1001 Albums Summary

Yeah, ELO- um maybe they need to slow down on the coke? It’s just too, too much for me. But it is big and fun. Someone wanted ABBA with more variation, well here you go! And a synthesizer.

5! Oh yes this is a 5! And not because it’s well composed as an album, but just about every song is a masterpiece! I didn’t realize until this listen that Elliott actually accompanied himself on the drums - and of course he played the guitar, but his drumming is masterful! It adds so much depth, my God he was a genius. I love you Elliott. RIP.

Wow. I’m getting a lot of greats. This album is iconic. So excited to listen to it again. I actually listen to it fairly regularly. Man, it really is good. My understanding is this was done in a single take. My issue with Mingus, if it’s an issue, is that I think he’s an amazing bass player and an amazing composer, but he’s not accessible on a first listen. And as much as I love this, I don’t throw it on as much as others, and I lean to Bitches Brew type improv ultimately for “difficult listens.” 4 really 4.5

Um… no idea? That surprises me. Let’s see… Oh, I could have died without hearing this. But then I found out my husband did a talent show in junior high where he and his friends did something with We Got the Beat. He got to “play” the drummer. That’s worth 3 stars right there. And I gave ABBA 3 stars, so it’s only fair.

Yeah, it’s been awhile. Not sure I really need to hear it again, but ok. Yeah, I know I should rate this higher than 3… but I just can’t. I’m sorry. I know he’s the king and all… but there’s just so much I’d rather listen to. Boolean rating, well yes, I do suppose I needed to hear this before I died just because he’s Elvis.

Awesome. Oh no. Not awesome. Yeah another case of false expectations. I am a Damon Albarn fan. I like Gorillaz. At least some Gorillaz. But this album, which I guess I have never actually heard before is a lukewarm 3. Boolean rating: no. I could have died without hearing this.

Haven’t heard this. Looking forward to it… Wow reminds me of hearing Labi Siffre the first time. How did I never hear of this singer songwriter from the 70’s? This album is gold. Needs another listen. I mean I never, never heard it before. 4 stars. Boolean rating: yes. Very glad to have heard before I die.

This album often gets overlooked in favor of the banana album. And really I think it’s cause everyone makes such a deal of the banana album. Looking forward to it. Yeah! Very glad I listened to it. Don’t think I ever heard it as an album before. Definitely didn’t realize it was Moe Tucker doing vocals on After Hours. She’s a hero of mine. And Murder Mystery? What fun! 4 stars. I’d give it more, but… yeah I only gave Television’s Marquee Moon 4stars. I need to be consistent somehow. Boolean rating: yes, very glad I heard before I die.

No idea? Omg! I never heard any of this before! Not a bit. This is 🔥 MC5, where have you been my whole life? I just wish the production was better. Wish I had been alive to see them live. Boolean rating: oh yes! Very glad to have heard before I die

Just listened to this. Let’s see how I feel on a second listen… Wow this really slips right in. I feel like Klaxon and I are old friends. 4. Sorry they aren’t making music anymore. Boolean rating: yes! This album right here is worth listening to and an example of why this exercise is worthwhile.

No idea? Ok. I went in cold and at first I was loving it. I mean sultry voice cinematic soundscape is definitely something I can spend some time with, and I really like weird. I gave Barry Adamson 4 stars! But then the high pitched synths were given what felt like more and more weight. By the end I was ready to stab some Felt. 3 stars. Lucky stars. Had the album been longer the rating would have been lower. Boolean rating: yes, I suppose I appreciate hearing this before I die…

I like this album. Haven’t listened to it in awhile. Not sure it really belongs on this list over other albums from 2019, but ok. I really liked this album. I do. The production, Kiwanuka’s vocals. I gave this album to my mom for Christmas 2020. No denying. 4 stars. Happy to listen again. Boolean rating: yes, glad I heard it before I die.

Oh wow. Well this is an important album in my family circle. My brother and I were super impressed by Ella, without knowing how actually young she was, with her debut. Pure Heroine got so much hype, we both ended up hearing it just to see what everyone was on about. We were impressed with her song writing and atmospheric and effective rhythm and musical choices. Meanwhile my teenage nephews were becoming huge fans, as she was speaking to them, directly. When Melodrama came out, we were all there for it, across the generations. It was kind of awesome, actually. She deserves 5 stars just for that. Boolean rating: yes, absolutely

Well gosh, if this wasn’t so dang long it would be a fantastic album. Perhaps perfect. I mean even Stevie gets fatiguing after an hour and a half. And while I have always seen it as organized by the theme of his daughter’s joyful birth into the problematic world of the moment, 1975, the power of its message gets diluted by its length. Like George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass, I want to give it a 5 for its accomplishment, but I find myself feeling almost upset if I try to listen to the whole album in a sitting. So 4. A very respectful 4. Boolean rating: Yes, absolutely yes, even at almost 2 hours long.

I was completely unfamiliar with this album. At first, it seemed to be in the pocket of my taste, but… idk, as it went on, I wanted it to be over. I grew tired of it. Fast/ repetitive, not enough bass. It just didn’t work into me. It stayed on the surface and made me itchy. But I kept wanting to like it. Strange experience really. 3 stars for the desire it instilled for something more. Boolean: yes, I suppose so… but can’t say I would want to again.

Um… well this is another I had high hopes for when it came up. I mean I’m familiar with XTC from their “New Wave” days, their Making Plans for Nigel days. But that was a long time ago… some 20! Years before this album. And… yeah… I get wanting to get the band back together again, make that new record for the new era, but maybe I shouldn’t have to listen to it, yeah? Because while I appreciate the desire behind this project its result is a terrible mess. It has great elements, don’t get me wrong, but mere elements an organism is not. And no matter how I slice it, I don’t want to listen to this. I just can’t give it more than a 2. Sorry, but by the time they brought in the recorder for Harvest Festival I was contemplating murder. And the they wrap up with… a triangle. Yeah. Boolean: HARD NO, why oh why is this on the list?

In college my friend adored Cocteau Twins. She had this album on cd and it was often in the background when we studied. It’s great study music. I love the people on here wondering if the production is messing up the lyrics, since it really is nonsense. I’m actually not against the voice used as a sound making instrument. That being said, just listening to this album in the foreground becomes…tiring in a special kind of way. And if I am honest, I am not sure how well it has actually aged. Idk. Cocteau Twins still appear on many playlists of mine. Mixed in. Not all alone going on and on and on. I would almost give this a 3 for how I am feeling right now. But nostalgia. Nostalgia will not allow for that. Boolean: yes, of course I am glad I listened to it, you know, again, before I die. But this one is maybe best left in the background. It’s a background 4. In the foreground… well it depends on your mood I suppose.

I have come to the conclusion that this is the best Rush album. Also, Neil Peart deserves his reputation. But I do not want to listen to Rush. Still. This album gets a 4. Musicianship goes a long way in my book. Boolean: yes, yes I am glad I heard it. Now let’s move on.

Man, this album is iconic. It’s crazy how much of it is embedded into me. I didn’t fully realize. I’m a bit torn. I almost want to give it a 5. I mean I would listen to this. I gave Rush Moving Pictures a 4 because of competence. But I would not listen to that album. I think that answers it. 5 it is. Boolean: yes absolutely, glad to hear more times before I die.

My relationship with Taylor is complicated. This album makes me feel like I have been transported into some alternate Sartrian hell where instead of being unable to escape your family you are unable to escape a perpetual Disney film. And if I am stuck in a Disney production, I would rather be there with Cristina Aguilera or Olivia Rodrigo. Even Shake it Off is done better, well, as karaoke if it has some actual bass behind it. This just… um….But then I remember that Taylor, the mover is AMAZING. My god. Who remembers she was a leading COUNTRY star before this? And where she goes from here, maybe not musically, entirely imo, but as an industry mover, well… damn. She’s unstoppable. So how do I rate that? She gets 3 for this project just for being able to do it, to completely change her entire genre mid career for most artists. And she’s just getting started here. Boolean: yes, yeah I suppose it’s important to actually hear it. Now I can say I did, you know by choice and not in pieces at a shopping center.

Ha! Haven’t heard this in years! Wonder how it’s aged? Wow, it’s really good. Damn I hate the double album. It would be so much stronger as TWO albums. But broken up, I really love both, and honestly am surprised how well they’ve aged. 4. Solid. Despite that terrible length

Sorry to the haters, I love this album. My brother and I tortured my mother with it. We made her play it when she drove us to school. She really, really hated it the way I hated Bob Dylan. So it was used as leverage. The girl is crafty. 4 Boolean: yes yes y’all

Oh, looking forward to this! It’s been years! Man I do love this thing. So this feels like a guilty pleasure. I mean does it really matter to music in the lager scheme of things? Is it highly derivative? But to I love rocking to it while I do dishes? And if I am going to rate the Stones highly… I mean they really weren’t that innovative, they were just first off the line. And as much as I want to go back on it, every time I listen to a Stones album it ends up getting a 4. Because I enjoyed it. Same thing here. Guilty pleasure. 4 Boolean: yes, actually. I am glad to hear the black keys again and probably again before I die.

Wow- tired of 60’s psychedelia. Oh and Clapton. Joy. Maybe now I will understand why he’s a guitar superhero? No. No such luck. I am beginning to believe the Clapton guitar master is a mythology manufactured by British recording studio executives. Because between this and 467 Ocean Blvd I have seen little evidence of anything that blows me away. Just saying. Not that I am some guitar hero myself. But… I generally really get into drums. And the drums on this DO stand out. On further investigation I must admit that the drumming and the mix are pretty exceptional. Revolutionary. But the rest? Yeah. So 3. Because of the drums. Boolean: yes, damn it yes, I guess it’s good to have heard all this dang psychedelia to, you know, know. But now that I do, don’t need to again.

Oh my. I do not have good feelings for the “folk movement.” This is actually a realization that has fully crystallized because of this exercise. I mean I always knew that Bob Dylan annoyed the f* out of me. No matter how much I tried/ try and appreciate his lyrics on paper, I just… hate him. And if I am honest this extends to the weird folksy stuff in Crosby Stills and Nash, to Neil Young generally, to the song Stairway From Heaven- God give me any Zeplin but that! My mom was a big fan of later Joan Baez. I didn’t pay much attention. But this, this, I wanted to destroy this. No doubt she has a voice and can play the guitar, but- man she makes me stabby. I was ready to kill half way through. Ugh. Give me Eienstruzende Neubauten any day over this drivel. 2 Boolean: no. I know it’s representative of the folk movement, but no, I don’t think I actually needed to hear it.

Never have I ever heard an Alice Cooper album before… Oh my, this was so much better than I expected. Dare I say it was fun? Another example where the appearance of the band does them no favors. And of course I have been a Tom Waits fan for a very long time. So theatricality doesn’t scare me away. Wow, I actually think I am going 4. Oh this is so tongue in cheek! Yeah it’s getting a 4. Don’t tell my brother. 4 Boolean: yes, this right here is the good of this exercise. I am very glad I heard this before I died, and without a reason there is no way I ever, ever would have just thought “you know what? I think I need to try out Alice Cooper today, you know, see what that was all about.”

This is a 5. Perhaps I am brainwashed. I have been accused of such. My stepfather was a HUGE jazz fan. He did a good job of introducing me to the blues and big band stuff. He got my mom to play classic song book selections on the piano. He’d try to play the clarinet and my mom and I would sing. Meanwhile he was also introducing me to classic bop. He’d get really animated and tell stories about the artists and the times. Before I knew it he had me listening to this very album. He thought “Trane” was a genius beyond compare. This is not an immediately accessible album. Like a lot of jazz selections on this list, I can’t imagine hitting them without any prior “preparation.” (My husband calls that brainwashing.) But yeah, I can’t imagine going in cold and coming out the other side saying “ oh shit, that’s a work of genius! I see what all the hype’s about! So glad I heard that!” This is where the exercise is weak. I mean Ella Fitzgerald doing the ENTIRE Gershwin song book IS on here. And so is some classic delta blues, I believe. But I don’t think one Charlie Parker album is. The creators of the 1001 album book don’t present a very good way to see the development of Jazz. So when you get this, well… all I can say is I am sorry everyone doesn’t have someone in their life to brainwash them into believing this is a work of genius. Because I sure am glad I did. I think I appreciate ALL music more because of it. My husband says that’s the brainwashing again. But if it is, I say “wash away, wash away so all that dissonance reveals the higher harmony!” Boolean: YES, this is a GOAT album for sure

No one’s convincing me Prince isn’t a genius. Even the man himself. I mean he changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol- literally. The press release read that the symbol he had legally changed his name to (in the midst of contractual conflict with Warner brothers) was “unpronounceable.” So on paper he was the symbol- but what were we to call him? The artist formerly known as Prince. I remember people railing on this silliness. But it was GENIUS. Pure f*ing genius. Like so much that he did. He changed music AND the machine. What a feat! AND he didn’t let them steal his soul. 5 forever Boolean: yes always so glad to hear The Artist before I too die. Prince RIP

Oh god, not looking forward to this… oh f*. That album cover is torture. Oh… I am going to try to be open minded, really. Om Man, this is saved in my albums, so I made myself listen to this already. Well… can you tell I am not feeling Neil? Idk. I need to stop flailing about and just dive in… You know Neil, you ARE a vampire. Sucking the joy from my very being. I know, I know, how can I say that about NEIL YOUNG? The beloved NEIL YOUNG. Well you know what? He doesn’t get better for me. He gets more annoying and aggravating. He needs a crowd of people, but he can’t face them day to day. Yeah. I hear you. It’s like me facing this album. God, he’ll get a 2. I want to give him a 1, but I can’t. He’s insightful. I mean I get it. But the delivery brings me down. And buries me beneath the sand. Boolean: yes mom, I suppose so

Well, you know honestly, I don’t think I have ever listened to a Kiss album… So no idea this was such… parody. It’s actually fun! God, another example where the appearance of the band does them no service. I mean I guess they’re recognizable… I am torn. I actually really enjoyed this. It’s almost a 4? But.. yeah I think it’s at 3.5 and I am rounding up because I’ve been subjected to an ungodly amount of meaninglessness Brit pop from the 80’s AND Neil Young. 4- for helping me rock again Boolean: yes

Tina Turner was a power house. This album is surprisingly consistent. Like most pop that came out when I was a kid, I completely rejected Tina by the time I was a young teen. As kids, my brother and I thought her role in the Mad Max sequel was a highlight the way Bowie’s role in Never Ending Story was. And that was about as far Tina got with me. Bowie of course can’t be avoided, but that is a different story for a different time. Anyway, glad to hear this album. 4 Boolean:yes

Oh Fiona. Well let’s see how I feel… Wow, this was so much better than I expected. Don’t know why my expectations were low. Maybe fan base? Don’t know, but I wasn’t psyched going in. This might have gotten a 5 on a different day. I mean damn the girl has talent. But too slow today. Though, I can’t say there’s a particularly rough spot on the album, it just doesn’t pull me through. I was dragging at the end. But it’s a solid 4. Boolean: definitely Yes. Surprised I never heard this album before

No idea going in… Didn’t realize Ginger Baker was the drummer for Cream. Didn’t dig the Cream offering… except for the drums, if I recall. So… what can I say? This was way better than Cream? The 17 minute drum duet was definitely my favorite part. That shit got saved and will keep me coming back. The rest is… good. Not mind blowing. But good. This is a solid 4 Boolean: yes, absolutely, why I am engaged in this exercise, so I can hear all this that I would have missed before I die.

Speedy, you’re too fast. And the devil Rick Ruben was involved. How appropriate. If I want to scare my husband and/or my dogs this is going to be my go to. Definitely. Not much more to be said, really. 3 - cause it’s fun to scare my dogs. They get up and leave the room. They look worried. Boolean: um… yes?

Well… I sure want to give this a 2 or 3 just to be snarky. I mean it’s BOTH a double album AND a live album. Not. A. Fan. And Van Morrison has THREE albums on the list. I mean… really? Do I really NEED that much Van Morrison in my life? But… damn it. This is good. I can’t deny the man. It’s good. His live versions are actually better than the recordings I know too well. Arrrrrghhhhhh! Damn it. 4 Boolean: yes…

Oh good… Yeah, so I guess I gotta give this one a 5. This and Abbey Road. The rest get 4s. Unless they’re prior to 65. Then… yeah, those are not well liked by me. We’ll have to see. Always a struggle with the Beatles. Do I really want to give this a 5? Not REALLY. But I feel I must. I mean some of their best work is here. And it’s good. They can write a song, ok? 5 Boolean: yes, yes, yes, yes ok?

Oh Bowie. Not my favorite. Not at all. But this album… let’s see how I feel today… Oh no. Listened to this with my husband. He wanted to give it a 1. This only concretized what was honestly his hate going in. The first half, minus the very recognizable Heroes, is almost unlistenable. I have to admit. I tried twice. But… yeah it’s torture. And then the second half… well it’s relief? Love music where Bowie isn’t singing. But together the two halves are… what? Brilliant? No. I’m sorry all the brouhaha about Bowie, at least here, is… Sound and fury my friends. 2 Because the second half has some decent tracks. Boolean: FALSE- I in no way, on no day, needed to hear this before I die.

Oh come on… this isn’t an album! This is a box set! Seriously. I have a few projects. I listened to this already. And I did. I listened to all 3 hours of it. But I have some questions: why is this the only Ella representation on the list? Why the Gershwin song book? I mean she did the WHOLE DANG AMERICAN SONG BOOK. So why Gershwin? Anyway, not listening to this again today. Will have to wait for when it comes up again. 3 Boolean: True, at some point, in chunks, probably not all at once

Likely all the Miles albums are going to be 5s for me. Haven’t listened to this one in awhile. Yeah, it’s a 5. So beautiful. Just two tracks. Miles was a genius. 5 Boolean: true, one great thing about this exercise is it’s getting me to really listen to and think about jazz in a way I haven’t in years

This was a delight! Loved it. Thought it was consistent and wonderfully easy to listen to. It’s getting into the mix. 4 Boolean:True

Remember seeing this around. Never actually listened to it before… Wow. I was actually familiar with a few tracks. And the rest was gladly received. I guess I really dig this period of Trip hop/ genre meshing in Britain for the most part. 4 Boolean: True

Been awhile… Um… this took me on one hell of a ride. And no one was passing spliffs. But… maybe I did get a little contact high? Anyway… that opening is weak. Really don’t want to hear beefing for 15 minutes with little else. Actually, there is a surprisingly small amount of actual material on here for its bloated over hour run time. And the skits don’t help. What it DOES have is sampling and beats par excellence. Honestly, it even lifts Parliament’s P.Funk, which it does lock stock and barrel, well. That was the era of stealing from the masters, or “introducing the youth to the sounds of the earlier generations.” But honestly, there has always been theft in music and when it’s done well, it can be a boon for all. But the thing for me, is that this album doesn’t seem to really have its own ideas, aside from the beef with Eazy. That’s clear enough. But it just doesn’t carry a whole album. 3 Boolean:Ture?

What’s with all the live albums? Yeah, I just don’t know. This is the only B.B. King. And… well, it’s strong. It has all the strengths that this exercise has made me see in the live album. The feeling of a moment. The feeling of the performer AND the man. But, a studio album really does have advantages in quality. Arrrgh. 4 Boolean:True

Ah.. the best Billy Joel. And it’s his only offering from the book. Someone else pointed out that there are f*ing six Elvis Costello albums. And only this from Billy Joel. Really. Let’s see how I feel after today’s listen… Yeah this is a 5. What an amazing display of song writing. I just don’t care about haters. This is a tour de force. Elvis Costello has moments. He doesn’t have one album that even begins to rises to this level as far as I can tell. Whatever one might want to say about Joel’s later career- he could STILL write a great song. Costello can do word play and annoy us. 5 Boolean:True

Zero idea about album or band going in. Always interesting. If there IS an audience for this album, I do suppose I am it- future me. 1978 me was a baby, though it does seem the perfect soundtrack to throw your puréed carrots and bananas onto the wall to. It did make my dogs leave. Always the first sign that the “music” is less than harmonious. Rating it. Now there’s the rub. Said rating is going to be completely arbitrary. I love the weirdness. I love that this got made. I would never, ever throw this on. But I may mix a track in a playlist. Codex. That would go nicely in a mix. 4 Boolean: True

Wow- that photo on the cover is pretty priceless for historical documentation. People dressed like that! I was there… I was a kid. I remember wondering about it, what people thought was “fashionable.” Guess the same can be said for any era. But the 80’s… were special. No idea about this album or artist. Combined with that album cover… it doesn’t bode well. But I have been happily surprised before… So this one’s actually hard. I was pleasantly surprised. I almost want to give it a 4. The songs are well written. The production is good, works well with her voice, nothing is strangely trying too hard. But… she falls prey to the issue of all singer-songwriters and women in particular: is only love, relationships, their beginnings, their failures worthy of a song? Is that all the inspiration you have to draw on? 3 Boolean:true?

Current Snoop is an odd figure. I remember encountering his cook books at a Barnes and Noble a few years back. And it reminded me of a kinda awesome bluegrass cover of gin and juice I had heard. I’ve actually heard many “indie” covers of gin and juice over the years. It always reminds me that Snoop was always a character, really, almost being parodied by himself for commercial gain from jump. Doggystyle was ALWAYS absurd. Intentionally so. And honestly much better done than Dre’s Chronic. The disses against Eazy are so much subtler and under the radar, yet no less biting. And man, the beats, the hooks, the straight up theft. It’s done so well. Thanks to this exercise I am truly getting schooled in this sub-genre. And I can’t say I am sorry. 4 These albums are too long. Boolean: True

This one’s hard for me. I, personally, thoroughly enjoyed this. I see from other reviews this doesn’t do it for many. My husband wants to immediately turn the dial. But for me and MY taste, it’s in the pocket. That being said, it’s derivative af. All Directions is right. They grabbed from all directions, like Sly and the Family, and made it theirs. And while their cover of Pappa was a Rolling Stone is epic… great covers rarely make a great album. So 3. Boolean: false, sorry but yeah probably shouldn’t be on the list

Man are The Who annoying on this album. God, they have 5 on the list. Well, we’ll have to see. This whole thing was obviously much better in theory. Love the humor, the ideas, the fun-making - in theory. In execution- they make me want to… stab. Supposedly Roger Daltrey never did cocaine. But man does this feel cocked out. 3 Boolean: True, cause they’re The Who

Not sure? At least it’s seriously not the 60’s. Um. Wtf? No. I was just subjected to some six or seven 60’s “cannon” albums and this? Oh, I see. I was supposed to be on molly. Well, I’m not and this sucks. What is remarkable is this was recorded and pressed and people apparently bought the albums. I DID make myself listen to the WHOLE thing. I can say it IS consistent. Consistently bad. All - the - way - to - the - last - track. The best thing I can say about it: it’s over. 1 Boolean: FALSE - were the editors on molly when they included this or what? Really, what was the reasoning? I am actively holding back the expletives.

Second time for this that must be bootlegged. Today it’s a relief. Happy for some sweet instrumental solos and competent vocals. Yeah. And it’s not the 60’s. Double yeah. 4 Boolean: True, True

Presidents are temporary… Yeah. This one hasn’t aged as well as I would have hoped. The samples are actually stronger than the flows, often. I remember a friend of mine repeating “tiger style” far too often thanks to this album. CREAM and the ending tracks are stronger than the beginning. Maybe far stronger. It ends up. So I am still going 4. But man, it undeniably has a lot of weaknesses. 4 Boolean: true, ultimately can’t beat Wu-Tang style

Second time for this. Before this exercise it was an album I don’t think I had ever listened to, though I was extremely familiar with a number of tracks from it. This is one of the reasons I am totally in with the exercise, despite the issues with certain albums contained on the list, etc. My natural inclination is to think of artists in terms of their albums, to think of songs existing in the context of an album, even if I know I am not actually familiar with that album. I’m so glad for the opportunity/ motivation to listen to albums and keep contextualizing the songs they contain. So today I’m even more impressed with this. PJ Harvey succeeds in creating a world, an experience for me. 5 Boolean: True

Definitely a classic. Yeah. It really is. Hard to actually listen to a whole album of it uninterrupted. I just like a bit more back beat with my piano figures. But Willie has such a perfect delivery, perfect stripped down production, beautiful acoustic guitar. And he WAS an industry outlaw. Go Willie go! 4 Boolean: true

Never heard of this or the group before. This is why I am here! Awesome. This album’s use of drum machines is really setting the tone for, well, everything dance related in the next decade as far as I can tell. Pretty amazing across the board. I would almost go 5, but it’s hard with what is essentially a dj mix with which I was completely unfamiliar previously. Maybe next time around… 4 Boolean: True

Yeah. So love the album cover… After Metallica’s Justice for All and Slayer’s Reign in Blood I think I can honestly say 80’s thrasher metal is not my scene. I just don’t jam to the speed. No variation on it does a thing for me. I dig Metallica’s Black album. But relentless machine gunning drums pretty much destroy everything I love about percussion. Anthrax is supposed to be “bouncier and punker” than Slayer, which seemed so potentially good, from my standpoint. But… yeah. Um… like I said. Not my scene. 3 Boolean: True? Don’t really know how important this album is to this sub-genre. Don’t care about this sub genre enough to figure it out.

This is the second time round for this album on my multiple projects. Listening to it yet again I came to realize something: Chuck D rides a wave of carefully constructed, aggressively annoying chaos and in your face provocation like a baritone ballast. From the iconic high pitched wail that the Bomb Squad crafted from a James Brown horn sample to Flavor Flav’s incessant additions and “yeah boi!”s interjected everywhere, every track has a cacophonous maximalism that could simply be “noise,” were it not for the organization of the Bomb Squad’s beats and Chuck D’s precisely delivered flow. The crests and tides of sound continually assault the listener, but Chuck’s balance keeps the listener from going under, and the Bomb Squad keeps just enough of the hooks present from their samples to give the listener something to hold onto. I think it’s pretty amazing. Almost 40 years later. 5 Boolean: True

Oh BOB. Already know this ain’t my favorite of one of my least favorite artists. But I still respect the Bob. To a degree. And I will try this again today. See how it sits. So: I respect the lyricism. I do. But. Musically this is, and continues to be, painful. It’s not just Bob’s voice or his, at times, affected delivery. It’s the heavy leaning on blues tropes that don’t feel authentic. It’s the harmonica and all the treble terror it conjures. It’s the pace that often makes me feel that I’m supposed to be stoned on something far stronger than marijuana. And songs that pick up the pace make me itchy more than groovy. So, I just can’t go higher than 3. 3 Boolean: true, ok?

Yeah. Ended up looking at others reviews. I was curious. Have to say I am in the mainstream on this one. I found myself wanting to like this more than I actually did. Consistently the instrumental or vocal “intros” were WAY more interesting than the synth beats that generally dropped out of nowhere to usher in the proper songs. Someone said “clunky.” Yep. It’s like Orbit had a bag with all the elements for compelling edm/ electronica and just reached into it at random without understanding how to actually put it together. Why it’s THIS volume of Strange Cargo that made the list is a mystery. Also a mystery as to why I needed to hear William Orbit before I die. Though I can believe this represented a moment and was actually influential in ways I do not understand. I will say that letting go and letting the experience take me was a much better approach. By the end I was far more open to what was going on. I would say Deus Ex Machina and Water Babies worked for me as electronica. IMO the album ends well. And I believe this may be the issue. When Orbit just lets go himself and dives fully into electronica, he has a much better intuition. So. I have multiple projects going. This is the first time hitting this album. This time it gets a 3. Next time it may get a 4. 3 Boolean: true?

I believe this is the third time for this one on my multiple projects. My rating has remained pretty solid. Let’s see… Yeah. This time it’s almost a 5. Almost. I mean there’s hardly a dead spot. And it has so, so much. Brown Sugar, Wild Horses, Can’t You Hear Me Knocking. It’s always the mid album that isn’t as clear for me. That mid section until Dead Flowers. But then Dead Flowers brings me back strong to finish with Moonlight Mile. So this album is a 4. 4 Boolean: True. I do believe this is my favorite Stones

Ha! I love this. But it’s 3 hours long! 69 songs is no joke. So I have found that this collection is not just massive, but massively misunderstood. I remember when I first encountered it. A good deal after it had originally come out, probably because of Washington D.C. That song… having lived outside the beltway once, well, I found it instantly delightful. It somehow captures all the absurdity of that place that is so, so much better to visit than to try and live in. The thing is, I worked through Stephin Merritt’s “song book” slowly. Over days. Again and again I found myself laughing out loud. Let’s take an example from I Don’t Want to Get Over You: Or I could make a career of bein' blue I could dress in black and read Camus Smoke clove cigarettes and drink Vermouth Like I was 17, that would be a scream But I don't wanna get over you He just described ME! At the age of 14 maybe, but right down to the Camus! F* didn’t realize I was such a type. But of course I WAS. But man… And then all the examples that are direct digs at genre: Love is Like Jazz? Punk Love? Acoustic Guitar? The thing is, Merritt is engaged in the lost art of song craft for craft’s sake. These are probably the LEAST romantic or sexy songs you could imagine about love. They are demonstrations of wit, both lyrical AND musical. This is much closer to Ella Fitzgerald singing the whole Gershwin song book, if she had ALSO written the songs she sang. Only Merritt isn’t working in the golden age of NY broadway shows, he’s working out of gay bars and the musical reviews done of those show tunes of yore by drag queens. Which brings me to a great deal of misunderstanding I have already encountered with this collection. When it was re-released on its 25th anniversary I got it on vinyl for my brother. I thought as a fellow music lover he would appreciate the song craft and humor of it. He was totally weirded out. He tells me not just one ex- girlfriend, but multiple ex- girlfriends included selections from it on Valentines Mix tapes for him. I was dumbfounded. Um… I know it’s called 69 love songs but… really? Not only are there almost NO actually romantic songs, Merritt is so clearly…. Gay. Not to say that love isn’t love but Long Forgotten Fairytale kind of says it all, and you must remember that the lyrics are being delivered by Merritt’s incredible bass voice: And a long-forgotten fairytale is in your eyes again And I'm caught inside a dream world where the colors are too intense And nothing is making sense There's a floating town of ire down in a mist of mystery There's an old enchanted castle and the princess there is me Decked-out like a Christmas tree So yeah. Unfortunately, I don’t think people get the joke. I guess I just wrote a whole lot to say that very simple statement: people don’t get the joke. 5 Boolean: True, but it’s much better over many days, not powered through all at once.

I feel guilty for rating all the jazz 5. But what IS on the list is well curated. And the book has a bias toward Miles Davis. I have no problem with this at all. I think I can count myself a fan. From his hard bop period that isn’t included to Sketches of Spain, which likewise is not in the book to this album to Kind of Blue to Bitches Brew all the way to Miles in Paris in 91 that has an iconic performance of Human Nature. Yeah. I love Miles Davis. Albums in the book and out of it. He often gets a 5 in MY book. Boolean: True

Yeah. I have multiple of these projects going. This is the second time for this one in two days. Don’t like Neil. He’s not getting better with more listening. I’m just hating him more. Yeah. Sorry. Still not feeling Neil. 2 Boolean: true, I guess, yeah. I said false before because I was salty. I mean we SHOULD listen to Neil and Bob, right? Cause they’re IMPORTANT

Don’t think I have ever actually listened to an X album. It’s always been tracks on mixtapes and then tracks on playlists. I was expecting it to be in my groove. And the album delivered. I honestly need to listen again. But off a first listen: 4 Boolean: true

Nope. Already know I’m not looking forward to this. Oh, and it’s not on Spotify. Well. Power to Joanna. But that doesn’t help. God. This really gives chamber pop a bad name. I’d rather listen to Einstürzende Neubauten. On repeat. At top volume. I made it all the way through this horrible… experience. The fact that she sounds like some strange Bjork let loose with a plucked bed spring and full orchestra only adds to the effect. I feel I ought to give it a 2 because she obviously went to music school or some such, but I feel angry about losing the hour and I’m in a terrible mood. 1 Boolean: FALSE

Yeah. So in 92 I was a teenager and I figure I was the target audience for this. But…. Yeah. I am not surprised I don’t know it. Even now. I like it? It almost has an edge. But… 3 Boolean—— um, false. Sorry. Don’t think I needed to hear this then or now

There was a time not too long ago (a decade, actually) that this would be an instant 5. Let’s see how I feel after today’s listen… This is the first Arcade Fire album I’ve gotten. Looking over their discography, listening to this today, I was made aware that this band represents a real shift that occurred in my relationship to “popular” music at a certain point in the new Millennium. Before, new music I was introduced to was largely recommended by friends, people I hung around with, my brother and his friends. Usually, I was introduced via mixtape before I would dare to venture out to the record store. But then with the rise of streaming services, I started to pay attention to what “people in general” were excited about. I felt a certain freedom in this. Previously, there had always been “gate keepers,” music store counter workers, à la High Fidelity, and music mags “dictating” what was “cool” from some slumped position on their respective loungers. Now the world was open. I could see there was a buzz about a band about an album and go listen to it. That simple. I didn’t have to justify my desire to listen to something to anyone and there was no financial loss if it sucked. Interestingly, my brother has largely rejected streaming. He’s dedicated to his vinyl. And he’s a dedicated reader of Rolling Stone since the age of 10. I have always been surprised by his continued support of RS. It’s not very punk rock. But our stepfather got him the original subscription and old habits die hard. Anyway, Arcade Fire is interesting because he and I both came to them by different means. I by way of “the people,” YouTube and Reddit discussions, and my brother by way of “the critics.” For over a decade they seemed to “be it.” And then it all shifted. Everyone seemed to turn against them. The critics that had adored them. The fans that couldn’t get enough of that “new/ old” sound. But I will say, the concept of this album still hits. And I can’t know if I love it because I know it as well as I do, but the love is still strong. And I am admitting to myself that Funeral is probably getting a 5, too. Maybe I’m not objective about it. 5 Boolean: True

Yes! I am afraid of music! Yeah, another hard rating. 4 or 5? I actually really like this album for what it is - pretty frenetic. But the older, more controlled, wild and crazy guy David Byrne is the one I grew up with. And I really did grow up with him in a way. My mom bought the video tape of Jonathan Demme’s Stop Making Sense film. The year my parents divorced we watched it ALL the time on the weekends she had us. So… yeah. 4 Boolean: True

Between this and The War on Drugs album I am feeling pretty salty about the list as it approaches the Millennium and crosses the line. I LIKE these albums. They’re fine. They are mostly forgettable. Really. How do I know? Because I did. Forget them. And I wasn’t as happy being reminded of them as one might expect. There isn’t enough nostalgia value. They are good. Good. Not revolutionary. They don’t make me think or stay with me. They don’t even make me angry except that there were so, so many OTHER albums and bands from this period that aren’t on the list. And it’s not the old hobby horse British bias. I don’t know what it is. The editor is out of touch. But. It’s actually a beautiful project. Idk. Does it deserve a 4? Argh!!! Yeah. I suppose so. 4 But Boolean: FALSE