Reviews by theblanderman

While indie music can be relatively hit or miss for me, Fleet Foxes do a good job constructing a vibe. As I've listened to this over the years, the highlights have only gotten better and the lowlights have stayed "meh". 3.7/5 -> 4/5

Another I had to break down track by track to evaluate:
Señorita 1
Like I Love You 4
(Oh No) What You Got 2
Take It from Here 3
Cry Me a River 4
Rock Your Body 4
Nothin’ Else 1
Last Night 2
Still on My Brain 2
(And She Said) Take Me Now 1
Right for Me 1
Let’s Take a Ride 2
Never Again 2
Avg 2.23
Overall a pretty inconsistent album with a weak end. Several bops toward the beginning which were great and I loved the Clipse feature, but not Justin's strongest work (though he made it in 6 weeks which is crazy). 2.2/5 -> 2/5

I appreciate most of the work Brian Eno does, but this album was way too David Byrne forward - many of the songs sounded like instrumental stems of talking heads songs. That mixed with repetitive audio loops that were too long and uninteresting, and the prayer lean which was taken. Really just a mess that is mildly elevated through Eno's skill. 2/5

I was on the fence between a 2 and 3 for awhile, but it was the extended mid-tier take of Grapevine, combined with the fact that there were 4 covers on the album and a number of meh blues tracks that finally lowered it for me. Not an album I'd return to, just some singles. 2.4/5 -> 2/5

On first listen I was pretty excited by this release, but after a subsequent listen it has quite a few meh cuts throughout. I Wish is a really good closer. Mostly just curious why albums like this with little to no legacy nor distinct personality make this list but I digress. 3/5

An experimental classic. Weird as hell but perfectly suited for a list like this. 5/5

Ok, so...
On one hand, Ella is a beautiful singer and what a major music milestone to have her collaborate so extensively with the Gershwin brothers outside of the skat style shes known for.
On the other hand this was such a goddamn slog to get through. Most of the songs sounded similar and the vast, vast majority were love songs (and not in a fun, tongue in cheek way like 69 love songs). And I won't be listening to all of the alternative takes on disk 4, which might be the first time 700 albums into this I'm not ~technically listening to the whole album?
The thing is, what i value in albums is a story and a point of view. I enjoy when the songs are meticulously created and placed in a specific order, specifically: 1)the openers and closers act as strong bookends that make sense, 2) there is variety in the track list with extra points for a few interludes, 3) there is a cohesive sound and "vibe" that elevates the tracklist from just being a collection of songs 4) the album art acts as the ~environment by which you can imagine the music in, 5) the artist is practicing at the top on their skillset and I can see a genuine picture of who they are or what they're trying to say, 6) there are some experimental moments that make the record stand out amongst its contemporaries at the time. A record doesn't need all of these to be great, but again they are traits I personally value.
This one didn't scratch that itch. It was a large anthology of works from very talented musicians, but I would have preferred an album with more personality and diluted to the strongest moments.
"Beginners Luck" is a goddamn bop, though.
2.4/5 -> 2/5

I've been plenty critical of much of the Smiths' and Morrissey's musical output up to this point, but I'll be dawned that Meat is Murder is actually really good. It's well constructed, funky, and has a good variety and mix of tracks. The two closing tracks do a great job of closing the curtain on the album, and the song meat is murder is quite a heavy listen for us omnivores/ex-vegetarians.
Xmas prime rib dinner is gonna have a more pensive chew to it this year, that's for sure.
4/5

A very "meh" album for me. I found the constant group harmonies to be tedious and the music to be pretty underdeveloped/underwhelming. Not horrible but not my vibe. 2.4/5 -> 2/5

I try to be critical of these albums where I can, but LZ4 really has no blindspots, and its runtime passes in the blink of an eye. 5/5

I haven't been the biggest fan of the psychedelic rock on this list so far, but this really impressed me. I liked how it didn't sound just "jammy", it had a lot of variety in speed, structure and vocals. The tracks that really stood out were Cavalry and Happy Trails as the closer(s). A unique combo i was a fan of. Also the lead singer died from complications of alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency which is in my family. Some areas in the first half could have been a bit more engaging but all around i liked it. 3.7/5 -> 4/5

The first half of this is really well sequenced and had a lot of iconic songs, though the second half fell flat for me. Still a good album, and nice of the Beatles to dedicate part of "I Want You" to your mother.
3/5

I wanted to love this album. Hell, I wanted to *like* this album. But it was a total and utter flop for me.
First, her vocals are SO nasally that every word she says is like nails on a chalkboard.
But what about the samples and beats? Surely there must be redeeming qualities there? Nope. Samples are awkward and fit poorly (see the DY-NO-MITE sample on "Dy-Na-Mi-Tee"), and the beats are paper thin (see "Put Him Out"). On top of that the run time was over an hour, making this a truly miserable experience.
The lyrical content can be very good l, and have important themes about feminism, racism and systemic injustice, but the package that they're wrapped in is so painfully mediocre there is no impact because I can only focus on how poor the music sounds.
1.4/5 -> 1/5

I tried two times, but I feel like there is a clear reduction in interesting elements and quality as you go through this tracklist. The first two songs start the album off on a unique high, then after that a general progression into alt rock muzak. 2.4/5 -> 2/5

A good album. Some of the songs blended together a bit, and it fell on it's face in the last moments, but not bad overall. 3/5

I LOVE Ege Bamyasi, and I LIKE Future Days and Monster Movie - but I really think that Tago Mago is much less interesting than Can's other albums. It doesn't strike the balance between krautrock noodling and shorter more structured songs that other albums do. 2/5

Other than the song "The Worst Band in the World" which has been immortalized via sample by J Dilla through "Workinonit", i found the rest of this album to be messy, sophmoric and uninteresting. 2/5

I started off less than impressed, but by the end I liked a few tracks. Not going to go down as one of the best/most interesting rock operas of all time, but an interesting timepiece. 2.5/5 -> 3/5

Fragile is an iconic album - I remember downloading roundabout onto my old iPod classic and listening to it in high school. After listening to most of Yes' discography over the years, it is clear that the sequencing is not as tight as other releases, with back to back interludes and variable song quality. Still, I have a lot of love and nostalgia for this record.
Also, It's fun to see it have such a popular recurrence today via jojo.
<--To Be Continued---
4/5

A painfully mundane listen. As "alternative" as rock can get. Some interesting buts at the midpoint but not enough to salvage. 2/5