Reviews by syrinx

This album is basically everything I hate about hip hop - misogyny, violence, intolerance, homophobia, self-aggrandizing toxicity. And I suppose this album is where a lot of that originated in the genre. It's juvenile and dumb. But like most of the hip hop albums that followed, I really sympathize with the social commentary on this record. I just hate this kind of music and can hardly stand to make it through the whole album. 1/5

I like this album despite not really having much fondness for U2. The drums and guitar stand out to me in particular. Great bass. Even the vocals are great, if you can get past Bono's self-importance. But the album is mixed well, recorded well, produced well. It is a really good sounding record. One thing I notice is that this was sort of before The Edge (dumbest name ever) really leaned into effects so the guitar parts are still pretty raw and I think that's much better. I don't think this is as good as Joshua Tree, but I do actually like this album. I'm not sure I'd play the whole thing again though so I suppose it loses some points for that. I'm having trouble rating this, it's between 3 and 4 but I don't feel like I can give this one a 4. 3.5/5 but rounding down.

Oh god not this one today. I hate Kiss. They may be the actual band playing real instruments that I hate the most. They are a joke. Remember when they took off their makeup and no one wanted to listen to them anymore? That tells you all you need to know about Kiss. They are a stage show, not musicians. You could compare them to Alice Cooper in that regard I suppose but with Alice Cooper, the music was still good. As for this, sure, there are some decent guitar parts and solos but on the whole, the music is simple, the lyrics are infantile, and the production is bad. I hate it.
And it's weird reading through the reviews of this record. Most are uniformly in the same boat as me. I truly don't understand the people who would call this a masterpiece. I mean that's setting a pretty low bar for what qualifies as a masterpiece. I get that some people are rating purely out of nostalgia but this is objectively bad music. 1/5

The only thing I remember from this album was that I hated Scooby Snacks. That's still holds true, that song is utterly garbage. This album doesn't really fit in anywhere for me - it seems like they wanted to be like the Beastie Boys but wanted to be taken more seriously? I don't know, the album is just boring. It's still got the hip hop vocal style which I think is one of the main things I hate about rap in general. I don't see how this album was groundbreaking in any way, it was just more of the same for the time. Great guitar solo on I Can't Get With That, an extra star just for that. 2/5

I would imagine that this album is on the list just because of Le Freak. It's definitely a standout but the whole album is good. Fantastic guitar and bass throughout, but that's what you'd expect from Nile Rogers and Bernard Edwards. Maybe a little too much this-is-the-same-as-the-last-song going on, but it's a good album to have playing in the background while doing other things. The last half kind of falls off for me a little so I'm giving this one a flat 3/5.

I've never liked this kind of music. I don't really know how to even categorize it. There are a few spots on this album I really like - I'll always have a soft spot for Coconut and I like Jump Into the Fire. But the rest I can do without. It's fine, it's not great. It just is. 2.5/5 but I think I'm going to round down on this one because it just does nothing for me at all.

I was excited to see this one come up today, I love PJ Harvey but had never heard this album.
This album was definitely more of a personal project than an record that everyone would like. I respect that, and I did enjoy it, but I wouldn't listen to it again. But I can see why I hadn't heard this before, it was something that not all casual fans would have ever found. It was an interesting choice to include on this list and I'm glad to have heard it once. I still really like PJ Harvey, but like most I feel like her 90s/early 2000s records were the best. 3/5

I saw this pop up this morning and my first thought was "why the hell are there two albums from The xx on here?" I don't get why the first one was on this list, it was totally unremarkable. Surely, there wasn't a need for this one too? There can't be a third? We'll see....
This album shows basically no growth at all from their first album 8 years prior. It's still just as mundane and uncreative and sounds like one 45 minute long song. This is enough of The xx for me. 1.5/5 generously rounding up to a 2.

Ok so I don't actively hate this like most hip hop. I still don't really like it and would never choose to listen to it but I'm not miserable sitting here cringing at the whole thing like normal. I mean the late 80s/early 90s hip hop is way different than what's come out in the last 20-25 years even. It's more innocent and innocuous. There's not really much else to say about this one, it just kind of is. Though it's one of the least unbearable hip hop records I've heard, I was still ready for it to be done about 15 minutes in. 2/5

This has to be the only album on the list by ZZ Top, right? I mean you've heard one of their albums, you've heard them all. Hell, you've heard one of their songs, you've hear them all. I saw them live years ago and Billy Gibbons was talking about being old and people coming to see "the same three guys, playing the same three chords".
ZZ Top is definitely dad rock and sort of cheesy. But damn can Billy play guitar. I mean it's not super complicated but really great nonetheless. Their songs are simple, catchy, usually have good grooves, and (even they'd tell you) largely the same. It's fun to listen to if it comes on but I'd never really pick ZZ Top on purpose or buy any of their records. 3/5

Another one from a band that I mostly missed when I was growing up, except for Alright from this record, everyone knows that song. I've liked what I've heard of Supergrass. This album starts off strong as well, the bass playing and drumming are great. 13 songs and only 40 minutes, there are a few sub-three minute songs and one or two sub-two minute songs. Kind of hails back to some of the early punk records. I know this album was from the 90s but I feel like it could be a newer album going for a sort of 'rock revival' kind of feel. I think I may have said that about the other Supergrass record on this list too, but it's definitely not a bad thing.
The more I listen to the more I think, 'man I need to listen to these guys more often.' I know they always get compared to Blur, Oasis, and The Verve, but I actually would put this in a slightly different category. This record at least is a lot more of a traditional, straight ahead rocker of an album. Kind of giving me Jet vibes of all things. I can see where Jet would have been super inspired by this.
This one will be another solid 4/5. Not quite enough for a 5, and it loses points for the good idea but terrible execution of the cover.

This is a really tough one to rate because I don't particularly like the music but the words are fantastic - beautiful, sad, poignant. This really plays more like a spoken word record with simple electronic music in the background. It is not something I would ever listen to again but I am very happy to have heard it once and would recommend it to others for a single listen.
But for the rating? I don't know. I'm sort of going back and forth because, great though the words are, it is a little repetitive. I wouldn't listen to it again with the exception of Bow with Michael Kiwanuka which I enjoyed a lot. I think that probably makes it a 3/5 for me.

This marks #4 from Springsteen on this list for me. Surely Born to Run and Born in the USA would have been enough? Maybe I'm just grumpy. Springsteen seems like a super cool dude in general, I just don't really like his music. It's not that I don't like it, I guess it's more just indifference. I do really like his voice, I just would never choose to listen to an album of his. This one, same as the rest. 2.5/5, and I guess I'll round up?

I was vaguely familiar with some of the Cocteau Twins music but I don't think I had heard any of this before. It's great - gives a kind of gothic Kate Bush vibe. Dark, gothic, 80s alt? I'm all in. The whole album is super atmospheric and moody. I love the mostly unintelligible vocals. Some really good guitars and bass sort of hiding in the background for the most part.
This is by no means a perfect album but I will absolutely explore more from them because of hearing this today. And you can't really ask for more than that. 4/5

It's always a little sad when you get excited to see what album you get for the day and when it pops up you're just like, "oh man, that's a shame." I knew I wasn't going to like this when it came up. I'm not a hip hop fan at all and I can't imagine from what I've heard from and about Common that I'm going to enjoy this much. I've heard Common referred to as 'dad rap' and yeah I can see that.
First impression - holy shit maybe I was wrong, sweet double bass is shaping up to be good! Then the album really begins. Nope, I was right. More typical hip hop degrading women and inflating self-importance. Maybe not to the same degree as most of the others, but still. It does those things in kind of like a nice guy sort of way if that makes sense. Still, no thanks. And not only that, but this record is produced by and largely featuring Kanye West. Fuck that guy. I'm out. 1.5/5 maybe rounding up just because of that double bass.

And a PS, I was reading reviews but skipped down a few first. Thought I was missing something with all these reviews about math and PhDs 😂 Good work here guys.

I always love a good Thelonious Monk record. And though this isn't really my favorite of his, I still like it a lot but I would recommend a few of his records over this one; Straight No Chaser and Misterioso are probably my favorites from him. Also the records he made with John Coltrane are amazing as well. This one - it's still fantastic. Solid 4/4.

Ok, look. I'm all for feminism and female empowerment. Women should be running the world and I fully believe that humanity would be so far ahead of where we are now if they were. But though I agree with the message of this album, I just can't get on with the delivery. This music isn't for me. It's not as bad as straight up hip hop but I just don't see the artistry in electronically created beats and the occasional real bass here and there. She does have a fantastic voice so I definitely give her credit for that. But this is still not something I would ever listen to again. At least it's super short. 2/5

I've loved this album since I first heard it. And though I've heard it a bunch of times now, I kind of came to this one way after the fact. Granted I was little when it came out but I didn't really even discover it until the past few years. It's such a good blend of punk and pop rock. I get that the vocals may not be to everyone's liking but, to me, that's where a lot of the charm of the album comes from. And I'm a sucker for a female vocalist. It may not be my favorite album on this list, but for what it is it's fantastic and I play it a lot. 5/5

This is a record that I can't really imagine anyone having a strong reaction to one way or the other. It's so aggressively bland. Like dry white toast - you might not want to eat it but if that's all there is, it'll be fine yet unmemorable. I can't really pick out anything to comment on, it's all just...fine. Vocals? It's got them. Drums? Yep. Guitars and bass? Sure. Synths? A lot. But like, none of it stands out at all. Honestly I don't get why it has such high ratings. I guess because it is put together well and isn't offensive in any way? I don't know, it just seems too safe to me. 2.5/5 but I guess I'll round up because I've heard worse albums?

Man I hadn't thought about this album in a long time. And that's ok. I feel like I don't need this record taking up any space in my brain. Not a fan of electronic music in general and this is pretty much right down the middle for the genre and the time. Just the repetitiveness of this is enough to turn anyone off. I seem to remember there being a lot of car commercials that used songs from this album. Or maybe that's just how it sounds. Anyway, not a fan. A generous 2/5