Reviews by tape-boy

This is #day342 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… another country album. I'm sorry, Dolly, this was pretty average. I've nothing else to add. This is a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day343.

This is #day341 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… as I've mentioned before, I find it hard to connect with the earlier works of the Bad Seeds after Skeleton Tree and especially Ghosteen. But if there's one earlier record of theirs (among those represented on the list) that you could hear before you die, it's probably this one. Murder Ballads feels like a detective thriller set to music. Again, I'm not a huge fan of this version of Nick Cave, aka the dark preacher persona, telling stories, but "Stagger Lee," "Henry Lee" (didn't know these were traditional songs), and "Where the Wild Roses Grow" are standouts, though. Otherwise, there's always Let Love In. Let it be a low 4 out of 5. Looking forward to #day342.

This is #day340 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… my second Joni Mitchell entry. In what way was her first one different from this? The instrumentation here is fine, but when she hits those sky-high notes, I feel like turning this down as soon as possible. This isn't a record I've enjoyed listening to, regardless of its historical value, or whatever. Oh well, I still got two more to go... This is a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day341.

This is #day339 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… I've never liked this band. I get why they were a big deal in the 2000s indie/post-punk revival, but they never did anything for me. Do you need to hear this before you die? Put on Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not instead. That record captures everything about early '00s UK indie rock in a way this one doesn't. Also, and I won't pretend this doesn't matter, this is one of those bands that openly fetishize Russian culture while separating "the people" from their "mad leadership." The truth is, the whole country is a landfill. This is a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day340.

This is #day338 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… here comes my third Talking Heads album on the list, and their magnum opus. This is an incredibly eclectic record. Very musical. Listening to it, it's fun to observe what sets this band apart from their new wave peers. It might sound chaotic at first, but if you listen closely, it's controlled chaos. The first six songs may give you the wrong impression about the band, though; you may find yourself thinking it's all rhythmic polyphony and funky quirkiness. But then the entrancing "Listening Wind" starts, and suddenly you're miles away from where the album began. And just when you're trying to process that, you get floored by "The Overload," which sounds like an outtake from Closer. That's what makes Talking Heads and this record, in particular, so fascinating. This is a 5 out of 5. Looking forward to #day339.

This is #day337 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… as I might have said a couple of times before in the hip-hop entries on this list, post-2005 rap (after my teenage years) is just out of my, what I like to call, sentimental memory. It doesn't move me. I don't relate to it. It all sounds plastic to me. As for this artist... despite this being my second record of his, I still don't get the hype. No matter what people say about him being a storytelling genius or whatever, I just don't care. Because it doesn't work for me. There were one or two moments across the five or six tracks, which I was able to withstand, that caught my attention (some of that jazz rap interplay), but otherwise, no, there's no way I'm putting this on again. The delivery and flow are particularly annoying. Welcome to the club of 1 out of 5, I guess. Looking forward to #day338.

This is #day336 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… my first Sonic Youth record on the list. I've got to agree with something Chino Moreno (Deftones) once said in an interview: that every band has this one album where everything coalesces, where each member functions as part of a single whole, ultimately delivering a record that defines the band. He cited Interpol's debut and Deftones' White Pony as examples. Now, as for Sonic Youth, I do think Daydream Nation is that kind of album... You don't need to say much about it. The music speaks for itself. The flow, the mood, the tension... all there. I can't wait to revisit the rest of their catalogue, as Sonic Youth has always been one of my favorite bands from the alt/indie rock scenes of the '80s and '90s (even though I think they're slightly overrepresented on this list). Also… I fucking love Kim Gordon. She's hot. This is a 5 out of 5. Looking forward to #day337.

This is #day335 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… this has to be one of the most beautiful female singer-songwriter albums I've ever heard. Intimate, yet powerful. I was first introduced to Tori Amos by a friend, a grunge-head, who once showed me her cover of "Smells Like Teen Spirit." I remember taking it with a pinch of salt back then and never explored the rest of her work. Today, I found out that the "Teen Spirit" cover is actually featured on the deluxe edition of this very album. I do think it's a great cover; the way she plays with that song is just something else. Anyway, "Crucify"... what a way to kick off a debut. The piano-and-vocal-driven arrangements throughout the record pull at the innermost strings. And when the drums kick in, and the guitars too, I'm in awe. So '90s, in the best way. What to say about the lyrics? "Winter" caught me with a tear in my eye. This is a 5 out of 5. Looking forward to #day336.

This is #day334 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… here come the lads. An important record laying the foundations for the '90s Britpop and the early '00s and late '10s indie. What's on it? Jangle and guitar pop drawing on the '60s sound, not entirely to my liking. "There She Goes" is a nice light-hearted summery tune, but it fails to carry the whole album... Guess I'm landing on a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day335.

This is #day333 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… I'm ticking off another artist as it's my final Simon & Garfunkel album. To be honest, I'm not sure I could tell the difference between the three if I were to, but I remember that I somehow liked Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme the most (rated it a 3). I might change my opinion if I had revisited it now, though. As far as Bookends go, I like the psychedelic undertones, but I'm not sure the presence of Mrs. Robinson should be saving me from giving it a 2, so... Looking forward to #day334.

This is #day332 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… looking for the perfect beat? Look no further! This feels like a hip-hop version of Kraftwerk, and that's exactly what makes it so fascinating. It's interesting to observe how early hip-hop pulled from the electronic music of the time (Kraftwerk, Gary Numan, and others), just as synths were coming into their own (still in their infancy, but already everywhere). Then you've got the early fusion of hip-hop and rock, which makes the whole affair even more exciting. It's fun, experimental, and cutting-edge, definitely one of the cornerstone albums of the genre. Also, I bet it sounds terrific on vinyl. I felt uneasy reading about the accusations, though. This is a 4 out of 5. Looking forward to #day333.

This is #day331 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… my third Bad Seeds record on this list. Nick Cave is undeniably a great songwriter and storyteller. It's just that I've grown unaccustomed to "this" kind of Nick Cave ever since Skeleton Tree and Ghosteen came out. That said, "Loom of the Land" is an astonishingly beautiful piece. That chorus, though... Easily one of the band's best songs. Still, this is a 4 out of 5. Looking forward to #day332.

This is #day330 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… finally, my last Beck album. I still don't get why he's considered an essential listen. You want a compelling breakup record? Try Blemish by David Sylvian, released a year later. As for Sea Change, I can't help but feel like Beck is trying to go Radiohead here, mostly because of the orchestration and drumming, I think (quick check: the album was produced by Nigel Godrich). There's some nice instrumentation scattered throughout, sure, but it really starts to drag halfway in, and the songs don't differ much from one another. Then again, maybe that's how it feels when you're going through a breakup. This is a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day331.

This is #day329 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… another new name to me. The sheer variety of genres packed into this album is overwhelming: reggae, funk, new wave, and just about every kind of pop: synth-pop, bubblegum-pop, sophisti-pop, you name it. All wrapped in a sleek, polished production that makes for a seemingly musical record… but ultimately, not for me. Though the '80s have been my favorite decade on this journey so far, this one's overly sugary for my liking. This is a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day330.

This is #day328 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… I'm revisiting this record after a while because I think it deserves more appreciation and thought. Putting three topless women on the cover of a 1979 record is fucking punk. A unique fusion of punk, dub, and reggae creates a rhythm distinct enough to carry you away. No wonder the late '70s-early '80s has to be my favorite era. This is a 5 out of 5. Looking forward to #day329.

This is #day327 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… apparently, three Pixies albums on this list aren't enough. I mean, if I feel like listening to Pixies, I'll go ahead and put on some Pixies, not this. A couple of good tunes here and there, otherwise an inessential record. Crazily long to boot. I'm giving it a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day328.

This is #day326 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… I'm not usually a big fan of '60s-style soul and vocal jazz, but there's just something about Amy Winehouse, you know. There's a certain rock'n'roll spirit about her persona. She did everything with such a cocktail of bravado, enigma, and fragility at the same time that's hard to resist. The vocals are impeccable, and the music complements them just right. My favorites from this album are "Rehab," "You Know I'm No Good," "Back To Black," "Love Is A Losing Game," of course, and, perhaps, "He Can Only Hold Her," which is like the better half of the record. I'm giving it a 4 out of 5. Looking forward to #day327.

This is #day325 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… some classic late '80s beats with dashes of reggae, house, and jazz here. Fun as an occasional listen or as part of, say, female hip-hop essentials. "Evil That Men Do" is among the record's highlights. On the flip side, the number of times she's saying her name is Latifa and she's the queen is a bit too much. This is a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day326.

This is #day324 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… it was fun to discover the first major star of French hip-hop. My exposure to hip-hop delivered in French growing up was kind of amusing in hindsight, but still memorable... K-Maro ("Femme like you," "Qu'est ce que ça te fout", and particularly "Sous l'oeil de l'ange"), and that one Iron Sy track from District B13. But I'd never really heard anything from '90s French hip-hop, the period of the genre I get to gravitate toward, and I had no idea that France is the second largest hip-hop market in the world after the US either. As for Qui sème le vent récolte le tempo, I liked the music and production a lot, especially on numbers like "Armand est mort" and "Quarier nord," though the French rapping can feel a little overwhelming at times. This is a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day325.

This is #day323 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… not even sure what else there is to say about this album that hasn't already been said. It's an essential piece of art rock history. What I particularly like about it is how it sits at the crossroads of art forms at the end of the '60s: photo, film, poetry, performance. "Found music" begs the description. It also feels detached from the psychedelic rock scene of the era, because there's goth, there's punk, there's a lot of everything in between. This album was probably too avant-garde for its time. But maybe it wasn't made for its time at all. Just listen to what John Cale does to that electric viola on, say, "Heroin"... it's like he's exorcising the instrument. My favorites have to be "Venus in Furs," the aforementioned "Heroin," "All Tomorrow's Parties," and, I guess, "European Son." This is a 5 out of 5, of course. Looking forward to #day324.