Human Canon Ball Relaunched: A Trip Through Time

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baystateoftheart
Neil Young as a butternut squash



Age: 29
Location: Massachusetts
United States

  • #51
  • Posted: 02/02/2018 03:41
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Doolittle by Pixies

Overall Rating: 3.17

Unpopular opinion coming right up: while it may be the most influential, this isn't one of the best indie rock albums of all-time. It's all over the place. There are some amazing songs, but there is a lot of less than amazing music to sift through along the way. Let's start with the good. "Here Comes Your Man", "Monkey Gone To Heaven," and "La La Love You" are fantastic tunes. The female vocals, when they surface (and they are painfully underused), are great (with the exception of "Silver"). The guitars, drums, and bass are all well-played and well-used. I have zero complaints about the instrumental backbone of this album. It rightly influenced indie for years to come.

Now, on to the criticism. Black Francis' vocals are not the greatest, and definitely shouldn't be dominating the album to the extent they do. But the real sticking points for me are the lyrics. With my most recent listen, I read along as I listened to make sure I fully absorbed every word. Sadly, I actually had to downgrade this album from its initial 3.5 score after the close listening. While I must admit that I am on the squeamish side and the p.c. side when it comes to lyrics, the songwriting here is gratuitously and almost relentlessly edgy. The way he talks about women and mentally ill people is not a good look. (Yes, I may be judging a 1989 album by my 2018 standards, but the fact that the vast majority of music from any decade meets my standards makes me okay with that.) Further, all the talk of bodily mutilation and harm, rape, death, and suicide leaves me feeling worn out. I'm just trying to enjoy a record here.

Black Francis is clearly capable of great things - "Here Comes Your Man" is close to the top tier of music, period. So that's what makes it such a letdown when the music gets sloppy or crude. It's a good album, and one I will probably go back to, but it's also a mixed bag with enough flaws that I can't fully get behind it.

Track pick: Here Comes Your Man
Next up: Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven
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BeA Sunflower



Location: Forest Park
United States

  • #52
  • Posted: 02/02/2018 03:50
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baystateoftheart wrote:

Doolittle by Pixies

Overall Rating: 3.17

Unpopular opinion coming right up: while it may be the most influential, this isn't one of the best indie rock albums of all-time. It's all over the place. There are some amazing songs, but there is a lot of less than amazing music to sift through along the way. Let's start with the good. "Here Comes Your Man", "Monkey Gone To Heaven," and "La La Love You" are fantastic tunes. The female vocals, when they surface (and they are painfully underused), are great (with the exception of "Silver"). The guitars, drums, and bass are all well-played and well-used. I have zero complaints about the instrumental backbone of this album. It rightly influenced indie for years to come.

Now, on to the criticism. Black Francis' vocals are not the greatest, and definitely shouldn't be dominating the album to the extent they do. But the real sticking points for me are the lyrics. With my most recent listen, I read along as I listened to make sure I fully absorbed every word. Sadly, I actually had to downgrade this album from its initial 3.5 score after the close listening. While I must admit that I am on the squeamish side and the p.c. side when it comes to lyrics, the songwriting here is gratuitously and almost relentlessly edgy. The way he talks about women and mentally ill people is not a good look. (Yes, I may be judging a 1989 album by my 2018 standards, but the fact that the vast majority of music from any decade meets my standards makes me okay with that.) Further, all the talk of bodily mutilation and harm, rape, death, and suicide leaves me feeling worn out. I'm just trying to enjoy a record here.

Black Francis is clearly capable of great things - "Here Comes Your Man" is close to the top tier of music, period. So that's what makes it such a letdown when the music gets sloppy or crude. It's a good album, and one I will probably go back to, but it's also a mixed bag with enough flaws that I can't fully get behind it.

Track pick: Here Comes Your Man
Next up: Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven


I couldn't disagree with you more, but a great defense of your controversial opinion. Applause
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baystateoftheart
Neil Young as a butternut squash



Age: 29
Location: Massachusetts
United States

  • #53
  • Posted: 02/04/2018 22:15
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Very Happy Thanks Tilly! It means a lot, knowing how much you love that record. Who knows, maybe it will grow on me in a year or two.

~~~~~~~~~~

Scored Re-Listens For The Week Ending 2/3

The Classics:

Reachin' (A New Refutation Of Time And Space) - Digable Planets 87.0

The Good, But Flawed:

Doolittle - Pixies 63.4

~~~~~~~~~~

New Listens / Non-Scored Re-Listens [*] For The Week Ending 2/3

The Classics:

Cosmo's Factory - Creedence Clearwater Revival*

The Strong:

Going To A Go-Go - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles*
Turn Back The Hands Of Time - Tyrone Davis*
I Forgot It In People - Broken Social Scene
You Can't Hide Your Love Forever - Orange Juice
I Hear A Symphony - The Supremes
Superman - 水曜 [Suiyoubi No Campanella]
The Marvelettes - The Marvelettes

The Merely Solid:

Horses - Patti Smith*
Compassion - Forest Swords
Lifted Or The Story Is In The Soil, Keep Your Ear To The Ground - Bright Eyes
Welcome To Paradise (Italian Dream House 89-93) - Various Artists
Musas Vol. 1 - Natalia Lafourcade
Renaissance - The Underachievers
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baystateoftheart
Neil Young as a butternut squash



Age: 29
Location: Massachusetts
United States

  • #54
  • Posted: 02/07/2018 20:14
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Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To...ck Emperor

Overall Rating: 77.4*

This has been my first post-rock experience. A great discovery, it's definitely inspired me to explore more of the genre. As a total newcomer to this sort of music, I don't have much that's constructive to say about it. I will say that it's a great headphone album for walking around on a chilly night, which is how I first experienced it. Even though it's not jazz, I felt as though a lot of the jazz I've listened to prepared me to more fully appreciate it. Both halves are quite good, but the second definitely appealed to me more. While the first half makes more use of space in the compositions, the second half makes more use of noise, specifically outstanding noisy guitars. Some lesser used elements include horns (used well), and spoken word samples (seemed fairly pointless to me).

Track pick: Sleep
Next up: Unknown Pleasures

*This is BEA, not RYM, so I'll be expressing my ratings in terms of 100 from now on
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Mercury
Turn your back on the pay-you-back last call


Gender: Male
Location: St. Louis
United States

  • #55
  • Posted: 02/07/2018 20:49
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nice overview of Lift Yr Skinny Fists...

As for the spoken word, man, that part where the creepy preacher is talking of new religions and all that with the ominous music swelling behind always hit me as maybe the greatest part of the album. I see you're not a fan. But yeah that is where we disagree. Again, nice overview nonetheless.
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ONLY 4% of people can understand this chart! Come try!

My Fave Metal - you won't believe #5!!!
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baystateoftheart
Neil Young as a butternut squash



Age: 29
Location: Massachusetts
United States

  • #56
  • Posted: 02/07/2018 21:36
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Mercury wrote:
nice overview of Lift Yr Skinny Fists...

As for the spoken word, man, that part where the creepy preacher is talking of new religions and all that with the ominous music swelling behind always hit me as maybe the greatest part of the album. I see you're not a fan. But yeah that is where we disagree. Again, nice overview nonetheless.


Thanks, and good point. I actually liked the role of that spoken word on "Static" that you mention quite a bit. I just felt it didn't add much to the other three tracks. Especially the bit on "Sleep", which is just rambling nostalgia about Coney Island.
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baystateoftheart
Neil Young as a butternut squash



Age: 29
Location: Massachusetts
United States

  • #57
  • Posted: 02/08/2018 20:27
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Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division

Overall Rating: 85.6

The journey now takes me to the giant of the post-punk canon. This album's reputation precedes it, as I've seen many a fellow college student walking around with the t-shirt on. And I've had this album for a couple years, but haven't played it nearly enough. It's fantastic. First of all, it's very consistent, with not a single track that I would characterize as less than strong. It also leads off with a bang, as "Disorder" boasts a danceable bassline, some of the best vocals on the album, and great lyrics. The lyrics are good throughout the album - dealing with alienation, depression, epilepsy, and other dark topics, but in a way that's easy to empathize with and strikingly human. The bass, the guitars, the drumming - everything instrumentally is on point. The vocals are not always top-notch, as Ian Curtis sometimes settles into repetitive and monotone affects, but when they're on, they're on. I enjoyed the second half of the record substantially more than the first, as the songs get tighter and rock harder, the best and most refreshing example of which is "Interzone." This was a fun album to come back to - deservedly a classic, and one that immediately re-entered my top 100.

Track pick: Interzone
Next up: Pink Moon
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zdwyatt



Gender: Male
Age: 45
Location: Madison WI
United States

  • #58
  • Posted: 02/08/2018 20:33
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baystateoftheart wrote:
Who knows, maybe [Doolittle] will grow on me in a year or two.


No, you're right. It's very uneven and completely overrated.
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baystateoftheart
Neil Young as a butternut squash



Age: 29
Location: Massachusetts
United States

  • #59
  • Posted: 02/11/2018 18:54
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Scored Re-Listens For The Week Ending 2/10

The Classics:

Unknown Pleasures - Joy Division 85.6

The Strong:

Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven - Godspeed You! Black Emperor 77.4

The Merely Solid:

Just Be Free - Big Freedia 65.4

~~~~~~~~~~

New Listens / Non-Scored Re-Listens [*] For The Week Ending 2/10

The Classics:

Back To The World - Curtis Mayfield*
One Nation Under A Groove - Funkadelic*

The Strong:

Bon Iver, Bon Iver - Bon Iver*
Thriller - Michael Jackson*
A Lonely Man - The Chi-Lites*
B-Sides And Rarities - Beach House
Love Child - Diana Ross & The Supremes
Planetarium - Sufjan Stevens, Nico Muhly, Bryce Dessner & James McAlister
Arca - Arca
Playboy - The Marvelettes
Fôrça Bruta - Jorge Ben
Can The Circle Be Unbroken: Country Music's First Family - The Carter Family*

The Merely Solid:

Fevers And Mirrors - Bright Eyes
Boo Boo - Toro Y Moi
Soft Sounds From Another Planet - Japanese Breakfast
Goths - The Mountain Goats
Broken Ankles (EP) - Girl Talk & Freeway*
Halo - Juana Molina
Heat Wave - Martha And The Vandellas
Meet The Supremes - The Supremes
The Machine That Made Us - Flotation Toy Warning
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Last edited by baystateoftheart on 02/18/2018 19:36; edited 1 time in total
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baystateoftheart
Neil Young as a butternut squash



Age: 29
Location: Massachusetts
United States

  • #60
  • Posted: 02/13/2018 01:36
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Pink Moon by Nick Drake

Overall Rating: 86.4

I think it finally clicked for me with this listen. I've always preferred the lush instrumentation of his debut Five Leaves Left, while the charm here proved more elusive. The songwriting isn't quite as consistently impressive, the atmosphere is less immersive, and there are a few tracks that while good, don't stand out. One is the instrumental "Horn", and another is "Know", in which I don't really care for the guitar work. And with only a brief display of piano on the title track as an exception, this album indeed lives and dies by its guitar, vocals, and lyrics. The natural world, introspection, and depression prove mostly fruitful lyrical topics in Drake's capable hands. The vocals are consistently excellent. And with few exceptions, his guitar is a worthy accompaniment. I still don't hear the otherworldly masterpiece that some do, but this album is beguiling throughout, and enters my chart at #72. In particular, the last track he left us with is stunning and perfect. R.I.P.

Track pick: From The Morning
Next up: Highway 61 Revisited
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