Reviews by tipula

This is the first time I've ever heard this entire album as an entire album, despite how often I've heard all of these songs over the past 40-some years!

I like this more now than I did when it first came out - it's pop music, but with a slight punk edge. I still think Fun Boy Three's "Our Lips Are Sealed" is better than the one here, but this record is a lot of fun anyway.

Favorite: "This Town"

4/5

Suede is a band that I know existed; if a crossword puzzle had a clue "UK 90s band" and Oasis didn't work, I'd try Suede next. But I only remember one or two of these songs.

This maybe sounds like what would happen if the Smiths had listened to a little more David Bowie? It's slightly overwrought; the singer got on my nerves occasionally. But a lot of the music I like teeters on the edge of irritating like that.

This is the sort of thing that I like when I'm in the mood for it; I thought it was a good listen. I'll revisit it some other time, since it seems like one of those records that benefit from listening to it a couple of times.

So, 4/5

So, I have finally heard an entire Van Halen album. The guitar playing is virtuosic for sure, but it doesn't feel all that original to me. And the lyrics don't really work for me either, it all seems to be "woo hot chicks" and such.

I think if this had come out when I hadn't already heard a ton of other music, I probably would have liked it, with nothing else to compare it to. But it's too late; this isn't going to work for me now. But I can see why people like it.

3 stars

Here's a Smiths record that I like all of, from beginning to end. All I knew up til now were the singles, so this was fun.

What I've always enjoyed about The Smiths was the contrast between the tuneful music and the lyrics, and this one feels more sad/funny, cynical, and cliché-busting than ever. There's a lighthearted feeling to all of it until you pay attention to the lyrics and then it's like hang on what did he just say? Like if you hear "nothing's changed, I still love you," you don't expect someone to follow that with "only slightly less than I used to." My biggest issue with English-language pop music is all the predictable lyrics, so when a lyricist does something that messes with that predictability, I am primed to like it.

And of course Johnny Marr's choices for the music are always spot on, and provide that contrast that makes the lyrics work better in context. I think of Morrissey's solo material as something one is subjected to rather than enjoyed, so it's obvious to me that the music as much as the lyrics is what gives this record 5 stars for me.

5/5

I've always been pretty much a nope for Depeche Mode, so I went into this with some trepidation. But hey, this record was more fun than I thought it was going to be.

The best songs here have a tense contrast from the dancey bleep bloop and a dramatic edginess in the vocals, backing strings, and rhythm section and such, so I was pleasantly surprised by a lot of it. But then the 80s/90s dance music that I like best always has that tension.

But a whole record full of it is a bit too much! And there were a couple tracks that I really Did Not Like, mainly the slower ones that had lyrics that I guess were supposed to be moody and deep but sounded whiny and uninteresting to me.

Odd videos. Depressed-looking clowns being lectured by a Depeche Mode guy in an abandoned adobe hut? Sure, why not.

3/5

I've only ever had the first Specials record and a couple Fun Boy Threes, so I'm happy to have the opportunity to check this one out too. And ah yes, I recognize a couple tracks, e.g., "Enjoy Yourself." This feels a little mellower than the first record - it's the usual ska with interesting lyrics, but a couple of tracks had some unexpected dancehall-y/soundtrack-y bits, which was fun.

Only disappointment was that I'd hoped "Ghost Town" would be on this one, but I'm now reminded that that song didn't come out until 1981, so it looks like that must have been a single that came out after this album. I loved that song when it was on the radio but never tried to find a copy.

But still, enjoyed it - 4/5

"It's 1989! It's 4:00 in the morning! We're tripping!" is what I said as the first track started up. It's a good accompaniment to the video I'm watching where somebody put a gopro on their cat and let it out to run around in the snow. Aw look at that cat, it's having fun. OK I think I'm getting a contact high from the music.

This is great stuff. A couple of the tracks had vocals that detracted a bit for me, but it's mostly lots of fun.

4/5 stars

Woo, Black Sabbath! I know some of their other records, of course, but not this one for some reason.

It was silly of me to listen to this first thing in the morning, since what this record needs is late night and a party. But it's a good listen, especially when they get into the longer instrumental bits. Turn it up! (Oh wait no don't, the neighbors are probably still asleep.)

The final track, "Under the Sun," was my favorite; it had an interesting repeating guitar bit at the beginning, and some very nice stuff happening in the rhythm section. It felt more restrained than the rest of it, which made it more powerful for me. But I drop a star for "Changes," which - like we all love and miss you, Ozzy, but did we need to hear you singing a sad love song over drippy strings and piano? I mean maybe, but it didn't work for me.

Biggest regret: that "FX" didn't go on a little longer (they thought of it as a joke piece, but I kinda liked it).

4/5 stars

The faster songs on here are the kind of music that are good to hear live in a pub with several pints of beer. Of course there are millions of bar bands like that, so it's not going to be a standout for me. And the slow songs required lots of patience on my part, but that's no surprise.

It closes with their big hit "Come On Eileen," which is fun. (Of course that song always reminds me of this: https://xkcd.com/575/)

So, I feel bad not rating it higher since Kevin on the cover there looks so sad, but: 3/5.

What was I doing with my life in 1990 that was more important than listening to this record? I only got this album a couple of years ago (along with Daydream Nation) because I was wondering why I didn't have any Sonic Youth records, since it seemed from what I'd heard so far that I would like them.

And that was the right decision - I love bands with this kind of searing noise and beat. The Karen Carpenter song is heartbreaking, with equivalent intensity in the music. And "Mildred Pierce"? I wish this song would go on all day.

This whole record is filled with cacophony and growling noise, which makes me happy - just the kind of thing I like to listen to when I'm the mood for noise, which seems to be most of the time these days. Love this, 5/5

Let's say it's 1970 and you're 12 years old and you go with your saved-up allowance money to buy a Beatles album, and then you get home and are greeted with "Revolution 9." I don't have a clear memory of my initial reaction to this record, but I imagine that experience was fairly formative, considering the nonlinear stuff I like to listen to these days.

This isn't a perfect record; there are goofy bits on here like "Bungalow Bill" and "Rocky Raccoon" that I could have lived without ever hearing again. And the apolitical theme of "Revolution 1" felt off to many people on the left at the time, and feels kinda problematic now too, considering everything going on at the moment. But hey, it's a double album, so there's a lot of good stuff left to hear if you skip those.

So while my general position re the Beatles is that people need to quit playing them all the time already (and that Siouxsie and the Banshees covers of Beatles songs are better than the originals), still: 4/5 stars for the white album.

Oh right, this record. I love "The Cutter"; hard to resist singing along. Let's see what the rest of it is like - I never did end up getting any of their records at the time, just enjoyed their hits when they came on the radio.

So I think this is one of those records that grow on you with repeated listens as you start to process the lyrics. The band are doing some interesting stuff behind the vocals, like on "Heads Will Roll," "Gods Will Be Gods," and the 6-minute title track, and I'm bopping along with the consistent beat.

I like this - well, I've always enjoyed the danceable but with miserable-sounding vocals kind of New Wave that came out in those days. So: 4 stars.

4/5

Me: (screams in pain)
Husband: Are you ok?
Me: I HATE THIS FUCKING RECORD
Husband: So turn it off!
Me: BUT I HAVE TO LISTEN TO IT FOR THAT ALBUMS PROJECT THAT I'M DOING

1 star

Why don't I have this record? It's great. This has lots of fun extended instrumental bits like in "Goodbye Toulouse," and of course I was delighted to hear "Get a Grip on Yourself" for the first time in quite a long time. Check out the keyboards on this record! Ha, it's nice hearing this stuff on something better than crappy 1970s car radio speakers.

(ok yes, "Peaches" is stupid, but it's funny-stupid so that's ok)

Five stars

This stuff is really strong - the fluid way he raps is pretty amazing. I definitely can see why it's such a well-regarded album.

Would I ever go back and listen to it again, though? No, I really struggled to continue with it - a lot of the lyrics were a bit much for me. I'd probably give it a 4 if I didn't speak English.

3/5

The The is one of those 80s bands that I know existed but have no memory of listening to.

Unfortunately it seems like this is something that would have potential if only it had been done in a completely different style by different people. It's like they wanted to make angry music that was also dance music, but couldn't quite figure out how to do them both at the same time.

Even "Sweet Bird of Truth" didn't have much of a punch, which was disappointing because the wiki described it as a controversial track critiquing US imperialism. It sounded too much like Thomas Dolby or something and I couldn't take the lyrics seriously in that context.

There are records from that period with political subject matter that still sound very urgent and contemporary, but this isn't one of them.

2/5

Oh hey, I remember this - "Big Muff" and "Smiling Stranger" got a lot of airplay on certain stations at the time. On this record he has some dub influences that add interest, but it's overall pretty mellow.

The final track "Small Hours" is a nice 8+-minute guitar bit with swoopy effects that approaches new-ageyness but doesn't quite get there. Good piece to use as bed music to back-announce a radio set or play in the waiting room of an acupuncture studio or something.

3/5 because it's too sleepy for my current preferences, but well done for what it is.

Achievement: I no longer think Coldplay is probably boring because other people say Coldplay is boring - I now think Coldplay is boring because I've finally listened to a Coldplay record, and it was boring.

It's like they took a bunch of songs and ran them through a filter to make them 50% less interesting. Maybe they don't want to upset anyone, which is nice? I prefer upsetting music.

2/5 since I'm saving 1 for something absolutely excruciating.

Listening to this today for the first time in 20-some years. The songs "Biko" and "Games Without Frontiers" are so strong and memorable that this is an important album just based on their inclusion, and the rest of it is pretty good too, with lots of interesting people like Robert Fripp contributing to the rest of the tracks.

4/5

Ah yes, late-90s house music. It reminds me of being in LA in the 90s, and it's pretty fun. I might get a copy of this record, it would encourage me to go to the gym more often. I was dancing around while listening to it this morning.

Sure, some of it is predictable, but there are no stupid lyrics, and the electronic effects are often interesting. I found it really fun and immersive. (I was particularly entertained by the videos.)

4/5