!!!!

LOVE Rage Against The Machine. On paper this might be Nu Metal and in my mind is not in the same stratosphere and I can't really explain why its not. Everything here works so well together and its starts with De La Rocha's zeal. He dials it up to 11 and it works. Tom Morello obviously plays a key part here too blending the classic pentatonic riffs with the bizzare bridge to hip hop with the whammy pedals.

All these years later and I still don't care what they're actually raging against, all I care about is how this music makes me feel, which is fucking jacked up.

Some great moments but a lot of mediocre stuff too. The mix is bad, which I now know is a notorious feature of this album. Penetration was a favorite going in and I hadn't really considered what it was about, despite the... name. Search and Destroy is great but the whisper vocals feels like a miss. If he was just belting that out I think its a better song.

I was very excited to see this one because the last time I listened to it was in HS and at the time I remember thinking it was trash, and maybe my evolved mind was now ready to appreciate it. Nope. Still bad.

Hints of what was to come from PF, but nothing of value here. Seeing this live, in 1967 on acid would be great experience I'm sure, but it does not translate for a sober Dad while at work. Adding a point for innovation/originality.

This could have been dramatically improved with a different singer/singing style. Subdued is one thing but this is a hair above spoken word, which I think is more irritating. Listening to this album by Drugdealer, which occupies a similar soft rock space and in comparison the energy levels are through the roof. Tried to figure out where these guys live in the music ecosystem and it seems they are pretty much outsiders, which is not typical of this list.

It also occurred to me last night that the Cave album was from 2019, which means we should be seeing a lot more contemporary shit. Don’t think this, or that, should be in the top 1001 (or however many there are)

It feels very odd and sort of depressing to review an album about the loss of a child on a scale of 1-5. Its unthinkable and any art that results from it surely has merit. If this helped Cave deal with that loss, then that's a great thing.

That being said I will do my duty.

1. Not a Nick Cave fan - do not get it.

2. This album offers something I am not seeking. That may be immaturity, but I don't seek music about loss. I also don't seek spoken word poetry music. I think I primarily listen to music to feel better about life. I'll work on expanding what I get from music, but I won't start with Nick Cave.