Reviews by verbaljazz

Music for pretentious twats.

Every song is filled with masterful storytelling.

What if, and hear me out, the perfect singer for Bob Dylan songs is actually...Bob Dylan?

Unexpectedly pretty good. Unexpected because I'd never heard of it.

An album filled with anxiety toward Reagan-era and slightly post Reagan-era capitalism.

Raw. Visceral. PJ Harvey has always forged her own identity.

If you want to understand song craft, listen to Carole King.

As a kid, my mom played this a lot. To me it sounded like the 70s. Her songwriting and distinctive voice elevate this album.

Distinctive. Good production and a singer who can sing. Not quite as dynamic as Radiohead, but worth listening to.

This is so mid I can't recall a single song. And I listened to it twice.

I remember the cover of this album being "controversial" because the people had no defined gender.

You know when you go into a clothing store and they want to give off the vibe of being high end, so they hire really snooty people but still pay them nothing? This is the music playing in that store.

Yes, you can create great songs with alternate guitar tunings, obscure lyrics, and takedowns of mediocre (Stone Temple Pilots) and narcissistic (Smashing Pumpkins) bands!

The band is so tight and precise.

Not music you'd play at a dinner party. Waits' gravelly voice sounds like its spinning tales of a minor demon escaped from hell.

"Jesus died for somebody's sins but not mine." Damn, that's a great lyric! And perhaps one of the greatest opening lines for an album.

It signifies that this album is going to break the rules of conventionality.

The rules of what popular music, and poetry, are supposed to be are subverted throughout.

A monumental achievement.

The songs are well-crafted and well-produced, but there's something missing. Could it be that it's too polished?

A non-essential album that sounds like it was fun to make. So there's that.

Kanye is proof that even had he gotten into Art School and had a career, Hitler would likely still have been a Nazi.

Everything you want from an REM album: jangly guitars, sublime bass playing, steady beat, and obtuse lyrics. It's just about perfect.

Why does Coldplay inspire such rage? The songs are well crafted, the production is stellar, Chris Martin is a decent singer with range. I think it comes down to the perception that the earnestness is fabricated.

All-in-all this is about 15-20 minutes too long.

The ultimate insult to this album is to be indifferent to it. It's bombastic, overwrought, overacted and demands to be noticed above all else, whether you love it or hate it.