Reviews by urthstripe321

Not my favorite REM record, but this would also be 99% of bands' magnum opus so.... I must remember to not grade on a curve. REM is just so cool, man. They became one of the biggest bands on the planet but never lost what made them who they were. One of the rare acts that even the mainstream couldn't deny because they were so singular. This is a near perfect record (Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite is a goof that doesn't belong though sure is catchy). It's crazy that they were even better than this.

The reggae/post-punk intersection doesn't always work for me, outside of the Clash, but this is so raw, real, AND accomplished. Sounds like anyone could have made it this, but they didn't. The Slits did. Which, to me, is punk in a nutshell.

Hard to approach this without any consideration to its complicated history, but I've never been a huge Beach Boys guy so the circuitous path and alternate versions and original recordings and Brian Wilson losing his mind and slowly getting to a place where he could make this doesn't mean a whole lot to me. The music itself is nice. It definitely feels like Brian Wilson and a bunch of people standing in as the Beach Boys. There's some sparks of the old magic, and the compositions are nicely baroque and ever-changing. Words are mostly nonsense. It's a neat glimpse into Wilson's skewed vision of American pop music and where it might've gone, but a glimpse is all I need.

Don't think I've ever listened to this all the way through, so wanted to see if there were any hidden gems in here. Not really. Bad is corny, Smooth Criminal is great, I kinda like The Way You Make Me Feel, and despite everything in my body rejecting what I'm hearing, The Man in the Mirror is over-the-top 80's pablum at its best. The deeper cuts are blah.

Hello, Bruce, we meet again. Again, this is the wrong type of record to encounter for the first time in a manner such as this. Bruce is one of those guys who make music you have to inhabit to really appreciate. I don't know if I will ever get there. For now, I must respect The Boss from a distance and wait for the day he grabs me.

The Dandy Warhols are fine, and this album is solid, but would I include it on a list like this? Probably not. Victim to the CD bloat of the era, and I would probably pick quite a few other records from the 90s psych rock revival scene over this. (Please note no Elephant Six bands are represented on this list....) DIG! is great though, go watch that. I wonder if Anton is mad that the Dandys are on here and not BJM.

Really don't like how this album is mixed, especially the drums, but Eddie Vedder's, let's say, unique timbre and cadence, combined with some pretty gnarly guitar solos and strong, tuneful songwriting make for one of the stronger hit records of this era when grunge took over the charts. Is it something I return to often? No, but I'll jam out to it when I come across it.

Nice to listen to but gets kinda same-y. Made me sleepy but I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing.

Seems like Alice in Chains has been getting a lot of reappraisal lately, so I was looking forward to giving them a full look. Again, the hard rock side of grunge is just not for me. Layne has good voice for the genre but this doesn't do much for me. Instrumentation kind of just flattens out into a sludge and the tone is a little too aggressively dour to me. A very fitting album cover for what you're hearing, just kind of flat brown-ness.

Never spent much time with Dusty outside of the big hits. What a talent! Love the voice, great arrangements. I'm sure the moms go crazy over this one.

Call me basic, but this is a perfect album. Sometimes the boomers are right! Shoutout to my college friend who wrote a paper on "Time" for his freshman writing seminar. Floyd is forever, baby.

This being on the list over S/T or This Is Happening is a joke. A joke! At least Sound of Silver is on here. I had my time with LCD Soundsystem, I went to a show on their farewell tour, I made my peace with their brief run and their three very solid albums. I don't know that they needed to come back and this record didn't really dispel that notion. It's ok, I guess, but just not as many peaks as the other records (or as high), and it's just way too bloated. It all sounds a bit tired. This band could have gone down as legends if they stayed gone, but money talks I guess.

My only knowledge of this record is from Yo La Tengo's fantastic covers of Hanky Panky Nohow and Andalucia. And, well, they have good taste. This was a lovely record with some gorgeous songwriting. Wasn't really expecting something this straightforward from Cale, but why should I be surprised that he can cut a pop tune with the best of them. Good stuff.

Ohhhhhh man, to say how many times I listened to this in high school would be embarrassing. I know this thing in and out, front to back to front again. It's the pinnacle of overblown, overwrought, 70s rock bloat and it works despite itself. Not even close to my favorite Floyd record but, to me, it's just so undeniable. I know why someone might hate it, but I love it. Movie's cool, too.

Hard to mess up blues rock, and the The Black Keys don't exactly do that, but they do make it boring. It's music made for boomers who think it's rare for bands that make "real music" to still exist. I just need something more from these guys, something they have been unwilling to provide now 14 albums into their career. And so, for now, I must write them off as not for me.

I've said this before and I'll say it again. The OG Allman Bros. lineup is one of the few bands that can lay serious claim to being the best band of all time. Never could get into jam band stuff but the Allmans are the exception. RIP Duane, your fingers could bring the voice of God out of the guitar.

Somehow, this never was on my radar, and I'm not sure how. A lovely little indie pop record that falls right into place among a bunch of other bands that I love. Nothing revolutionary here, just some good tunes that are nice to listen to. Glad I was turned on to this.

Iconic Big Beat record. Just an absolute slab. Love the blown out basslines and pummeling breakbeats. None of it is subtle, but sometimes music is meant to just rattle your bones. If you don't like this one at first, try playing it painfully loud.

Grunge was never really my thing, though one would think it would be. Cornell has a fantastic voice and this is a very solid hard rock record, I don't ever really have a bad time listening to it, but none of it particularly grabs me. My bad.

Starts off strong with the first two tracks, but then City, Country, City is way too long and repetitive, a jam that doesn't really go anywhere. And then it follows up with Four Cornered Room which is just kind of a drudge. Then it ends strong with the final two tracks. I mean, these cats can obviously play, but what is the word for this record.... uneven.