Reviews by stevey_

I’m not at all surprised that this guy was a soundtrack composer before this album. Despite how much the 70s loved to imagine it, it’s a bummer that the actual future hasn’t contained more synth organ (yet).

I’m glad to hear some fun here, at least compared to 21. She’s an amazing singer, but her records start to feel more like an academic exercise than “music for fun” after a while.

This is fine but I won’t remember anything in particular about it.

Funk Lite™️ which is a fun vibe but movie scores are kinda boring when you’re not watching the movie… it’s like you’re missing something (because you are)

I’ve heard all three Nick Drake albums now and there are a lot of reasons why I’d pick this one as my favorite. He did get a little carried away with the accompaniments here but I think that’s the charm. All three records are notably different and it’s hard not to wonder what a fourth could have sounded like.

If I opened the CaseLogic CD case in your car in 2002 and saw the whole Sublime discography, I know this CD was right there behind it. Maybe even that Fun Lovin’ Criminals CD too. You’d probably go on to tell me about how your stoner older cousin, or your middle-school best friend’s older brother, turned you on to them and how it reminds you of fun times like [insert story here about smoking weed in someone’s basement in middle school]. I love that for you, but let’s move on, yeah?
…Or maybe I’m just assuming all Sublime/G. Love fans are just like my highschool girlfriend.
Anyway, I don’t think we need Sublime, G. Love, AND Fun Lovin’ Criminals on this list. Certainly, if there’s a fourth thing, we don’t all need to hear that one before we die. It feels like a whole lot of investment in a niche corner of the music world that most people really shouldn’t have to make. Maybe let’s all listen to August And Everything After by Counting Crows instead, and contemplate what that says about the monoculture and life in the mid-90s.

I’m out of my wheelhouse here. As a very casual R&B fan, I appreciate that this is a well done album, but I’m not at all prepared to compare it to any of its contemporaries. It's futuristic, but like... that FKA twigs album came out in like 2014 so I don't know that I feel like that futuristic sound was wholly novel.

How do I do this without feeling disrespectful? Listen, I know Patti is a pivotal figure in punk rock history, but I just don't really get this album. I guess 1975 was still kinda photo-punk and maybe we just collectively decided that this wasn't exactly the right direction? Maybe she goes on to make a bunch of more punk punk? All I can say is that I listened through this one at least twice and just couldn't get excited for it. On the music alone, I'm a soft 3 stars. Considering her influence and perceived importance, I'm like a soft 3.5 stars.

A landmark album for The Beatles. I think this one stands out more if you listen to it within the context of their discography, because you can really hear how much this record departs from their previous work and begins their more experimental "later years" sound. I'll argue that the shift starts with "Help!" but this record made their growth undeniable; they weren't the mop-headed boys from Liverpool anymore.

I wanted to like this more than I did. It was good but didn’t hit like X Ray Spex or Le Tigre did for me.

I chose my senior quote from this record, but they didn’t end up publishing our quotes in the yearbook.

This record was such a revelation for me. It was whimsical and experimental and I was so enamored with how the energy seemed to ebb and flow and all kind of build to a crescendo with “Do You Realize??”

“Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 2” is always a curiosity for me because it comes from left field but perfectly breaks up the mood and helps make “Pt. 1” and “In The Morning of the Magicians” feel unique, and not run together like they otherwise might.

Glam rock is a fun genre, and I appreciate the theatricality of Queen. But it all just feels kinda like novelty music to me.

Pop Punk from 1979! Sorry, I mean Post Punk*! Ope, jk, I mean New Wave**!

This album has a little bit of everything, and I get how it could be too much for some and not enough for others. You can kinda pick out the singles compared to the punkier album tracks if you have a moderately seasoned ear. I didn't know specifically which songs were singles except "Brass In Pocket" before listening, but I was able to mark them. "Stop Your Sobbing" has the sound, but I was a little surprised that it was actually a single.

The worst part about going away parties is they always last too long. Nobody really wants to say goodbye, so they linger and it all just gets awkward. Similarly, this album is bloated and ends up feeling like a real chore to get through. I’d be interested in the edited 1LP version, if anyone has ever bothered to suggest a tracklist for that.

Also, in my head this band is more punk rock than they are, and I'm often left a little underwhelmed by their music. That's my fault though.

Pre-psychedelic mid-60s rock is one of the blandest genres in all of rock & roll. The Byrds will release Fifth Dimension in 1966, and that'll be acclaimed as a proto-psychedelic rock record, even though it's also kinda boring. I guess it's interesting to hear what they sounded like before that, but that's the most I can say about this record. Purely academic listening exercises are for nerds. Do drugs.

The Radiohead album you know you’ve listened to, but can’t really remember anything about. Listening notes include: “Oh, weird, I thought that song was on Kid A”, “I think I just heard that song in an tv show recently”, “wow, this record has a lot of Radiohead classics on it… or maybe just songs that sound like other Radiohead classics?”, and other similar thoughts.

Feels appropriate for the day after a Knicks championship.
I don’t think there’s a better rap/rock fusion group, or record, than this one. The boys really cooked here. It’s everything Rick Rubin wanted to do with Run DMC & Aerosmith, but bolder and better (probably because he’d sold his proof of concept already).

I got 15-20sec into this album and had to switch back to something that would preserve my morning peace.
But when I actually listened, I learned that “Blues Explosion” apparently means hardcore rockabilly and a jammy/loose version of garage blues rock. All things I’m into, but I feel like I could easily point to better examples for inclusion on this list. According to Spotify listens, this isn’t even their most popular album?

Elvis is important, sure, and you can’t talk anbout record music without him. Otherwise, I didn’t want to and you can’t make me do it again.

This list has already taught me how criminally under-appreciated Brian Eno is, and a collaboration with David Byrne is bound to be something worth hearing at least once.