Reviews by tape-boy

This is #day322 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... when I was just getting into post-punk around 10 years ago, this was one of the first records I picked up, and that memory still lingers. I can't say it's my favorite album by the band, but I appreciate its impact, rawness, and minimalism. It's not quite goth yet (though the signs are pretty much on display), but it's already stepped beyond punk. The Scream transmits the detached and mechanical cool of coldwave, signifying post-punk in its infancy. Songs like "Jigsaw Feeling," "Metal Postcard," "Nicotine Stain," and "Hong Kong Garden" are what I love most about it. What a time that was for music. Can't wait to revisit more stepping stones from this era. This is a 5 out of 5 without a doubt. Looking forward to #day323.

This is #day321 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... yeah, here comes The Stooges again. I got Fun House less than a week ago, and now it's time for the debut. Legend has it that this record and the idea of starting the band were inspired by Iggy seeing The Doors live. Must've been at Whisky a Go Go, if I'm not mistaken? Morrison's stage alienation and the crowd's indifference apparently left a mark. And that comes through on this debut. From the album cover (a gentle nod to The Doors' own debut), to the music itself. "We Will Fall" sounds like an eerie marriage between The Velvet Underground and The Doors. A psychedelic dirge, a mantra. What a punk move to place a track that runs over 10 minutes as #3 on the record. And then, of course, there's "I Wanna Be Your Dog." This isn't just a record, it's a statement. And what follows will only make that clearer. This is a 4 out of 5. Looking forward to #day322.

This is #day320 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... bring on more of that '50s country because I haven't got enough of it yet. What's stopping me from giving this album a 1 is the mix of blues and folk here and there. And I don't mind some old-school, stripped-down blues. Otherwise, no intent to ever listen to this again. I'm giving it a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day321.

This is #day319 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... I'm revisiting this one on my #day758 after getting Megadeth's Peace Sells... But Who's Buying? This one's, of course, an excellent hard'n'heavy record full of absolute gems. And to think it's a debut is mind-blowing. "Welcome to the Jungle," "Paradise City," and "Sweet Child O' Mine" are all-time classics. But so are many others. This is a 4 out of 5. Looking forward to #day320.

This is #day318 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... another case in point that this list can be a mess. Mezzanine should have taken this album's place, or better yet, they could have saved the slot for a different artist entirely. Blue Lines, which I got just a few days ago, is enough, and I rated it a 5. The sophomore has always been a bit of a hit or miss to me. It's an OK album, just not essential to be heard before you die. Two tracks with Tracey Thorn, "Karmacoma," "Weather Storm," and "Heat Miser" stand out, though. This is a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day319.

This is #day317 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… I've got to admit, this was a pretty tedious listen. Forty minutes of psychedelic country/blues noodling had me checking the tracklist more than once to see how much longer I had to go. This is a 2 out of 5, mostly because I have a soft spot for the late '60s. Also, that red pile in the very front of the cover looks like a pile of shit. Given the album title, elephant's shit maybe? Looking forward to #day318.

This is #day316 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… another classic 3-star album for me. A case in point where I enjoy the instrumentation more than the vocals or delivery, though. It feels like a record that begs to be heard on vinyl, on a proper setup, kind of audiophile music, if you will. This is a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day317.

This is #day315 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… just yesterday, I got The Stooges' Fun House, and today, Bowie. It's not fun here anymore, though. I'm not sure what else there's to say about this record, except that it was one of my AOTYs back in 2016 (alongside A Moon Shaped Pool and Skeleton Tree). My then-future wife brought me a CD copy from Germany, and I still keep it (along with the other two). I love the confluence of genres on this album, the free-form sax in particular. And then there's that atmosphere of impending doom, the omnipresence of goodbye between the lines. Or… is it even between the lines? Listening to this today, it feels like everything's right on the surface, like Bowie's practically enunciating from one song to the next that he's fucking dying... It's a difficult album to listen to. As great as it is, I don't feel like revisiting it. Kind of like The Cure's most recent effort, Songs of a Lost World... it hits too hard, and sometimes I just can't handle it. Anyway, this is a beautiful yet poignant farewell. My favorites are the title track, "Lazarus," and, I guess, "I Can't Give Everything Away." This is a 5 out of 5. Looking forward to #day316.

This is #day314 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… listening to this album, like any of The Stooges' first three, feels like catching them live. The atmosphere is absolutely insane. What can you even say when there's that lunatic sax tearing through "1970," leaving us for just a moment, only to come back with more power on "Fun House," and then crowning "L.A. Blues" with pure ferocity, demolishing everything in its path? Utterly psychedelic punk rock mayhem. Iggy's presence is unmistakable, the guitar is razor-sharp, the drums are crisp and tight, and the bass ties it all together with its raw nerve. Oh, have you heard Depeche Mode's cover of "Dirt," a B-side from the Exciter era? Anyway, can't wait to revisit the other two. This is a 5 out of 5. Looking forward to #day315.

This is #day313 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… here's to post-punk classics again. It's crazy to think this came out 45 years ago. What makes this band stand out in the '80s scene is the psychedelic element in their music. While, say, The Chameleons (one of my favorite bands from the genre) leaned more into goth rock, ethereal wave, and dream pop, the Bunnymen embraced full-on psychedelia, though not without a trace of new wave and punk roots. The instrumentation on the debut is raw and tight: jagged guitars, metronomic drums, and a bouncy bassline. Very much in the vein of Jeopardy by The Sound (another all-time favorite). This is deep autumn music, for wet November days, when the trees are stripped bare... Straightforward, stark, beautiful in its own right. This is a 5 out of 5. Looking forward to #day314.

This is #day312 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… if you want to know where trip-hop comes from, this is the record to listen to before you die. So many fun stories behind it, like the one when the band had to sell their car to pay the orchestra for recording strings for Unfinished Sympathy, etc. I used to spin Blue Lines a lot when I worked at a local record store exactly five years ago. There was this signed copy on display, which you could put on so the music played out into the street and drew people in. And in the summertime, like in June, it was just the right kind of sound. Smoky, hazy, daydream-like. I loved that part of the job. Anyway, this album is a classic and a true snapshot of its time. I quietly observe, standing in my space. This is a 5 out of 5. Looking forward to #day313.

This is #day311 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… I guess I'm just not in the mood for this kind of music today. It gives me a headache and makes me annoyed. The album's architectonics is at times fun, though. Still, this is a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day312.

This is #day310 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… this was a little less enjoyable than their first album, which I got on my #day102. "Good Times" is a standout, of course. The rest is kind of fine, but C'est Chic was more memorable. This is a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day311.

This is #day309 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… It's been more than 10 days since I got something decent, meaning an album I could give at least a 4. So here's to what Friday the 13th brings. There was a time in my early 20s when I was really into Sigur Rós. Under Byen comes to mind, and a bunch of other bands. I think it had a lot to do with a friend I used to share music with, we connected over this kind of sound. Fun times... I like a description I once read of Sigur Rós' music: "an avalanche in slow motion." While my favorite will probably always be ( ), aka The Bracket Album (I also really liked Kveikur; I remember looking forward to its release), Ágætis byrjun is likely their first truly definitive work. No wonder the title translates to A Good Beginning. Not sure there's a point in trying to decipher this music, probably the right word, since on their next album, they'd go on to invent an entirely new language to sing in (as if Icelandic wasn't already cryptic enough, lol). That's what you call avant-garde. "Ný batterí" (really like their darker stuff) is stellar. This is a 5 out of 5. Looking forward to #day310.

This is #day308 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… believe it or not, despite having seen this album cover numerous times, this is my first time listening to it. Just like it's my first time listening to The Beach Boys. Ever. What can I say? The harmonies and melodies are beautiful, as is the whole art pop thing, but I guess I just don't share the album's widespread appeal. The opening song is my favorite. The rest is fine, but rather unlikely to make me reach for this record soon, though. That said, I did give it another spin on my #day814 today after getting The Beach Boys Today! I think I probably like Pet Sounds the most out of the three. Still, this is a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day309, aka wondering what Friday the 13th brings.

This is #day307 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… the album's name speaks for itself. I mean, alternative country is still country, and it's among my worst genres on this journey. The music is at times okayish, but I can't say the same about the "beatnik" vocals and delivery (didn't feel like going through the lyrics). Almost halfway through, I stopped. Fuck, how many great albums could have made the list instead of this... I'm giving it a low 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day308.

This is #day306 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… It's sad to see such a high rating for this kind of music. But then, I guess people have always gravitated toward simple and accessible, right? What we have here is garage/blues a la The White Stripes and The Kills with a kind of Arctic Monkeys-circa-AM feel (I know it was released only three years later, but still). That's not the most compelling mix out there. This album/band hasn't aged well enough to be worth hearing before you die. I doubt it/they ever will. This is a 1 out of 5. Looking forward to #day307.

This is #day305 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… here we are with another record that's a classic 2 or 3 out of 5 for me. I mean, I can appreciate the voice, and I kind of understand the legacy, but it's one of those albums I probably wouldn't have listened to if not for this challenge. Also, I don't like soul music/kind of singing. Maybe I'm soulless? It was fun to learn that Cissy Houston (mother of Whitney Houston) and her group, the Sweet Inspirations, are credited as background vocals on several tracks, though. Looking forward to #day306.

This is #day304 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… I shouldn't forget to clean my ears very thoroughly after this. Like with her previous album, which I got on my #day255, this is a 1 out of 5. This time around, though, my last song on the tracklist was the 4th one. Anyway, you absolutely mustn't hear this before you die. Looking forward to #day305.

This is #day303 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… yeah, this is cinematic, epic (or, so they say), aka the last record to feature James Newsted, and all that, but I'd swap this for Ride the Lightning any day. More than two fucking hours of symphohic heavy metal live is merciless. The orchestra sounds very out of place to me. I didn't feel like going through the whole thing. This is a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day304.