planetneutral's Master Rating Log 2021-

planetneutral · 2020-12-30T14:04:16-05:00

Sometime in the era of 2009ish, my wife gave me a copy of the original edition of 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Like so many foolhardy list-obsessed music enthusiasts, I began an endeavor to listen my way through it. You've heard a similar story in this forum many times before I'm sure. It didn't start well. In August of 2009, a mere eight albums into my effort, the library I work in flooded completely, burying my office in liquid sewage and putting an end to my new practice of sitting in my office listening to CDs. In 2010, I started to keep a rating log on RYM, combining my general listening and half-assed effort to work through the book. - https://rateyourmusic.com/list/planetneutral/planetneutrals-master-rating-log (I stopped using this list for a while. I'm working on catching it up.) I also kept a log specifically related to the 1001 Albums book. - https://rateyourmusic.com/list/planetneutral/chronicle-of-the-1001-albums-you-must-hear-before-you-die (This is up-to-date.) And I picked up a copy of 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die, which had enough parallels with the 1001 Albums book that I figured I might as well track my progress through both. https://rateyourmusic.com/list/planetneutral/chronicle-of-1_000-recordings-to-hear-before-you-die (Up-to-date.) The 2010 listening effort only lasted until April, the travails of library flood recovery dominating my attention. And it was totally backburnered until 2016, when I started really focusing on the original Dimery 1001 Albums book, using a spreadsheet list and a random number generator to make selections. By this point, I was also tracking revisions to the Dimery list. My current spreadsheet lists all 1,076 albums that I know that have been included in at least one edition. I had two good runs of listening between Jan. 2016 and Apr. 2018. But I was starting to have real problems with the Dimery book, namely that it was almost comically Anglophile. Could I really justify listening to three Dexys Midnight Runners albums? Did I really need to commit to three Blur albums? Or every single thing Brian Eno ever touched? Was I giving too much of my limited lifespan to this guy's musical worldview? I decided that the answer to the last question was yes and so I just stopped, 380 albums into my effort. The last album I reviewed in 2018 was Tanto Tempo by Bebel Gilberto, which I described as "Deeply unremarkable." And I thought that would be the end of the story. I shifted my hobbyist attention away from album listening and into building out Spotify playlists, like my 770+ song 1980s A-Z playlist. But then something unanticipated happened, when my friend announced he was going to listen to the new 2020 edition of the Rolling Stone 500 album countdown. He started at #1, which I completely bristled at, especially since he didn't seem very inspired by the top ten. ("It's all downhill from here!" I protested fruitlessly.) But I realized it was someone close to me, who was taking on my kind of project. So I decided to join him and, in so doing, continue with the other two book-driven lists that I had been tracking. So I am currently about 2/3 of the way through the Rolling Stone list (which my friend abandoned around #50 :o) and, with the new year, thought I'd try to start chronicling my listening here at BEA. I'm a little intimidated since the people in this space take their chronicling and rating and reviewing seriously and I'm kind of a doofus with really mainstream taste and a limited attention span (courtesy of three tech-enabled children, age 10-15). I generally like things and generally listen to things I expect to like. At the time of this post, my mean rating is 75 over 650+ ratings, with 70 being the mode. But part of the fun is that I'm growing a little impatient with the Rolling Stone list as we head toward the bottom, so this ride could get a little bumpy! The reviews I post as "comments" on BEA tend to be terse (despite the logorrhea of this intro post) and, if consensus of the BEA audience is any guide, unhelpful/unpopular. I will probably use this diary context to offer more informal commentary and notes from my listening experience. We'll see. Just wanted to try keeping track of stuff here and see what happens. I'm not especially thoughtful, attentive, or critical. I'm not looking to be convinced not to like something that I find joy in, but I'd love to have people encourage me to reconsider my negative takes. I mostly want to have motivation to keep going. And the reality for me is that documentation is a double-edged sword as it fuels my hobbyistic tendencies, but keeping up with a diary does increase the overhead of the actual listening. My current overall chart: Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by planetneutral Here's one attempt-in-progress to put words to my ratings, which I switched to BEA's scale relatively early on: 100 - Beyond objective consideration. Either basically flawless or containing so much 100+ material that it overcomes any shortcomings. 95 - Important to me, but just slightly out of the 100 league or flawed in some way I can't overlook. 90 - Generally speaking, the highest rating an album will receive if it has no personal resonance for me. Would have to be a significant first experience for me to rate an album of new-to-me music higher than this. 85 - The flawed version of 90. 80 - Genuinely compelling to me. (I consider anything at this score or above worth your time to listen to at least once.) 75 - I liked it+ 70 - I liked it 65 - OK+ 60 - OK 55 - A hint of something redeeming. 50 - Meh. 45 and below - Increasing levels of dislike. I have yet to rate anything below 15. I claim no consistency and surely go through periods where I am more or less enthusiastic in general. Rating is always about how the material meets the mood. This log only chronicles first listens, but it is rare for me to change rating on a re-listen. Thanks for actually reading this far. I intend to start using this diary on 1/1/2021, although I might tinker with a test post or two before then.

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Beauty And The Beat by Go-Go's
Year of Release: 1981

planetneutral Master Rating Log ID#: 00712
Rating Date: 2021-01-24

Included in...
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums? 2003: #413 2012: #414 2020: #400
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (2005/2013/2017/2018)? Y
1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die (2008)? N
planetneutral's music collection? N

Rating: 75

Posted comment: The Go-Go's might be my favorite all-female band and this consistently solid debut is testament as to why.

Notes: Heading into the final 100 of the Rolling Stone 2020 list with 14 already rated. So just 86 of the weakest albums to go... 🤣

Rating metadata
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums 2020 rating order: #414 of 500 (82.8% of all items rated - avg. 77.6)
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums 2003/2012/2020 Combined List rating order: #439 of 692 (63.4% of all items rated - avg. 77.3)
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die 2005/2013/2017/2018 Combined List rating order: #557 of 1,078 (51.7% of all items rated - avg. 74.3)
1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die rating order: n/a of 1,000 (20.0% of all items rated - avg. 79.9)

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Blondie by Blondie
Year of Release: 1976

planetneutral Master Rating Log ID#: 00713
Rating Date: 2021-01-24

Included in...
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums? 2003: N 2012: N 2020: #401
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (repeatedly revised 2005-2018)? N
1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die (2008)? N
planetneutral's music collection? N

Rating: 75

Posted comment: Not quite Parallel Lines, but Blondie generally proves to be more fun than I anticipate.

Notes:

Rating metadata
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums 2020 rating order: #415 of 500 (83.0% of all items rated - avg. 77.6)
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums 2003/2012/2020 Combined List rating order: #440 of 692 (63.6% of all items rated - avg. 77.3)
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die 2005/2013/2017/2018 Combined List rating order: n/a of 1,078 (51.7% of all items rated - avg. 74.3)
1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die rating order: n/a of 1,000 (20.0% of all items rated - avg. 79.9)

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Expensive Shit by Fela Kuti & Africa 70
Year of Release: 1975

planetneutral Master Rating Log ID#: 00714
Rating Date: 2021-01-24

Included in...
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums? 2003: N 2012: N 2020: #402
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (repeatedly revised 2005-2018)? N
1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die (2008)? N
planetneutral's music collection? N

Rating: 75

Posted comment: A step below Zombie, but still a pair of serious jams.

Notes:

Rating metadata
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums 2020 rating order: #416 of 500 (83.2% of all items rated - avg. 77.6)
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums 2003/2012/2020 Combined List rating order: #441 of 692 (63.7% of all items rated - avg. 77.3)
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die 2005/2013/2017/2018 Combined List rating order: n/a of 1,078 (51.7% of all items rated - avg. 74.3)
1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die rating order: n/a of 1,000 (20.0% of all items rated - avg. 79.9)

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Game, Dames And Guitar Thangs by Eddie Hazel
Year of Release: 1977

planetneutral Master Rating Log ID#: 00715
Rating Date: 2021-01-24

Included in...
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums? 2003: N 2012: N 2020: N
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (repeatedly revised 2005-2018)? N
1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die (2008)? N
planetneutral's music collection? N

Rating: 85

Posted comment: Nasty. All hail Eddie Hazel.

Notes: Not an album to seek after if original songwriting is what you're craving. But another worthy diversion from the final 100 of the Rolling Stone list.

Rating metadata
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums 2020 rating order: n/a of 500 (83.2% of all items rated - avg. 77.6)
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums 2003/2012/2020 Combined List rating order: n/a of 692 (63.7% of all items rated - avg. 77.3)
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die 2005/2013/2017/2018 Combined List rating order: n/a of 1,078 (51.7% of all items rated - avg. 74.3)
1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die rating order: n/a of 1,000 (20.0% of all items rated - avg. 79.9)

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Supreme Clientele by Ghostface Killah
Year of Release: 2000

planetneutral Master Rating Log ID#: 00716
Rating Date: 2021-01-25

Included in...
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums? 2003: N 2012: N 2020: #403
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (repeatedly revised 2005-2018)? N
1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die (2008)? N
planetneutral's music collection? N

Rating: 75

Posted comment: First half might be the best half of any Wu album, but the second half doesn't really work that hard to maintain the momentum.

Notes:

Rating metadata
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums 2020 rating order: #417 of 500 (83.4% of all items rated - avg. 77.6)
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums 2003/2012/2020 Combined List rating order: #442 of 692 (63.9% of all items rated - avg. 77.3)
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die 2005/2013/2017/2018 Combined List rating order: n/a of 1,078 (51.7% of all items rated - avg. 74.3)
1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die rating order: n/a of 1,000 (20.0% of all items rated - avg. 79.9)

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Rapture by Anita Baker
Year of Release: 1986

planetneutral Master Rating Log ID#: 00717
Rating Date: 2021-01-25

Included in...
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums? 2003: N 2012: N 2020: #404
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (repeatedly revised 2005-2018)? Y
1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die (2008)? Y
planetneutral's music collection? N

Rating: 70

Posted comment: It's hard to deny her voice, which gets featured on a couple of great songs and some otherwise perfectly palatable 80s R&B music.

Notes:

Rating metadata
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums 2020 rating order: #418 of 500 (83.4% of all items rated - avg. 77.6)
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums 2003/2012/2020 Combined List rating order: #443 of 692 (64.0% of all items rated - avg. 77.2)
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die 2005/2013/2017/2018 Combined List rating order: #558 of 1,078 (51.8% of all items rated - avg. 74.3)
1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die rating order: #201 of 1,000 (20.1% of all items rated - avg. 79.8 )

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Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From The First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968 by Various Artists
Year of Release: 1972

planetneutral Master Rating Log ID#: 00718
Rating Date: 2021-01-26

Included in...
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums? 2003: #196 2012: #196 2020: #405
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (repeatedly revised 2005-2018)? N
1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die (2008)? Y
planetneutral's music collection? N

Rating: 80

Posted comment: These songs are pretty fun, not all as obscure as you'd expect, and give a real sense of just how many bands went down this golden road.

Notes: Still a compilation on an all-time albums list, but at least this kind of compilation feels like it represents something otherwise unrepresentable. The Rolling Stone list features the original 1972 double album. The 1,000 Recordings list features the 4-CD collection from 1998. I listened carefully to the selections in the original release and a little more loosely across the rest. There appears no easy way to listen to all of these tracks through streaming services without a fair amount of YouTube supplementing. It's all a good listen though.

Rating metadata
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums 2020 rating order: #419 of 500 (83.8% of all items rated - avg. 77.6)
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums 2003/2012/2020 Combined List rating order: #444 of 692 (64.2% of all items rated - avg. 77.2)
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die 2005/2013/2017/2018 Combined List rating order: n/a of 1,078 (51.8% of all items rated - avg. 74.3)
1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die rating order: #202 of 1,000 (20.2% of all items rated - avg. 79.8 )

Last edited by planetneutral on 01/29/2021 23:19; edited 2 times in total

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69 Love Songs by The Magnetic Fields
Year of Release: 1999

planetneutral Master Rating Log ID#: 00719
Rating Date: 2021-01-27

Included in...
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums? 2003: N 2012: #465 2020: #406
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (repeatedly revised 2005-2018)? Y
1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die (2008)? Y
planetneutral's music collection? Digital

Rating: 75

Posted comment: Ambitious and worthwhile in doses. A lot of ideas, not all of them good. Three hours on a theme is pretty self-indulgent, but the individual tracks generally don't overstay their welcomes.

Notes: Actually finding it kinda hard to like Stephin Merritt. He reminds me of me, but not in a good way. 🤣

Rating metadata
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums 2020 rating order: #420 of 500 (84.0% of all items rated - avg. 77.6)
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums 2003/2012/2020 Combined List rating order: #445 of 692 (64.2% of all items rated - avg. 77.2)
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die 2005/2013/2017/2018 Combined List rating order: #559 of 1,078 (51.9% of all items rated - avg. 74.3)
1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die rating order: #203 of 1,000 (20.3% of all items rated - avg. 79.8 )

planetneutral Profile

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Ace Of Spades by Motörhead
Year of Release: 1980

planetneutral Master Rating Log ID#: 00720
Rating Date: 2021-01-28

Included in...
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums? 2003: N 2012: N 2020: #408
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (repeatedly revised 2005-2018)? Y
1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die (2008)? N
planetneutral's music collection? N

Rating: 70

Posted comment: Hits hard like only the best power trios, but it's all pretty self-similar and so dated lyrically.

Notes:

Rating metadata
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums 2020 rating order: #421 of 500 (84.2% of all items rated - avg. 77.6)
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums 2003/2012/2020 Combined List rating order: #446 of 692 (64.5% of all items rated - avg. 77.2)
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die 2005/2013/2017/2018 Combined List rating order: #560 of 1,078 (52.0% of all items rated - avg. 74.3)
1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die rating order: n/a of 1,000 (20.3% of all items rated - avg. 79.8 )

Last edited by planetneutral on 01/30/2021 05:28; edited 1 time in total

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Workingman's Dead by Grateful Dead
Year of Release: 1970

planetneutral Master Rating Log ID#: 00721
Rating Date: 2021-01-29

Included in...
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums? 2003: #262 2012: #264 2020: #409
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (repeatedly revised 2005-2018)? N
1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die (2008)? N
planetneutral's music collection? CD

Rating: 95

Posted comment: A step behind American Beauty as an album, but featuring more songs on my all-time favorite playlist.

Notes: Sitting at #34 on my all-time list.

Rating metadata
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums 2020 rating order: #422 of 500 (84.4% of all items rated - avg. 77.6)
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums 2003/2012/2020 Combined List rating order: #447 of 692 (64.6% of all items rated - avg. 77.3)
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die 2005/2013/2017/2018 Combined List rating order: n/a of 1,078 (52.0% of all items rated - avg. 74.3)
1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die rating order: n/a of 1,000 (20.3% of all items rated - avg. 79.8 )

Last edited by planetneutral on 01/30/2021 05:29; edited 1 time in total

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