The Great Revisitation Project: 2023-24 Edition - Music Diaries

Anti
I Dream of Drone

Age: 28
Location: Somewhere in Ohio

Might be my third... fourth... fifth attempt at making a log on BEA? There was a discussion in the miscellaneous part of the forums regarding the current level of activity on the forums. You know what? I love this site. It was a major gateway for me into this beautiful world of music. Lemme at least do my fair share and contribute something. I already started a log on RateYourMusic of a music log I am working on. Let me copy and paste the explanation below:

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In 2018, I did a big project where I revisited a ton of albums I've liked and listened with more intent. There were two main objectives with this project:

One, to enjoy albums I noted that I "liked." If I liked these albums so much, why do I hardly ever revisit them? Why do I have such a preference to hear new music rather than revisit albums I rate favorably? It's easier to answer the second question, because of the chance/gamble of finding a new album I may obsess over. But I don't really have a good answer for the first question. Which is why I did the aforementioned project.

Two, to clean up my "Favorite Albums of All Time List." I have to agree with BennoVonArchimboldi; I do find the act of rating albums to be somewhat silly. But, the thing I do enjoy about rating is the usage it has to communicate the quantity of enjoyment I have regarding an album and then using that rating for organizational purposes so I can find more music that I enjoy, revisit music I did enjoy, and avoid music I dislike or potentially will dislike. This project allowed the opportunity to refine my ratings to be more accurate or up-to-date and the better organize my Top 100, which I do enjoy for my own reference at the very least.

It's been quite some time since that project. The data I collected is now lost on an old laptop. I am getting close to 5,000 different releases I've rated, but I hardly remember the majority of the content! Which is why I think this is a great opportunity to do this again. I would not only benefit from the two objectives noted above, I will also save money by being less tempted to purchase new albums. I still will check out new/undiscovered music, but (hopefully) at a slower rate.

I have two lists. I have a private list where I compiled all the albums I will revisit and will delete each respective album as I revisit them. The other list is this one that I made public which I log my listens. I will do my best to review each album I revisit. I may get somewhat exhausted on a lengthy review, so some of them may be one-liners. I will do my best. For the purposes of this project, I will NOT be taking recommendations because it's for revisiting albums I've already listened to. I am going to take my time with this. I will probably do multiple listens for some albums. I sometimes don't have time to listen to multiple albums every day. This will take a long time, well into 2024 and may not be completed until then, maybe even 2025. Hope this log uncovers a gem for someone!

Thought I could at least add it to here for anyone interest. Oh, and if you have a RYM account, feel free to follow it here as well.

I already started it a couple weeks ago, so let me just copy and paste the entries into a couple posts. I will catch this one up to the original log eventually.
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...and for dessert!

Anti
I Dream of Drone

Age: 28
Location: Somewhere in Ohio

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Strange Celestial Road by Sun Ra

November 27, 2023

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While not as "out there" as his free jazz work, Strange Celestial Road is a fairly avant-garde jazz fusion album. There is a sublime feel to the funk fusion. It does not feel as heavy on the funk like, say, Herbie Hancock's Head Hunters, but its essence still controls you. The album is three length tracks, with the funk infusion feeling most prevalent in the first side. The last track, "I'll Wait For You," is a nice 16 minute odyssey that dissolves into Sun Ra's psychedelic cosmos. If someone had to make a Sun Ra "starter pack," throw this album in there because it does capture a good portion of his career. It's a jazz fusion album that features a big band and has flares of free jazz. It also has a nice 35 minute duration, so it doesn't overstay its welcome. Plus, I dig the album cover! I don't know what else to say other than that this is an essential listen in the Sun Ra chronology.

Rating: 87/100
_________________
...and for dessert!

Anti
I Dream of Drone

Age: 28
Location: Somewhere in Ohio

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Niggaz Of Destruction by N.O.D.

December 7, 2023

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Sorry for the long time between posts this early into the project already. I was celebrating my birthday and was busy with work. Plus, I was listening to the crap out of this tape and basically nothing else. Here's the review:

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I understand that chances are the established recording of this album that has spread across YouTube and Soulseek are likely a 3rd or 4th generation bootleg, but, man, I wouldn't want it any other way. This is such a charming lofi hip-hop album. It's perfect memphis rap! Six track spreading across a duration of 32 minutes, N.O.D. is an intoxicating, yet haunting trip featuring 8 different rappers who each bring their own heat. This tape is overflowing with personality. While likely not the artistic intent, this record has so much charm to it that I can't put it down. The beats are minimal, yet so addictive. I think each track feels needed and not a moment goes to waste, even the fun two minute title track just before the epic 10 minute closer "Fugitive." I'm sorta glad that the bootlegs are the established versions because the low fidelity adds such an irresistible atmosphere and contributes to the haunting nature this album suggests. My only real criticism of this tape is that I wish it was longer! 32 minutes and six tracks feels too short! But if there were to be a criticism for an album, I guess I would want it to be that.

Rating: 99/100
_________________
...and for dessert!

Last edited by Anti on 01/18/2024 15:35; edited 1 time in total

Anti
I Dream of Drone

Age: 28
Location: Somewhere in Ohio

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Head Hunters by Herbie Hancock

December 10, 2023

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Perhaps it is because I spend a lot of time exploring free-improvised genres like free jazz, spiritual jazz, ambient, drone, and psychedelia, but this revisiting this was a real treat. It's more funky and otherworldly than I remembered. The initial synth riff on "Chameleon" is hard to forget, but I totally forgot the odyssey you on on as that track progresses and how it all ties together back to that initial riff. Seriously impressive! And the other three tracks each bring their own slice of funk without being too standout-ish. The first album in Herbie Hancock's jazz-funk period may be the best of the bunch!

Rating: 90/100
_________________
...and for dessert!

Anti
I Dream of Drone

Age: 28
Location: Somewhere in Ohio

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Heart Of The Ages by In The Woods...

December 10, 2023

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I'm glad this was the first black metal album I revisited for this project because it does capture of fairly wide reach of the variety of sounds you can find in the most essential black metal releases, which makes it somewhat of an indicator of my attitudes towards black metal currently. If we were to use this album to summarize my thoughts towards black metal currently, I overall still do love black metal, but different aspects.

My least favorite parts of this album were the more cinematic parts that were almost going on post-metal, such as the intro track. But, the aggressive parts such as the title track and "Wotan's Return" hit seriously well. Plus, I still love synths in atmospheric black metal. The synthwork on this album is phenomenal. The last big flaw for me was the clean vocals. I don't generally dislike clean vocals in metal albums, but there are some instances where I don't feel like they're needed and this album right here is one. They could've reduced the amount of clean vocals, even during the calmer passages. But I don't want my criticisms to overshadow the brilliant parts of this album. It's still scratches the itch for good black metal.

Rating: 82/100
_________________
...and for dessert!

Anti
I Dream of Drone

Age: 28
Location: Somewhere in Ohio

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Psychostasia by Adramelech

December 12, 2023

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It's time to stop lying to myself. This is one of the best death metal albums I'ver ever heard. I don't know why I don't give this album the praise it deserves because it honestly has no major flaws. It's utterly unique and weird. The vocals have this whispery growl feel to them that I have not heard anywhere else. The guitars feel so dirty. The musicianship is phenomenal. It has a twisted weirdness like Demilich's Nespithe, but certainly stands out on its own. Psychostasia does not feel nearly as dissonant. Rather, it's more of a no-bullshit, in-your-face death metal album that proudly embraces its Finnish death metal inspirations. It's eight tight tracks clocking in at over 34 minutes-- all killer, no filler. It's a real shame Adramelech could not provide a worthy follow up to this masterpiece.

Rating: 96/100

I'll leave it with 5 today so I don't accidentally cause a red flag with spam or something.
_________________
...and for dessert!

Anti
I Dream of Drone

Age: 28
Location: Somewhere in Ohio

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Schattengang by Paysage d'Hiver

December 18, 2023

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Oh it's snowing heavily outside? Put on Paysage d'Hiver. It's night time and everything is being covered in a thick blanket of snow from a blizzard, which is the perfect setting for Schattengang. I spend a lot of time wondering why this tape does not get as much love as his self-titled release, Winterkaelte, or Das Tor. Sure, the widely available version features only two actual metal tracks, but both of them are audio blizzards. The ambient finale, "Atmosphäre," is incredibly beautiful. Plus, of all of his artwork, this one is easily the best. Look how much detail there is in the forest! For a black metal demo, this album is incredibly layered, which is perfect because it creates that blizzard effect that he's going for. Underappreciated tape, imo.

Rating: 92/100
_________________
...and for dessert!

Anti
I Dream of Drone

Age: 28
Location: Somewhere in Ohio

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Atrocity Exhibition by Danny Brown

December 22, 2023

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I haven't listened to this album since it came out in 2016. Now that I've more acquainted with experimental and avant-garde music, I thought I would come around more to this album. I did, but not in the way I was expecting. In 2016, I was hyper-attuned to the bizarre vocal performance, which I still enjoy. Now, at age 28, I am just floored by the experimental production. Some of the sample choices are absolutely bonkers. Like, if you erased my memory of this album and showed me the instrumentals for "Downward Spiral" and "Lost," telling me to rap over it, I would think two things: (1) I don't rap so why the hell would you ask me? (2) That would be absolutely impossible for anyone to do over these samples. Danny Brown defies the odds. This is why I think he should be thrown in the top tier best rappers conversations. He raps over some of the craziest, experimental beats. Also, his manic, yelp-style delivery is so odd, yet it works so well. It's legitimately unreal to process how weird yet enjoyable it all is.

Now, this is where my opinion can be seen as controversial. What prevents me from being obsessed with this record is the lyrics. Content-wise, this album is heavily focused on his addiction. I love Danny Brown's insight into his problem and it's certainly a great idea to rap about. Honestly, what's impressive is that despite how severe his drug use was, he was still able to churn out incredible albums. However, there are so many songs on here that basically repeat the same message; that he knows his drug use is a problem, but he is using anyway despite the consequences. Incredibly powerful when it's not overused. I wish there was more variety in the lyrics. I hope this isn't dismissive on Danny's drug use history, because it's a very real problem people struggle with and essentially ruin their lives and the lives of others over. Props to him for overcoming it all. However, I'm not going to lie and say each time he talks about his drug use I am absolutely moved. This album is 15 tracks long. He could've trimmed out some of the redundant addiction songs and made it a tight 8-10 tracks or simply rap about something else. That's really my big criticism for this album. Again, I don't want it to be dismissive of Danny's journey to sobriety, but this is just my preference.

So that's that. The tl;dr is the experimental instrumentals and Danny's technical skills are stellar. The lyrical content gets redundant.

Rating: 89/100
_________________
...and for dessert!

Anti
I Dream of Drone

Age: 28
Location: Somewhere in Ohio

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Split by Lush

December 25, 2023

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Every year that passes since I first listened to Split (which was back in 2017), I think more and more that this should be in the same tier of shoegaze classics like Loveless and Souvlaki. I'm hoping that with the resurgence of the 90s sound, looking at Hatchie and George Clanton for example, this album will propel to the spotlight it deserves. It's one of the more cinematic 90s shoegaze releases, which I think makes it more accessible to new listeners. I love how catchy a lot of the choruses are and they are sung with this amateur style that is absolutely perfect for the album. If the singers were better trained, I think it would partially ruin the experience. This album stylistically goes all over the place: from 80s-MBV inspired shoegaze, to dream pop, to indie rock, and Britpop. With that variety, there's gotta be something for each listener to take away from. It's cohesive and it feels complete. This is Lush's high mark.

Side note: if you're a vinyl collector, I highly recommend the newest remasters. Grab any copy that you can, don't get worked up on color vinyl nonsense. They sound fantastic and they quite literally elevated the record for me.

Rating: 95/100
_________________
...and for dessert!

Anti
I Dream of Drone

Age: 28
Location: Somewhere in Ohio

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Souvlaki by Slowdive

December 25, 2023

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When I got into shoegaze, I was introduced to the Shoegaze Trinity that featured Loveless, Nowhere, and Souvlaki as the Big 3 shoegaze albums that are considered the pinnacles of the genre. That was back in 2014-15. Nowadays, it seems like Nowhere has fallen down a bit in popularity, dwarfed by Loveless and Souvlaki. I've considered Loveless as my favorite album of all time for multiple years now, and while I am no where near any definitive rankings since the project is far from done, it's going to hold that position unless it gets bumped down after this project. Because of my love for Loveless, I've always seen Souvlaki as its little brother, which is pretty unfair. Now that I've seen Slowdive perform these songs live and I've revisited this album multiple times since the concert, I think I should propel this album up my personal rankings as it deserves.

Souvlaki is probably the definitive dream pop-infused shoegaze album. While there are bright walls of sound created by heavy droning guitars, the songs feel more ethereal and dreamy and the noise it not as harsh as some other shoegaze classics. The dual vocalists is absolutely perfect and I think it allows the album to be more relatable to listeners. Plus, this album is just banger after banger after banger after banger. Legitimately no bad track on here. But, specifically "Alison," "Machine Gun," "40 Days," "Souvlaki Space Station," and "When The Sun Hits" are such imperative shoegaze listens that these songs along prevent this album from depreciating. The other songs could be substituted with toilet flushes, but if you keep those five tracks I think Souvlaki will still be one of my favorite albums of all time. To the critics who dismissed this album when it came out, I am so glad you are wrong and your reviews deserve to get torched and soured over time. Souvlaki is ethereal shoegaze at its finest.

Rating: 100/100 Applause

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...and for dessert!