Me Against The World by 2Pac
Such a good piece of LA rap. I've never cared much about Pac, but the older I am the more I gravitate towards his brand of summer bangers. That's why I've decided to tackle the 3rd album after All Eyez on Me and the don Killuminati one. It's about in the same tier as the more acclaimed All Eyez on Me although it lacks some of the big hits, so it's understandably in the second tier of Pac in terms of popularity. It may have less highlights but it's also more consistently enjoyable plus it's not over 1.5 hours so that helps. Not every moment was great, songs 11-13 were ok-ish or even mediocre, but for the most part (and especially the opening 4-5 tracks) it kick ass. The ender Outlaw was possibly the best song lyrically and a nice closer. Intro was one of the first rap interludes that actually felt naturally tough and dangerous while not trying to be over the top. Maybe it's because we all know 2Pac's story with all of its highs and lows so it naturally comes off as cooler, maybe it's the reports being well mashed together, whatever it is I loved it as an introduction to an album literally called "me against the world".
At 12:25 AM Wednesday, 2Pac was on his way into a time square building to record at an eight-floor studio with another rapper. But in the lobby, Shakur was shot several times, including two graze wounds to the head. 2Pac's lawyers said the attack appeared to be a setup.
Against doctors orders, 2Pac Shakur checked himself out of the hospital less than 24 hours after being shot 5 times on the way into a Manhattan recording studio.
All of that being said, Don Killuminati is the Pac album that launches him into immortality imo, none of these two admittedly good efforts. 8/10
(2)
Good idea this list. I'm a Bon Jovi fan and not afraid to admit it, call it guilty pleasure or whatever. Slippery When Wet has some of his most overplayed songs (You Give Love a Bad Name ugh, even Wanted Dead or Alive and Livin' On A Prayer are kinda meh after hearing them so many times), but it's got a few underrated tunes as well like Let It Rock, Wild in the Streets, Never Say Goodbye and Raise Your Hands. Fully expect you to hate it Bay, looking forward to the review 🤣
(3)
Frankensteined lists
Lawrence - The Absence of Blight
Sadaf - History of Heat
Ataraxie - Slow Transcending Agony
Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup - Mean Ol' Frisco
Can - Tago Mago (RL)
Shape of Dispair - Angels of Distress
Joe Henderson - Mode For Joe
The Twilight Sad - Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters
Dean Blunt - Black Metal 2
Sandwell District - Feed-Forward _________________ Overall chart Fake overall chart
That's great! I'd love something similar to this but curated more similarly to the NPR list. I think my problem with RYM is that while they have a good amount of diversity in genre, nationality, and ethnicity of the music, it's very male-dominated. Even compared to BEA. There's also a distinct lack of pop, and I think that goes hand in hand.
The NPR list was curated entirely by women, which I think is as important in representation as the albums themselves. I think that RS did a good job with their most recent list polling from a more diverse group of critics/musicians/industry insiders, and it resulted in a much better and more broad list than the heavy-on-classic-rock RS that we were all used to. Granted there are still problems with that list and how they created it, but I think it does a much better job of highlighting women and nonwhite artists. The biggest problem I see with the RS list is that's it's too US/UK-centric. NPR's list is slightly better, but by no means perfect. This is something that I think RYM is pretty good with, there's artists from a variety of countries despite the almost unavoidable US/UK bias.
In looking through the NPR list, I realized there's a ton of women artists who I've heard of and maybe heard their hits, but had never heard a whole album by (even some greats like Tina Turner, Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, etc.). I have a particular blind spot for 80s-90s female pop musicians and I'm hoping going through the NPR list will broaden my horizons. I've already fallen in love with Tina Turner and hoping to find other artists who I've somehow missed in my years of mostly focusing on non-pop genres.
So to start off:
1)
Pirates by Rickie Lee Jones
I'll admit that Rickie Lee Jones is one of the artists on this list that I hadn't even heard of. Or rather I think I heard of her but with the first name "Rickie" assumed she was someone totally different, didn't even realize she was a woman. So I really went into this album totally blind, had no idea of genre or anything. And apparently she dated Tom Waits. Who knew...
It immediately became clear that there's a ton of incredible talent on this album in addition to Jones herself. After listening, I read about it and saw Don Fagen on synth and a number of accomplished set musicians throughout the album (many of whom overlap with those on Fagen/Steely Dan's albums like Aja). From the first track "We Belong Together", Jones comes right off the bat with a solid jazz-pop single, and proceeds to a number of great songs which apparently were influenced by her breakup with Waits. "Woody and Dutch on the Slow Train to Peking" must be my favorite track on the album. Overall, despite the subject material, this ended up being an incredibly fun album. High 3.5/5, and would recommend to fans of Steely Dan/Donald Fagen, Joni Mitchell, or Joe Jackson.
2)
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Mode For Joe by Joe Henderson
Have not heard this album but I've enjoyed other Joe Henderson music, so hope this is a good one.
3)
NPR: The 150 Greatest Albums Made By Women:
28. Nina Simone Sings the Blues by Nina Simone (can't believe I haven't heard this one yet)
33. All Hail the Queen by Queen Latifah
38. It's a Mighty World by Odetta
40. Be Altitude: Respect Yourself by The Staple Singers
42. Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Johnny Mercer Songbook by Ella Fitzgerald (I think I've listened to almost all her other songbooks...)
44. Dreamboat Annie by Heart
46. Wrecking Ball by Emmylou Harris
47. Son Con Guaguancó by Celia Cruz
48. Etta James Rocks the House by Etta James
51. Sassy Swings Again by Sarah Vaughan
(realized I messed up the numbering last time, it's fixed now) _________________ 51 Washington, D.C. albums!
Purplepashranker, rater, & music list makerProfile Western Australia
This is the 4th album of theirs I've listened to now and I pretty much think the same of most of them. I like what they do and enjoy listening to their albums but they never really grab my attention enough to actively seek out hearing more. In this album I particularly liked the track with the the Joanna Newsom sample. 7/10, and #72 for the year.
Let's go with Heart next. I only know their big hits and I'm curious about how they sounded to start with.
Top 37 Music Albums of 2010 by EyeKanFly (5 picks left)
3. Happiness by Hurts
11. European by Sambassadeur
12. Inception by Hans Zimmer
15. Foxy Shazam by Foxy Shazam
18. Passive Me, Aggressive You by The Naked And Famous
19. We Are Uchu No Ko by Afrirampo
20. A Knee In The Back by Möbius Strip
24. Transference by Spoon
27. Odd Blood by Yeasayer
28. Future Weather by The War On Drugs
Dreamboat Annie by Heart
This was quite a solid album, and a great blend of folk rock and hard rock (borderline metal) which really hit the pulse of the year it was released, and quite a few years afterwards. Some of the hits are on this album like "Magic Man" and "Crazy on You" and while those definitely stand out, the three variations of "Dreamboat Annie" are not to be missed. Despite the hits being harder rocking and the rest of the album being a little softer and folk-like, this album did manage to stay fairly cohesive. I think the variety on this album managed to make it great. Solid 3.5/5
2)
Happiness by Hurts
Feels weird picking from my own list, but I can't skate by without recommending this album. It's certainly not for everyone, and I'm sure some will find it a little boring, a little too lame synth-heavy, and a very derivative of Tears for Fears while not really doing anything as well or at the same caliber. That said, this album really speaks to me. "Sunday" is one of my all-time favorite songs, and was for years the most-listened song on my iTunes account before I moved away from that platform. To tell a little story, the first time I heard Hurts, I was in a non-English-speaking country on a trip alone; it was towards the end of the trip and I was getting a little lonely and homesick. I entered a shop and they just had this album playing on CD. I think I heard "Blood, Tears & Gold" first and thought it was a little campy pop song and then "Sunday" played right after and I was almost instantly blown away. I stuck around longer to listen to most of the rest of the album. I had never heard any of the songs before so I tried to ask the shop-keeper what was playing, but the language barrier negated that effort. So I wrote down a good portion of the lyrics to try and look up the songs later. All that is to say, it's not a great album for everyone, but it's a very personal album to me.
Also I hope you stick with my 2010 list long enough to get to the albums at the end! As it currently stands, it's a bit of a work in progress and those last 2 albums were added to BEA's database by me, and I neglected to integrate them into my rankings yet, they'd probably both be in the top 10-15 for the year.
3)
NPR: The 150 Greatest Albums Made By Women:
28. Nina Simone Sings the Blues by Nina Simone (can't believe I haven't heard this one yet)
33. All Hail the Queen by Queen Latifah
38. It's a Mighty World by Odetta
40. Be Altitude: Respect Yourself by The Staple Singers
42. Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Johnny Mercer Songbook by Ella Fitzgerald (I think I've listened to almost all her other songbooks...)
46. Wrecking Ball by Emmylou Harris
47. Son Con Guaguancó by Celia Cruz
48. Etta James Rocks the House by Etta James
51. Sassy Swings Again by Sarah Vaughan
52. Nick of Time by Bonnie Raitt (almost certain I've heard this before but haven't marked it "listened" or rated it on BEA, so I should probably relisten) _________________ 51 Washington, D.C. albums!
baystateoftheartNeil Young as a butternut squashProfile Massachusetts
I was not expecting to enjoy this at all. 1.94 from RYM friends, and even self-described Bon Jovi fan LedZep only has it at a 3/5 ("Ehhh"). The big single is immensely overplayed, Bon Jovi are well-known for being one of the cheesier hard rock bands, and my Meat Loaf review gives a good idea of how cheesy rock often goes over with me. However, this does have the crucial benefit of not being an overwrought rock opera, but simply straightforward radio-friendly music. And given Bon Jovi's New Jersey roots, the working-class lyrics, and clearer influence, this is actually much more successful as a Springsteen knockoff/homage than Bat Out Of Hell. The a-side is surprisingly good, with only Social Disease being a dud, and Livin' On A Prayer grew on me a good amount with this listen. Things tail off with the b-side, which has two pretty good efforts and three duds. But overall, this is listenable, fun, and the good songs make up a slight majority of the runtime. Solid enough for a 3/5, and will stick around in my library.
~~~~~
2. Glad to see someone using this list! I've used it a couple times earlier in the game. Listen to the album that got me into Nina Simone:
6. Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) - Eagles
15. Falling Into You - Celine Dion
16. Hotel California - Eagles
20. The Immaculate Collection - Madonna
21. Let’s Talk About Love - Celine Dion
31. Supernatural - Santana
35. Music Box - Mariah Carey
36. Hybrid Theory - Linkin Park
37. The Eminem Show - Eminem
38. Come Away With Me - Norah Jones _________________ Join us in the canon game :) / Add me on RYM
I was not expecting to enjoy this at all. 1.94 from RYM friends, and even self-described Bon Jovi fan LedZep only has it at a 3/5 ("Ehhh").
Yeah it's not my favourite by them. Several of their most overplayed songs plus a few duds make this 50% mediocre and 50% cool. Maybe describing myself as a "fan" was overselling it, but unlike most of BEA and RYM friends, I not only can stand Bon Jovi but actually quite like some of their songs (even a few albums). Glad you didn't hate it either. _________________ Overall chart Fake overall chart
Huh! 2.5 million monthly listeners on spotify and I've never even heard of the band before. One of the many reasons I like to play this game - to expose myself to music I otherwise wouldn't. I don't really listen to much post '90s synthpop unless it's got a strong alternative edge to it. This was a bombastic and theatrical album, perhaps a bit overly dramatic) that brought to mind The Killers attempting Manchester type synthpop, without the experimentation and instead going for big sounding stadium synthpop. it was cool to hear the origin story for why EyeKanFly likes this album, It's always good to get an understanding and perspective when there's a specific reason for liking an song/album/artist. And paying attention to the lyrics of Sunday I can see why that could have impacted someone in that situation. Overall not quite to my taste but decent enough for what it is, and I give it a very light 7/10, and it comes in at #79 in my top 100 for 2010.
Edit: I forgot to mention that I actually thought their version of Kylie Minogue's best song, Confide In Me, found on the deluxe version of this album on Spotify was really good. I liked it more than any other song from the album. And nice to cover it and add it to the deluxe version considering they got her to guest on one of the better songs on this album.
Norah Jones. It's not my most liked from what I've heard from that list but you might like it Baystate.
....Also I hope you stick with my 2010 list long enough to get to the albums at the end! As it currently stands, it's a bit of a work in progress and those last 2 albums were added to BEA's database by me, and I neglected to integrate them into my rankings yet, they'd probably both be in the top 10-15 for the year....
There was 18 albums I hadn't listened to from your chart, and I'm pretty strict with my 5 picks per chart rule, so unfortunately unless you rearrange your chart (not that I am promoting chart manipulation 🫵🤣 ) I won't get to those last two.
Top 37 Music Albums of 2010 by EyeKanFly (4 picks left)
11. European by Sambassadeur
12. Inception by Hans Zimmer
15. Foxy Shazam by Foxy Shazam
18. Passive Me, Aggressive You by The Naked And Famous
19. We Are Uchu No Ko by Afrirampo
20. A Knee In The Back by Möbius Strip
24. Transference by Spoon
27. Odd Blood by Yeasayer
28. Future Weather by The War On Drugs
30. To The Sea by Jack Johnson
Mode For Joe by Joe Henderson
Unfortunately, apart from his collab with Alice Coltrane, I don't get the hype for Henderson. He's a very capable saxophone player of course, his tunes are nice but the whole package never crosses that imaginary line which divides merely good and brilliant jazz artistry. Hard bop is sometimes tough to get into for me as it can get a bit too technical and tiring and Henderson exemplifies this. Relatively simple song structures, lovely melodies and loads of flashy soloing in between. All very capable players who know how to work off of each other. Wish I liked this and Page One more, but for now the only Joe Henderson album I truly love is The Elements. The title track Mode For Joe is my favourite, it's excellent. 7.5/10
(2)
The War On Drugs, although I've never heard that one
(3)
Frankensteined lists
Lawrence - The Absence of Blight
Sadaf - History of Heat
Ataraxie - Slow Transcending Agony
Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup - Mean Ol' Frisco
Can - Tago Mago (RL)
Shape of Dispair - Angels of Distress
The Twilight Sad - Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters
Dean Blunt - Black Metal 2
Sandwell District - Feed-Forward
Eliane Radigue - Trilogie de la mort _________________ Overall chart Fake overall chart
There was 18 albums I hadn't listened to from your chart, and I'm pretty strict with my 5 picks per chart rule, so unfortunately unless you rearrange your chart (not that I am promoting chart manipulation 🫵🤣 ) I won't get to those last two.
Ah understood! Probably not gonna rearrange the chart anytime soon (I just finished adjusting my 50s charts, gonna work my way up to the 2010s, but it's gonna take a while). So I guess you're stuck with the list as is 😜
1)
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Nina Simone Sings The Blues by Nina Simone
To preface, I've adored everything I've ever heard by Nina Simone, and this is no exception. I'm a bit surprised I hadn't heard this yet, so I'm glad it showed up on this list (and that baystateofheart picked it!) to allow me to give it a shot.
Having said all that, I much prefer Simone's jazz-oriented music over the blues-oriented music, so this album ranks low compared to her other albums that I've heard. My version of "low" for Nina Simone is still pretty high for most artists. I rated this 3.5/5 or 75/100, and my average is closer to 3/5 or 60/100. This was definitely something I enjoyed, and if I happen to see a used copy at a record store, I'd definitely pick it up. "Do I Move You" is incredible, I had heard live renditions but not the studio version yet, so that was pretty cool.
2)
Let's go for Slow Transcending Agony by Ataraxie. I see it hasn't been added to the archive here yet, so let us know what you think. I looked it up and listened to half of one track, seems pretty heavy and I know metal is mostly up your alley LedZep, let us know if this is worth checking out. (actually I haven't heard of the vast majority of these, so I previewed a few of them and am currently committed to listening to History of Heat in full, so I'm hoping someone else picks this one for you to listen to)
3)
NPR: The 150 Greatest Albums Made By Women:
33. All Hail the Queen by Queen Latifah
38. It's a Mighty World by Odetta
40. Be Altitude: Respect Yourself by The Staple Singers
42. Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Johnny Mercer Songbook by Ella Fitzgerald (I think I've listened to almost all her other songbooks...)
46. Wrecking Ball by Emmylou Harris
47. Son Con Guaguancó by Celia Cruz
48. Etta James Rocks the House by Etta James
51. Sassy Swings Again by Sarah Vaughan
52. Nick of Time by Bonnie Raitt (almost certain I've heard this before but haven't marked it "listened" or rated it on BEA, so I should probably relisten)
57. What's the 411? by Mary J. Blige (I know many of her singles but honestly have never listened to one of her albums in full) _________________ 51 Washington, D.C. albums!
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LedZep
RoundTheBend
EyeKanFly
Purplepash
baystateoftheart
