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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planetneutral Profile

planetneutral Master Rating Log ID#: 00749
Rating Date: 2021-02-09

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Sex Machine by James Brown
Year of Release: 1970

Rating: 80

Posted comment: JB is basically live perfection, but the album leans on guys like Maceo Parker and Fred Wesley to overcome both its artificial and artificially enhanced liveness.

Notes: It's like, ok, I get why they tried to pass off the whole thing as live, but so much of my emotional connection to music is attached to genuinely transformational live experiences that I really can't with faking it. There's a certain hypocrisy to my having that perspective, as all of my favorite live albums involve some manipulation. Not the same thing though. (It is honestly one of my motivations in contributing content to BEA to get to custom charts and assemble some more personal lists like live favorites.)

Included in...
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums? 2003: N 2012: N 2020: #439
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
planetneutral's Decade list (min. 70 rating)? N

Rating metadata
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums 2020 rating order: #448 of 500 (89.6% of all items rated - avg. 77.2)
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums 2003/2012/2020 Combined List rating order: #473 of 692 (68.4% of all items rated - avg. 76.9)
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die 2005/2013/2017/2018 Combined List rating order: n/a of 1,078 (52.9% of all items rated - avg. 74.2)
1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die rating order: n/a of 1,000 (20.9% of all items rated - avg. 79.5)

planetneutral Profile

planetneutral Master Rating Log ID#: 00750
Rating Date: 2021-02-10

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Coal Miner's Daughter by Loretta Lynn
Year of Release: 1970

Rating: 70

Posted comment: Perfectly charming, if not especially memorable.

Notes:

Included in...
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums? 2003: N 2012: N 2020: #440
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
planetneutral's Decade list (min. 70 rating)? N

Rating metadata
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums 2020 rating order: #449 of 500 (89.8% of all items rated - avg. 77.2)
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums 2003/2012/2020 Combined List rating order: #474 of 692 (68.5% of all items rated - avg. 76.9)
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die 2005/2013/2017/2018 Combined List rating order: n/a of 1,078 (52.9% of all items rated - avg. 74.2)
1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die rating order: n/a of 1,000 (20.9% of all items rated - avg. 79.5)

planetneutral Profile

planetneutral Master Rating Log ID#: 00751
Rating Date: 2021-02-11

Blackout by Britney Spears
Year of Release: 2007

Rating: 70

Posted comment: Generally a worthy combination of production and attitude, but I was tiring of the Auto-Tune by the second half (even when cleverly used) and the tracks became less interesting as well.

Notes: I was constantly aware of the disconnect between the seemingly personal song content and Britney's lack of authorship in most of it. It probably doesn't help that I saw the new doc over the weekend. Also worth noting that I've reached the 90% completion point of the Rolling Stone list.

Included in...
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums? 2003: N 2012: N 2020: #441
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
planetneutral's Decade list (min. 70 rating)? 43 of 51

Rating metadata
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums 2020 rating order: #450 of 500 (90.0% of all items rated - avg. 77.2)
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums 2003/2012/2020 Combined List rating order: #475 of 692 (68.6% of all items rated - avg. 76.9)
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die 2005/2013/2017/2018 Combined List rating order: n/a of 1,078 (52.9% of all items rated - avg. 74.2)
1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die rating order: n/a of 1,000 (20.9% of all items rated - avg. 79.5)

planetneutral Profile

planetneutral Master Rating Log ID#: 00752
Rating Date: 2021-02-11

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Beauty Behind The Madness by The Weeknd
Year of Release: 2015

Rating: 60

Posted comment: One unquestionably great song and some fun production here and there, but I was having a hard time liking this persona enough to spend over an hour with it.

Notes: Maybe I'm just tired of dudes being shitty people and The Weeknd and Usher are unfairly bearing the brunt of that, because they're being honest and intimate about it. Still tired though.

Included in...
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums? 2003: N 2012: N 2020: #442
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
planetneutral's Decade list (min. 70 rating)? N

Rating metadata
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums 2020 rating order: #451 of 500 (90.2% of all items rated - avg. 77.1)
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums 2003/2012/2020 Combined List rating order: #476 of 692 (68.8% of all items rated - avg. 76.8 )
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die 2005/2013/2017/2018 Combined List rating order: n/a of 1,078 (52.9% of all items rated - avg. 74.2)
1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die rating order: n/a of 1,000 (20.9% of all items rated - avg. 79.5)

planetneutral Profile

planetneutral Master Rating Log ID#: 00753
Rating Date: 2021-02-11

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Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) by David Bowie
Year of Release: 1980

Rating: 75

Posted comment: A generally successful bridge between the more challenging Berlin trilogy and the high-gloss Let's Dance era.

Notes: Ashes to Ashes was never a favorite, but it's growing on me in my old age.

Included in...
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums? 2003: N 2012: N 2020: #443
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
planetneutral's Decade list (min. 70 rating)? #53 of 91

Rating metadata
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums 2020 rating order: #452 of 500 (90.4% of all items rated - avg. 77.1)
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums 2003/2012/2020 Combined List rating order: #477 of 692 (68.9% of all items rated - avg. 76.8 )
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die 2005/2013/2017/2018 Combined List rating order: n/a of 1,078 (52.9% of all items rated - avg. 74.2)
1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die rating order: n/a of 1,000 (20.9% of all items rated - avg. 79.5)

planetneutral Profile

planetneutral Master Rating Log ID#: 00754
Rating Date: 2021-02-12

Extraordinary Machine by Fiona Apple
Year of Release: 2005

Rating: 85

Posted comment: When it comes down to it, this is the Fiona Apple album I listen to most often.

Notes: One of my great musical regrets is not seeing her open for Coldplay when I had the chance.

Included in...
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums? 2003: N 2012: N 2020: #444
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
planetneutral's Decade list (min. 70 rating)? #3 of 52

Rating metadata
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums 2020 rating order: #453 of 500 (90.6% of all items rated - avg. 77.2)
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums 2003/2012/2020 Combined List rating order: #478 of 692 (69.1% of all items rated - avg. 76.9)
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die 2005/2013/2017/2018 Combined List rating order: n/a of 1,078 (52.9% of all items rated - avg. 74.2)
1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die rating order: n/a of 1,000 (20.9% of all items rated - avg. 79.5)

planetneutral Profile

planetneutral Master Rating Log ID#: 00755
Rating Date: 2021-02-13

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Light As A Feather by Chick Corea & Return to Forever
Year of Release: 1973

Rating: 75

Posted comment: Tons of stunning musicianship, but the vocals, which are an acquired taste, more often than not took me out of the space created by the other musicians.

Notes: This is the album I chose as my nod to the passing of Chick Corea. RIP. Turns out to also be in the Tom Moon book, which I didn't realize when I picked it or while I was listening to it. Kind of dumb of me not to check first, but it was just an impulse to spin something in his honor.

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)? Y
planetneutral's music collection? N
planetneutral's Decade list (min. 70 rating)? N

Rating metadata
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums 2020 rating order: n/a of 500 (90.6% of all items rated - avg. 77.2)
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums 2003/2012/2020 Combined List rating order: n/a of 692 (69.1% of all items rated - avg. 76.9)
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die 2005/2013/2017/2018 Combined List rating order: n/a of 1,078 (52.9% of all items rated - avg. 74.2)
1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die rating order: #210 of 1,000 (21.0% of all items rated - avg. 79.5)

planetneutral Profile

planetneutral Master Rating Log ID#: 00756
Rating Date: 2021-02-13

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Journey In Satchidananda by Alice Coltrane
Year of Release: 1971

Rating: 85

Posted comment: Considering its constituent parts, this album sounds much cooler and more accessible than it has any right to.

Notes: Given the circles I ran in during my college years, I'm surprised I've never listened to this before. Sidebar story: Pharoah Sanders was playing in the same building as John McLaughlin one night in 1996, but I had tickets to both seatings of McLaughlin, ironically too ignorant to understand the opportunity. Another musical regret, although both seatings of The Free Spirits (McLaughlin with Dennis Chambers and Joey DeFrancesco) were amazing.

Included in...
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums? 2003: N 2012: N 2020: #446
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
planetneutral's Decade list (min. 70 rating)? #77 of 96

Rating metadata
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums 2020 rating order: #454 of 500 (90.8% of all items rated - avg. 77.2)
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums 2003/2012/2020 Combined List rating order: #479 of 692 (69.2% of all items rated - avg. 76.9)
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die 2005/2013/2017/2018 Combined List rating order: n/a of 1,078 (52.9% of all items rated - avg. 74.2)
1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die rating order: n/a of 1,000 (21.0% of all items rated - avg. 79.5)

planetneutral Profile

planetneutral Master Rating Log ID#: 00757
Rating Date: 2021-02-13

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X 100PRE by Bad Bunny
Year of Release: 2018

Rating: 50

Posted comment: I found this to be increasingly grating the longer I listened to it.

Notes: LIke, maybe it gets a 60, if it was 20 minutes shorter, but I was really starting to actively dislike listening to this at about the 2/3 mark. For all of my not-exactly-enthusiastic reviewing, that hasn't actually happened all that often with the Rolling Stone list. It's usually more boredom than actual antipathy. It'll happen more when I head back to the 1001 Albums list though.

Included in...
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums? 2003: N 2012: N 2020: #447
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
planetneutral's Decade list (min. 70 rating)? N

Rating metadata
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums 2020 rating order: #455 of 500 (91.0% of all items rated - avg. 77.1)
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums 2003/2012/2020 Combined List rating order: #480 of 692 (69.2% of all items rated - avg. 76.8 )
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die 2005/2013/2017/2018 Combined List rating order: n/a of 1,078 (52.9% of all items rated - avg. 74.2)
1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die rating order: n/a of 1,000 (21.0% of all items rated - avg. 79.5)

planetneutral Profile

planetneutral Master Rating Log ID#: 00758
Rating Date: 2021-02-13

Complete And Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary Of Soul by Otis Redding
Year of Release: 1966

Rating: 70

Posted comment: Mostly strong performances of an uneven collection of songs.

Notes: There are three more Otis Redding albums that have come and gone from the Rolling Stone list. Kind of reduces any authoritative sense of greatness around any of them.

Included in...
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums? 2003: #251 2012: #254 2020: #448
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
planetneutral's Decade list (min. 70 rating)? #85 of 86

Rating metadata
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums 2020 rating order: #456 of 500 (91.2% of all items rated - avg. 77.1)
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums 2003/2012/2020 Combined List rating order: #481 of 692 (69.5% of all items rated - avg. 76.8 )
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die 2005/2013/2017/2018 Combined List rating order: n/a of 1,078 (52.9% of all items rated - avg. 74.2)
1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die rating order: n/a of 1,000 (21.0% of all items rated - avg. 79.5)

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