Best Ever Albums

Re: NJ's Music Diary

NJ — Wed, 14 Aug 2024 18:02:26 GMT

Author: NJ

Posted: 08/14/2024 22:02

NJ wrote:

Currents by Tame Impala - I didn't much like Lonerism, for whatever reason. Maybe I'll have to listen to it again. I liked this album quite a lot. I've heard Let It Happen and The Less I Know The Better plenty of times before - the former is one of my favorite songs ever, so I don't know why it took me so long to listen to this - and those two alone put it above Lonerism for me (which I'm aware is a very unpopular opinion). The rest of the album was really solid, too. Not one of my all-time favorites or anything, but I enjoyed it a lot.

This is no longer an opinion I hold at all BTW, I still like Currents a lot, but it's definitely fallen off a bit for me (maybe a low 7, if I'm being generous), whereas I really love Lonerism (probably a 9, or a very high 8 if I'm being picky).

What I've been listening to

NJ — Wed, 14 Aug 2024 17:58:41 GMT

Author: NJ

Posted: 08/14/2024 21:58

Here are al the 2010s albums I've listened to in the past 3 years. I've focused much more on other decades since then, to expand my musical knowledge, so there's not that many for three whole years. I'm also going to go back to my original scoring system, just out of nostalgia, though I still have the same complaints about it. It's not like this is super serious anyway, though. Also, this is in order of release, not when I listened to them.

Plastic Beach by Gorillaz - I first listened to this shortly after I updated my diary in 2021 and it instantly became one of my favorite records of the decade. It's easily my favorite Gorillaz record, too. Just every song on it is great, or at least has something interesting going for it. I guess the main draw to it, for me anyway, is just the atmosphere. It's so good. I go back and forth between giving it a 9 and a 10, but I'm going with a 10 today. It's just that good, and it's gonna be the only album here that gets one, anyway.

Halcyon Digest by Deerhunter - Some really great standout songs (the first track and, of course, "Helicopter" being my favorites), and not really that many weak moments. "Sailing" and "Basement Scene" are only okay, and the last two songs are pretty disappointing, but nothing's bad. I guess my biggest issue with this album is just that it doesn't stand out too much production-wise. It's gorgeous, don't get me wrong, but it's also (to me, anyway) not all that memorable. I'd still give it a low 7.

Tsumanne by Shinsei Kamattechan - Too many weak moments, and the stronger ones aren't all that great, if I'm being honest. It's very competently done, though, and a pretty emotional experience. I just can't say I loved it. It's either a high 6 or a low 7.

Let England Shake by PJ Harvey - Not her best album (that would be Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea), which says more about her than it does this album, which is great. One of the best true rock albums of the modern era, it's maybe frontloaded, but even the last half is pretty damn good. A 9.

Angles by The Strokes - I love The Strokes. Is This It is probably the best rock album of the 21st century, and an easy 10, but they definitely floundered around a bit after their fantastic first two records, until the also great The New Abnormal. Of the three "weaker" records of that era, this is easily my favorite. I just think it's really good. The first two songs are fantastic, and I appreciate it's more experimental than Room on Fire (though obviously not nearly as good) and way more consistent than First Impressions of Earth (their worst, an opinion which only gets stronger the more I listen to it). It's not perfect, though. A few songs do kinda suck, unfortunately. As such, it's only a 7.

Knife Man by Andrew Jackson Jihad - A lot of my friends love AJJ and really pressured me into checking out People Who Eat People Are the Luckiest People, which is a thoroughly mediocre album. I gave them another chance with this one, and it's actually great. Like, really, really good! Other than "Back Pack" and "Free Bird" (especially), which kinda suck. Still a really high 8.

Bloom by Beach House - A frontloaded masterpiece. "Myth" is their best song (sorry "Space Song" fans). So much better than Teen Dream. I wish this had been my first record of theirs, I wouldn't have put off listening to more of them for so long. A solid 9.

Comedown Machine by The Strokes - The main issue with this album is just the lack of truly great songs. I like the chill 80s vibes, but their next album would handle that way better and also have great songs. Even First Impressions of Earth had a few standout tracks. This is still the better record though, but I can only barely give it a 6.

0 by Ichiko Aoba - A gorgeous folk album that peaks early. Hands-down the best record of 2013. A high 9.

To Be Kind by Swans - I like Soundtracks for the Blind way more, but this is still really good. Post-Rock isn't my absolute favorite genre or anything (I think a lot of the critiques lobbied against Indie Rock for being bland and samey applies equally so for post-rock), but it kept my attention for over two hours, which is certainly a feat. It gets an 8 for that, and for "Screen Shot", which is a truly great opener.

Tyrany by Julain Casablancas + The Voidz - I might be in the "Human Sadness" is overrated camp (of, like, two people lol), but it's still the best song here, and pretty impressive. The rest of the album is quite variable in quality, but I like the harshness of it a lot. 7.

Run the Jewels 2 by Run the Jewels - I feel similarly about this album as I did the first, which is to say it's alright. Very competent, but just not exactly my thing. Probably a 6 or 7, like the first.

I'm in Your Mind Fuzz by King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Their second best (after Nonagon Infinity, obviously), which means it's one of the better rock albums of the 2010s. A 7 if I'm being picky, but really an 8.

Bury Me at Makeout Creek by Mitski - I like Mitski, but I don't really see her as a great album artist. This is her best, because it has the least terrible moments, but it still has a few. I wish I could give her more than a 7, but I just can't, in good faith.

E*MO*TION by Carly Rae Jepsen - Yeah I like it. The first few tracks are really great. I don't think it's the pinnacle of contemporary pop, but it's a solid 7.

Psychopomp by Japanese Breakfast - I really like "Everybody Wants to Love You" a lot, but Japanese Breakfast would go on to do better things. A high 6, still.

The Dream Is Over by PUP - I like the first two songs (really, I love DVP), and I absolutely cannot stand the rest. A low 4, only on the basis of those first two songs.

Puberty 2 by Mitski - Her second best, and "Your Best American Girl" is, obviously, her best song. Yeah. 6.

My Woman by Angel Olsen - Okay, we're back to the great stuff! An amazing Indie Rock release with some real standout tracks (and some weaker ones). I love her voice, and that, like some other Indie darlings I love, her album strikes a great balance between short, poppier songs like "Shut Up Kiss Me" and longer, more complex ones like "Sister". Almost a 9. Almost. But it's an 8. A really damn high one.

WORRY. by Jeff Rosenstock - Maybe the album that's grown off of me the most since I first heard it. I really like a lot of the songs here, especially the first 5, but while I was kinda obsessed with it when I first heard it, and relistened to it regularly, for whatever reason the idea of listening to even one song off it has seemed almost grossly unappealing for over a year now. I guess I'll still give it a 7, but know that I gave it a 9 at first.

You Want It Darker by Leonard Cohen - Man, I should really listen to one of his other albums. Literally just one of them. Songs could be good. This one's a high 7. The title track is amazing. The rest is alright, too.

Melodrama by Lorde - Maybe the most shocking listen I've ever had. Boy do I love this record, and, having thought Pure Heroine was meh, I was not expecting that. But the lyrics and track-to-track consistency are top-notch. The best pop record of the 2010s, easily. 9.

Veteran by JPEGMAFIA - While I think some of his more recent stuff is maybe a bit overrated, this is still a masterpiece, easily, and the best rap album of 2018 by a lot. But, it's just a low, low 9. It could be trimmed a bit.
00
Little Dark Age by MGMT - Their best record, and just a really fun piece of neo-psychedelia. The title track is great, but for my money "When You Die" is the real highlight. The second half is only okay, but I'm not gonna complain too much. Either a 7 or an 8.

Virtue by The Voidz - Pretty much addresses all my issues with their debut. I'd say it's as good as anything else Julian's done post-Is This It. A very strong 8.

Wide Awake by Parquet Courts - When I first listened to the first couple of tracks, I found myself immensely bored with them. I'm glad I convinced myself to wait until I was in a better mindset, because this is really good! As far as it goes for 2018 records, I'd rate it a little higher than Little Dark Age, but it's still a low 8.

OIL OF EVERY PEARL'S UN-INSIDES by SOPHIE - RIP SOPHIE. I feel like I appreciate this album more than I genuinely love it, but it's obvious how unique and impactful it was. 8.

TA13OO by Denzel Curry - Yeah it's good. The lyrics can be pretty edgy at times, and some songs aren't great, but I like it. 7.

Crumbling by Mid-Air Thief - The most overrated release of the 2010s? Perhaps. I do really like the first song, like a lot, and the next two are pretty good, too, but it falls off hard after that. Just incredibly boring for over half of its runtime. Either a 4 or a 5, but I'll be nice.

Sweetener by Ariana Grande - I listened to this for an ex of mine. Why do us gays have to have such boring tastes in music? 4.

Trench by Twenty One Pilots - I was not expecting to like this so much, but I did. The middle stretch from "Smithereens" through "Cut My Lip" are pretty mediocre, but I really like the rest. I'm tempted to give it an 8, but nah, it's a 7.

Itekoma Hits by Otoboke Beaver - What a solid ass punk record. Just front-to-back this whole thing is really, really good. There's so much angry, noisy energy. Maybe it deserves more than an 8.

Norman Fucking Rockwell!! by Lana Del Rey - I was a defender of Lana before this album convinced most of her haters she had more merit than they gave her credit for, so I'm glad it exists. I think it's maybe a little overrated. The first three songs are truly great, but the rest is kind of eh. Still good enough to be a 7.

Somewhere City by Origami Angel - Yeah, this was fun and short. Don't love the vocals, but hey, the album's still pretty good. A very high 7.

And that's it for now. Let me know if you have any thoughts or recommendations 😄

Over three years.

NJ — Tue, 13 Aug 2024 22:50:45 GMT

Author: NJ

Posted: 08/14/2024 02:50

3 and a half years. I did not realize it had been so long. I started using another website more, but I'll always come back to this one. This diary itself has undergone a lot of changes over the years. I haven't been listening to much 2010s music recently, but for a while there this was just my regular diary. I'll return to this in the near future. It does mean a lot to me, even if not many people ever read it.

Re: NJ's Music Diary

NJ — Tue, 2 Mar 2021 19:25:15 GMT

Author: NJ

Posted: 03/03/2021 00:25

Oh geez, it's been some time. My bad 😕

I thought to make up for the many months it's been since I've looked at this thing, I'd once again rank all the albums from the 2010s I've listened to, along with my current scoring system (F- to A+), which I did almost a year ago now. I've listened to probably close to double the amount of albums, and changed my opinions quite strongly on many of them. Before I do that, though, I will explain why I'm excluding one album, which is Twin Fantasy (Mirror to Mirror). It's simply way too important to me for me to rate on any sort of objective level. It obviously has its flaws, but rating it based on that feels like I'm stabbing myself in the gut, so it's rated N/A and is excluded from the list. Regardless, this list is still mostly based on my subjective enjoyment of stuff. I don't care too much about "objectively" rating things. I'm just excluding the one album because it's too personal for me and I don't wanna.

Oh, and this should be farily obvious, but in case it isn't: my grading system is not the same as the American school's grading system. There, a C is a 7.5. For me, it's about a 5 (though not exactly - these ratings are a bit looser). Everything above a C is good, and everything below a C is bad. C is average. I like most things I've listened to because I typically actively seek good music to listen to.

Also, I really need to relisten to some of these. Mostly Vulnicura and Teen Dream and Lonerism. Some of the others deserve a relisten too, though.

1. Car Seat Headrest, Teens of Denial - A+
2. Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp a Butterfly - A+
3. David Bowie, Blackstar - A+
4. Death Grips, The Powers That B - A
5. LCD Soundsystem, This Is Happening - A
6. Car Seat Headrest, Twin Fantasy - A
7. Daughters, You Won't Get What You Want - A
8. Danny Brown, Atrocity Exhibition - A
9. Kendrick Lamar, good kid, m.A.A.d city - A
10. Father John Misty, Pure Comedy - A
11. Car Seat Headrest, How to Leave Town - A
12. Death Grips, The Money Store - A
13. Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy - A
14. Radiohead, A Moon Shaped Pool - A
15. Tyler, The Creator, Flower Boy - A-
16. Kanye West, Yeezus - A-
17. Frank Ocean, Blonde - A-
18. Tyler, The Creator, Igor - A-
19. Death Grips, Bottomless Pit - A-
20. Weyes Blood, Titanic Rising - A-
21. Beyonce, Lemonade - A-
22. Fleet Foxes, Helplessness Blue - A-
23. Kids See Ghosts, Kids See Ghosts - B+
24. Father John Misty, I Love You, Honeybear - B+
25. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Skeleton Tree - B+
26. Mount Eerie, A Crow Looked At Me - B+
27. Car Seat Headrest, Nervous Young Man - B+
28. Fiona Apple, The Idler Wheel... - B+
29. Arcade Fire, The Suburbs - B
30. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Nonagon Infinity - B
31. Vampire Weekend, Modern Vampires of the City - B
32. Sufjan Stevens, Carrie & Lowell - B
33. Frank Ocean, channel ORANGE - B
34. Kanye West, The Life of Pablo - B
35. Earl Sweatshirt, Some Rap Songs - B
36. Kendrick Lamar, DAMN. - B
37. Tame Impala, Currents - B
38. Ghost, Meliora - B
39. Childish Gambino, Because the Internet - B
40. Run the Jewels, Run the Jewels - B
41. Lorde, Pure Heroine - B
42. Car Seat Headrest, Teens of Style - B
43. Little Women, Throat - B
44. Bjork, Vulnicura - B-
45. Tame Impala, Lonerism - B-
46. Beach House, Teen Dream - B-
47. Pusha T, Daytona - B-
48. Kanye West, ye - B-
49. LCD Soundsystem, The American Dream - B-
50. Car Seat Headrest, My Back Is KIlling Me Baby - C+
51. Car Seat Headrest, Monomania - C+
52. Lizzo, Cuz I Love You - C
53. Car Seat Headrest, 4 - C
54. Car Seat Headrest, 3 - C
55. Car Seat Headrest, Disjecta Membra - C
56. Hozier, Hozier - C
57. Aries, Welcome Home - C-
58. Kanye West, Jesus Is King - D+
59. Car Seat Headrest, Little Pieces of Paper With "No" Written on Them - D
60. Car Seat Headrest, 1 - D
61. Car Seat Headrest, 2 - D-

Re: NJ's Music Diary

NJ — Tue, 6 Oct 2020 19:47:56 GMT

Author: NJ

Posted: 10/06/2020 23:47

Eh, I feel bad cause of how long it's been. I've been listening to a lot of music, but I've been too lazy to write about it. I'm a writing major and also review albums for my college newspaper, so sometimes I get fatigues from writing. Least I haven't been depressed in a while. Here's a small rundown of some of the albums I listened to that stood out:

Because the Internet by Childish Gambino - I liked this a lot. The production was great and none of the songs stood out as bad or anything. I guess I didn't care as much for the lyricism or concept as others though.

What's Your Pleasure by Jessie Ware - So good. Still think Peaceful as Hell is my AOTY so far, but this is a serious contender.

Shore by Fleet Foxes - It peaks early with Sunblind and kind of just meanders along until its over. It's alright. Pleasant, but not really great or anything.

American Head by Flaming Lips - I liked this quite a bit. The orchestration was great and I didn't dislike any song except for the unfortunate closer. Don't care much for it lyrically though.

Throat by Little Women - I was expecting this to be a lot more unpleasant than it was. I was enjoying it quite a lot until the last track.

The Powers That B by Death Grips - What an amaazing album. Definitely my favorite of theirs thus far. I dunno if I like the first or last half more.

Re: NJ's Music Diary

NJ — Mon, 31 Aug 2020 13:22:48 GMT

Author: NJ

Posted: 08/31/2020 17:22

With Teeth by Nine Inch Nails - Whoops, look like a month's gone by. I didn't realize it had been so long. Anyways... This was a solid album. Reznor's vocal performances were strong. I've heard some people complain about his falsetto, but I liked it. His lyricism is good, as it's always been, but he hasn't really progressed much since the 80s. Though the lyrical content was quite different than on his more famous records, since this was a time in his life when he was sober. The production was the best part of the album. It sounded amazing. It was really polished and more pop-oriented than his previous records, which isn't a positive or negative inherently, but it did sound great. I do prefer The Downward Spiral because it's one of the few concept albums where I actually like the concept, but I certainly enjoyed this more than The Fragile. Though I should probably listen to them all again.

Re: NJ's Music Diary

NJ — Sat, 25 Jul 2020 14:58:03 GMT

Author: NJ

Posted: 07/25/2020 18:58

Fetch the Bolt Cutters by Fiona Apple - I guess to start, I'll get these two things out of the way: one, I like this quite a bit more than Idler Wheel. I found the lyricism and music to be more interesting in pretty much every regard, and I really liked that album. This one was quite emotional for me, though, which I'll get to in a bit, but Idler Wheel wasn't. Two, I think I still like Peaceful As Hell a little more. While Apple's lyricism is certainly stronger than Rook's and Devi's, and overall I preferred Apple's vocal performance, I think musically Peaceful As Hell is simply more interesting. That isn't to say musically FTBC isn't interesting - it certainly is - but the lyricism and vocals on Peaceful As Hell are also excellent. However, I think I prefer Peaceful As Hell simply because it makes me happy, where at FTBC makes me emotional in wierd ways, and at this point in my life it's rare for me to come across something that genuinely incites pure joy in me the way Peaceful As Hell does, but plenty makes me sad and inspired like FTBC.

The other thing is that FTBC could've been a few songs shorter. Some of the tracks just didn't feel necessary, especially the closing song. I do love the album, but it's more for its standout tracks. The first two songs are excellent, but the two that made me emotional are Rack of His, for personal reasons, and Ladies, for wierd reasons. I'm not a woman, and I've never been cheated on, but there's something about the "we're not alone, we need to stick together" vibes of Ladies that made me burst into tears. It was possibly due to me gradually getting more emotional throughout the album, and it just came to a head on that song.

Also, the cover art is bad. So is Peaceful As Hell's, but that's bad in a charming way. This is just bad in a bad way.

Re: NJ's Music Diary

NJ — Sat, 25 Jul 2020 03:26:46 GMT

Author: NJ

Posted: 07/25/2020 07:26

I just finished FTBC, and it was great, but I'm tired, so I'll write a more official review or whatever of it tomorrow.

Re: NJ's Music Diary

NJ — Sat, 25 Jul 2020 02:20:38 GMT

Author: NJ

Posted: 07/25/2020 06:20

Okay, I'm gonna listen to Fetch the Bolt Cutters after I write this, and then I'll post about that tonight. Sorry for being lazy, I just have a full-time job. And depression. Anyways...

Apparently 2016 is the year for which I have listened to the most albums, so I wanted to discuss my opinions on our charts in regards to that year, and more specifically the at this point I suppose overdone topic of our over-love for Radiohead. A Moon Shaped Pool, which is a great album, does not deserve to be #1 for 2016. I'm sorry, but it just doesn't. The four albums immediately below it on our chart (and Lemonade, shame on you all for having it so low) are all so much better. Again, I do love AMSP, I even like it more than The Bends and In Rainbows. It's just not super interesting. Blackstar is an amazing experimental rock album that sonically and lyrically blows AMSP out of the water. Atrocity Exhibition is similar to Blackstar in that it's more amazing musically and lyrically, though it's rap instead of rock. It's simply one of the best produced albums ever, in my opinion, and I have no clue why AMSP is ranked so much higher. It simply doesn't deserve it, and shows a huge rock bias. As far as it goes for more standard rock albums, Teens of Denial is so much better too, largely due to being the top-dog of the year lyrically.

Guess I just felt like starting a discussion. Defend AMSP again if you want. I mostly just brought this up since I just got done listening to Atrocity Exhibition again and wanted to clarify that I do enjoy it much more now than when I first listened to it. It's truly a masterpiece. And it should be higher than #5 for 2016. Blackstar and I guess maybe Blonde I'll accept being above it, but AMSP? Really?

Okay, to FTBC.

Re: NJ's Music Diary

NJ — Wed, 15 Jul 2020 02:27:58 GMT

Author: NJ

Posted: 07/15/2020 06:27

Bottomless Pit by Death Grips - I don't know if I like this or The Money Store more. I'm thinking this, though. While I don't think any of the songs compare to the highlights of that record, I do think it's more consistent. More importantly, the overall sound is more varied, experimental, and interesting. However, the middle third of the record is noticeably lower in quality than the rest of it. The Money Store was better at spreading out its weaker tracks. So they're about equal, but I'm leaning more towards this record. It's a great album, I love their style, and it's definitely a great progression from where they were in 2012. I'll have to go back and listen to the records they released in between these two, but BP was short and popular so I decided to check this one out.

Re: NJ's Music Diary

NJ — Tue, 7 Jul 2020 02:54:19 GMT

Author: NJ

Posted: 07/07/2020 06:54

Whoops, I maybe was so busy with listening to Twin Fantasy for the 10,000th time that I forgot to listen to any new music. My bad...

Peaceful As Hell by Black Dresses - A phenomenal album. I absolutely loved it. I love all the songs, I love the style, I love the vocals, I love the lyrics. Easily my favorite album of the year I've heard thus far (I'll listen to Fetch The Bolt Cutters soon). Maybe a tad bit long, but I don't mind at all. Just a great album. It's stupid that they had to disband because of shitty fans. I have no problem with spending $10 to support them on Bandcamp, but it's incredibly disappointing to me that they won't be making any more music. Luckily they have quite a bit they made in 2018 and 2019 for me to listen to.

Re: NJ's Music Diary

NJ — Fri, 12 Jun 2020 18:43:12 GMT

Author: NJ

Posted: 06/12/2020 22:43

The New Abnormal by The Strokes - Considering how much I love their debut, I have no clue why I haven't listened all the way through any of their other records. I'll probably listen to Room On Fire soon. Anyways, this was a great album. I thoroughly enjoyed 7/9 of the songs, and the other two were still solid (those two being Bad Decisions and Why Are Sundays So Depressing). The top songs were, to me, At the Door, Not the Same Anymore and Ode to the Jets, which stand alongside the best of their debut, though overall this isn't quite as consistent or excellent. That being said, for the most part Casablancas seems to have stepped up his lyrical game since 2001, and though it's certainly still not the best lyricism in the game, many moments on this record are quite emotional and profound. Also, I love his voice. So much.

Re: NJ's Music Diary

NJ — Fri, 12 Jun 2020 16:03:10 GMT

Author: NJ

Posted: 06/12/2020 20:03

Titanic Rising by Weyes Blood - Since this has been competing with Igor for the top of the 2019 chart for a while, I thought I should probably actually listen to it. To quickly address how it compares to Igor: it doesn't. It is a great record, and I'll get into its merits by itself in a moment, but it's not particularly fresh, musically or lyrically, especially compared to Igor. I simply don't see how it's supposed to be as good an album. It is great, but so is Igor, and the latter stands out quite a bit more. That being said, I loved this album. It has commonly been compared to Joni Mitchell and The Carpenters, and I'd say I hear some Carole King in here too, and I love all those artists. With the exception of Mitchell's Blue, I'd say this album compares to the best of any of their albums, too. All the songs here are excellent, and the lyricism, while not my favorite of any modern release for sure, were still a strong suit of the album. It's biggest problem really is just kind of being bland, but even though it sounds 40 years old, outside of some minor production, I do think it would've held up extremely well back in the early 70s during the boom of female singer-songwriters.

Re: NJ's Music Diary

NJ — Fri, 5 Jun 2020 02:48:01 GMT

Author: NJ

Posted: 06/05/2020 06:48

It's been a bit more than a week. I only have one solo Kanye album left, but I'm not quite in the mood for that. I wanna listen to some queer-oriented records for pride month, so I'd appreciate any recommendations. That's not what I did here though.

Ferris Wheel on Fire by Neutral Milk Hotel - I was wondering whether it'd be worth it to review an EP, but technically How to Leave Town was an EP and I reviewed that, so whatever. I was in the mood for some NMH and not a full album. This was alright. I loved the first two songs, but the rest was only okay. It definitely didn't have the magic of In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, which is my second favorite album of all time, so this did have a lot to live up to. it didn't, though. The record, other than the last track, was much cleaner. I never really thought of ITAOTS as lo-fi like a lot of people label it, since it's always sounded fine to me, but comparing it to this the lower production quality is much more obvious. While Oh Sister got me excited for the rest of the EP, it just didn't hold up too much. Kind of disappointing, actually.

Re: NJ's Music Diary

NJ — Tue, 26 May 2020 04:02:45 GMT

Author: NJ

Posted: 05/26/2020 08:02

Graduation by Kanye West - This is pretty similar in quality to ye, maybe a bit better. Which is nice, the last two albums have been a bit of a disappointment. Compared to his previous two albums, this has just as many "filler" tracks, but less great ones, so I don't like it as much. The lack of skits is decent, but in hindsight they kind of acted as a nice break between large sections of music. The middle of this album was pretty bad (Barry Bonds and Drunk and Hot Girls are just not good), but it has a very strong start and a pretty good finish. Good Morning and Champion were great, and Stronger is an absolutely amazing track. The Glory through Big Brother are all good. The real highlight is Flashing Lights, though, which is just so excellent and catchy. Easily one of his best songs, and enough to elevate this album in the same way Ghost Town does for ye. I guess there's only one album left in his solo discography for me to check out, I'll be doing that tomorrow. For the sake of completion, I'll be listening to Watch the Throne as well, though.

Re: NJ's Music Diary

NJ — Tue, 26 May 2020 00:48:38 GMT

Author: NJ

Posted: 05/26/2020 04:48

Jesus is King by Kanye West - TLOP's run as my least-favorite Kanye record was very short-lived. On the one hand, I will give this album credit for its strong production, which is excellent, as per usual for Kanye. On the other hand, despite being only 27 minutes and none of the songs being even 4 minutes long, it seemed to really drag on, unlike ye or KSG, which were much more successful at this EP-length thing he's been doing. The main problem with this album, however, is the lyricism. Kanye's not the greatest lyricist in the industry by any means, but he is still solid as a songwriter for sure, and this is just disappointing. I will admit that I am very much not religious, but I am a religion minor at a Christian university, so I really don't have any problem with religion, and it can be very interesting when people are using it to say something, like he did in his masterful Jesus Walks. That is, unfortunately, not the case here. This is just boring and bland and really isn't saying anything. Gospel music can be really fun, obviously, but it never really worked here. Nothing was outright bad or anything, and again the production was phenomenal, but as a whole it just feels purposeless, like Kanye just doesn't know what he wants to do with his current style, which, while he's not always made perfect music, has never really been the case before. I'm glad he's (hopefully) using this newfound religious bond to get himself out of the dark hole he's been in for a while, but hopefully he can make better music with it next time.

Re: NJ's Music Diary

NJ — Mon, 25 May 2020 22:35:33 GMT

Author: NJ

Posted: 05/26/2020 02:35

The Life of Pablo by Kanye West - I didn't care much for this one, unfortunately. Like all of his albums, I'll be relistening to it sometime, but this is easily my least favorite so far. Maybe I'm missing something, but it seems to me to be his most inconsistent album and it's over an hour long. It's not nearly as charming and well-written as TCD and LR and it's not nearly as well-produced as MBDTF and Yeezus, and it doesn't have a song like Ghost Town that elevates it at all like ye does. Waves and Fade stood out because of their strong prodution, but certainly not their lyricism, and St. Pablo was easily the standout track for me, because it's the only song I feel can stand alongside his other works in terms of songwriting, but it's still no Jesus Walks or Ghost Town. The vast majority of this album was no better than the worst song on TCD (Breathe In Breathe Out), so I don't quite get its love, but maybe it'll grow on me after I listen to it again. I don't know. For now, though, it just seemed like it dragged and wasn't up to par with the rest of his records I've heard in any regards.

Re: NJ's Music Diary

NJ — Mon, 25 May 2020 03:36:38 GMT

Author: NJ

Posted: 05/25/2020 07:36

ye by Kanye West - I'm just gonna go through his whole discography. I also listened to Yeezus and MBTDF again today (and I've been listening to random tracks from TCD daily). I was thinking of checking out The Life of Pablo as per Mercury's recommendation, but I'm tired, so I listened to this cause of the short length. I'll check out TLOP tomorrow. Probably. I'm pretty bad at keeping to schedules, but whatever. Okay, the mini-review: the first 5 songs were alright. I didn't really care for All Mine and I thought Wouldn't Leave was probably the best song among those first five, but nothing stood out as particularly great or bad or anything. The last two songs, on the other hand, were excellent, especially Ghost Town, which is easily one of the best songs he's released. I had to go back and listen to it again immediately after finishing the album. Those two tracks were so great that I really have to question the fact that Kids See Ghosts is so much more beloved. It is a better record, but they're pretty comparable, in my opinion. And they're both pretty backloaded, though KSG is more consistent. It certainly never reaches the heights of Ghost Town, though. Not at all. Anyways, I liked this album, but it's way too inconsistent considering its short length. You'd think a seven-song album of only 23 minutes would be super concise and every track would be solid, but that was not the case. Those last two tracks pretty much made up for those shortcomings, though. It's definitely my least favorite of his records thus far, but really not by that much. It's still really good, and once again I think it's silly that KSG overshadowed it so much.

NOTE: After relistening to Yeezus and MBDTF, my opinions on both have changed a bit. I enjoy Yeezus much more on relisten. I really like every song except I'm In It, but 9/10 is still a great ratio, perhaps the best of any of his albums. I believe it's moved up to #2 behind TCD for me. MBDTF, on the other hand, I just had a hard time enjoying as much. I only like about half of it, maybe 60%, and while I don't outright dislike anything, as a whole it just doesn't really come together very much. To be honest, I've attempted listening to it about three times prior to this and shut it off after about three songs, and the first three songs are amongst the best on the album. Plus almost every song drags out way longer than they need to. I still think it's a solid record, and it definitely contains his best material, but I just think it's less enjoyable and fun and charming than his earlier works I've listened to and less consistent and concise than Yeezus. The poduction is great, though, and despite my complaints about track length and dragging stuff out, I still think Runaway is a contendor for song of the decade, and easily his best material. Overall, though, I'd move it second-to-last just above ye so far. They're all really good, though.

Re: NJ's Music Diary

NJ — Sat, 23 May 2020 21:25:01 GMT

Author: NJ

Posted: 05/24/2020 01:25

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill by Lauryn Hill - I said I was gonna take a break from hip hop for a while, and I was planning on listening to some alternative guitar rock or something, but I couldn't think of anything that interested me, so I decided to listen to this since it's really only half a rap record. Anyways, I loved this record, and it made me cry (in a happy way), probably because of my dumbass love problems, but it was a rather empowering record. I can't only like depressing shit I guess. Lauryn is a great MC and a great vocalist and she switched up rapping and singing enough to make the record consistently fresh. It was still rather long, and not every song was great, but as a whole it is an amazing record. Hopefully it'll be the start of another streak, we'll see. I still plan on giving Madvillainy another chance sometime, mostly because I found out it's one of my closest friend's favorite records.

Re: NJ's Music Diary

NJ — Sat, 23 May 2020 03:40:56 GMT

Author: NJ

Posted: 05/23/2020 07:40

Madvillainy by Madvillain - This album has been in my queue for a while now, being one of the most beloved hip hop albums of the 2000s if not simply the most beloved. I like the idea of a bunch of short songs making up a whole work, and at less than 50 minutes this is a really concise album, which is really nice. It's certainly unique in its tone and style. It's rather humorous and silly, which I enjoy a lot in records. The rapping by MF DOOM was incredible and Madlib's production was extremely unique and fit very well with what they were trying to achieve. But I'm just postponing the inevitable. I didn't like it. Like, at all. It just completely and thoroughly bored me throughout. I feel that objectively it's a solid record and I should have enjoyed it. It's not like it did anything poorly - quite the opposite, in fact. But I didn't enjoy. I'll listen to it again sometime, but for something that's as short as it is, I just didn't enjoy it at all, which is really disappointing. I almost feel like apologizing for not liking it, which is silly, but whatever. I guess that ends my streak, which is unfortunate. Maybe I'll take a break from hip hop for a while.