You must listen to the album below you: canon edition

[LedZep]

(1)

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Bloodflowers by The Cure
I'm pretty sure I've heard this one before actually. Or maybe not the whole thing, but like 50% of the songs. Idk, The Cure are one of my favourite bands so it's weird that I'm not very familiar with what is supposedly their last great album. And while this is not PEAK peak Cure, it's not bad either. I'd put it in The Top tier, so a good album but not really one of their best. Like I said, I've heard 4/9 songs before (which is not technically 50%, I know), and the others were mostly just as good. Even though this is lyrically and thematically a third instalment of the Pornography/Disintegration/Bloodflowers trilogy, musically it's different. It doesn't sound as distinct and era defining as the other 2, but there's nothing wrong with this guitar and synth driven goth jams. In fact, I love this style. The thing that really put the 80s Cure over a lot of bands for me was the certain "it" factor. Be it Smith's vocals, little snippets of melodies, interesting synth work or a guitar riff, there's a lot of brilliance packed in those peak 10-15 years. This album, while good, lacks that certain something in any shape or form. Not terrible, not even bad, but definitely lacking, as best seen in Smith's uninspired, monotone vocals. That's why I'd probably put The Top over this too, it's got its fair share of mediocre songs, but you can still hear that Smith is in top form (pun intended) with the quirky, emotive vocals. That being said, there were also things I liked more than on other Cure albums, for example I'm not sure if they ever went as electronic as in some moments here which is cool. Overall a solid effort. 7.5/10


(2)
Wanted to give you Durutti Column, but that was before spotting The Future Sound Of London. Love them, Dead Cities is on my wishlist too.

(3)
Turnstile - Glow On
The Mothers of Invention - We're Only In It For The Money
David Craig - More Songs About Food and Revolutionary Art
Lorde - Solar Power
The Pyramids - King of Kings
A Silver Mt. Zion - He Has Left Us Alone But Shafts Of Light Sometimes Grace The Corner Of Our Rooms...
Cursed - II
Gigi Masin - Wind
Prefab Sprout - Steve McQueen
Antediluvian - The Divine Punishment
_________________
Finally updated the overall chart

2020s
90s

[EyeKanFly]

1)

King's Record Shop by Rosanne Cash
Yeah this album wasn't great, barely piqued my interest at all throughout the whole 52 minutes (which included a few bonus tracks that I didn't realize weren't on the original release, otherwise I might've stopped listening). I'm surprised NPR went with this album over either her earlier country stuff or her later folk stuff (I think her next 2 albums are the ones I'm a little more familiar with). Record Shop is more pop country, which is fine I guess but I think NPR has had enough of that representation on the chart already (much of which I've discovered/listened through this game and enjoyed). Really I think the only song I liked on this album was "Tennessee Flat Top Box", the only song written by Rosanne's father Johnny. This album wasn't bad, it just didn't really have anything particularly interesting. 2.5/5 from me, don't think I'll be returning.

2)

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More Songs About Food And Revolutionary...Carl Craig
Detroit techno? Sure.

3)
NPR: The 150 Greatest Albums Made By Women:
61. The Writing's on the Wall by Destiny's Child (know most of the tracks but never listened to the album in full)
65. Blue Light 'Til Dawn by Cassandra Wilson
71. Blacks' Magic by Salt-N-Pepa (this album doesn't have the hits by SnP that I know, so I might be going in blind)
76. Stand by Your Man by Tammy Wynette
85. Diamonds & Rust by Joan Baez (surely there must have been a more notable 60s Baez album to put on this list instead? Maybe I'm sleeping on this one)
93. ...Baby One More Time by Britney Spears (same deal as Destiny's Child, definitely listened to this when it came out but don't remember all the tracks)
97. Daydream by Mariah Carey
103. انت عمري [Enta Omri] by أم كلثوم‎ [Umm Kulthum]
105. The Glamorous Life by Sheila E.
107. Leader of the Pack by The Shangri-Las
_________________
51 Washington, D.C. albums!

[baystateoftheart]

1.

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Dead Cities by The Future Sound Of London

RYM describes this as IDM and ambient techno, but that doesn't even remotely come close to fully capturing what it sounds like. I'm not sure if I've ever heard an electronic album as everything-but-the-kitchen-sink as this. It brings in a wide range of genres, textures, samples, and instruments. They sound much more like a band with lots of side projects than they did on their previous album. The stylistic diversity is both a strength in keeping Dead Cities interesting, and a drawback in making it scattershot and cluttered. The sounds are very good, but the songs aren't really there. Still, it's a cool vibe and a fun listen, and that makes it worth your time if you like Lifeforms. 3.5/5.

~~~~

2. Listen to the only one I've heard. The a-side is great and the b-side is... not great. I adore their follow-up "Shangri-Las - 65!", which is a much better album.

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Leader Of The Pack by The Shangri-Las

~~~~~

3. Alphabet Game, Cohort 14 (3 picks left)

D2: LC - The Durutti Column
E: Yellow Fields - Eberhard Weber
F: The Reminder - Feist
F2: 56 Nights - Future & DJ Esco
G: White Light - Gene Clark
H: Little Queen - Heart
I: Live From The Dentist Office - Injury Reserve
J: Brel [Les Marquises] - Jacques Brel
J2: Sprained Ankle - Julien Baker
K: Failer - Kathleen Edwards
_________________
Add me on RYM

[Purplepash]

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Good News by Megan Thee Stallion

I can see why this album was such a hit but it's so not to my taste. I heard Body on the radio too much so that the bodyodyodyodyodyodyody became so annoying very quickly, and I think that songs sums up the album. A few scattered lyrics here and there that made me smile and I think most of the rest of the album would also become annoying over repetitive listens. I appreciate the real hot girl shit attitude and what she was going for, and I appreciate the craft enough to give it a generous passable grade of 6.5/10 but I doubt I would willingly come back to this or any of the individual songs again.




Hopefully with the good reviews the new Injury Reserve is getting more people will go back and check out their earlier stuff. Live From The Dentist Office is in my top 100 for the year.

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Live From The Dentist Office by Injury Reserve




Top 100 Music Albums of 2020 by EyeKanFly (last pick)

5. Sex, Death And The Infinite Void by Creeper
9. Here To Stay! by Grrrl Gang
11. Out Of My Province by Nadia Reid
17. Woman Call by Angel-Ho
19. Cape God by Allie X
20. Éons by Neptunian Maximalism
25. Optimisme by Songhoy Blues
30. Im Wald by Paysage d'Hiver
34. Room For The Moon by Kate NV
40. Working Men's Club by Working Men's Club

[EyeKanFly]

1)

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Leader Of The Pack by The Shangri-Las
For good measure I also listened to Shangri-Las - 65. Baystate, you weren't joking. The first half of Leader of the Pack consists of their all-time best 3 songs and their b-sides which are also quite solid. The second half consists of a set of live covers which are fine I guess, but the recording quality is terrible. Live music from the early-to-mid-60s can be borderline unlistenable IMO, at least for this genre. Things like this and early Beatles or Beach Boys live albums are just full of crowd noise while the instruments and singing are muffled. The Shangri-Las version of "Twist and Shout" was actually quite nice (that song does sort of fit with the crappy recording quality to be fair), but "Shout" was dreadful and the rest of the live tracks were not great. I somehow can't seem to find any information about where/when this was recorded.

Shangri-Las - 65 is much more consistent, but doesn't reach the highs that Leader of the Pack has.

The first half would get a 4/5 and the second half a 1.5-2/5, so I guess 3/5 since the first half is the more memorable portion? Hard to say, it's an odd album. The first half is really great though.

2)

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Optimisme by Songhoy Blues
Let's go with this to round it out. Not just picking it because you said you were intrigued, but because I've been listening to a lot of similar desert blues music this year, and I've grown to appreciate the style/genre more. I think if I were re-ranking my 2020 list, this would probably be in the top 10.

3)
NPR: The 150 Greatest Albums Made By Women:
61. The Writing's on the Wall by Destiny's Child (know most of the tracks but never listened to the album in full)
65. Blue Light 'Til Dawn by Cassandra Wilson
71. Blacks' Magic by Salt-N-Pepa (this album doesn't have the hits by SnP that I know, so I might be going in blind)
76. Stand by Your Man by Tammy Wynette
85. Diamonds & Rust by Joan Baez (surely there must have been a more notable 60s Baez album to put on this list instead? Maybe I'm sleeping on this one)
93. ...Baby One More Time by Britney Spears (same deal as Destiny's Child, definitely listened to this when it came out but don't remember all the tracks)
97. Daydream by Mariah Carey
103. انت عمري [Enta Omri] by أم كلثوم‎ [Umm Kulthum]
105. The Glamorous Life by Sheila E.
110. Platinum by Miranda Lambert
_________________
51 Washington, D.C. albums!

[LedZep]

(1)

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More Songs About Food And Revolutionary...Carl Craig
First time listening to this legend of Detroit techno scene. This wasn't as danceable or hard as some Detroit techno I've heard, in fact it was quite atmospheric comparatively, but it did hit a sweet spot between the "common" techno and the unique, more forward thinking variations of the genre. The highlight was Butterfly, an excellent display of everything I loved here. There's not that much going on but it feels like every subtle change in melody or chord progression is significant and elevates the song. All of the instruments and sounds work in its favour, be it the snappy piano melody or the ethereal keyboards in the background which give an extra dimension and control the song in many ways. Great song, great album. High 8/10

(2)
Britney next

(3)
A new list yet again. It's something I made on RYM, the description reads: "So I wondered what would happen if I tried to search for 2-3 genres combined on RYM charts. Got some hits for extremely weird combinations. An hour later..." I'll probably alternate between several lists I have at the moment.

The Mothers of Invention - Weasels Ripped My Flesh (Avant-prog + Blues)
Estradasphere - Buck Fever (Doo-Wop + Klezmer, Chief would be happy)
The Polyphonic Spree - The Beginning Stages Of... (Drone + Progressive Pop)
Bruno Pernadas - Those Who Throw Objects at the Crocodiles Will Be Asked to Retrieve Them (Progressive Pop + Exotica)
Mother's Finest - Black Radio Won't Play This Record (Soul + Alternative Metal)
Plutonium 74 - Pasilasta Kallioon (Dub + Indietronica)
Jaga Jazzist - A Livingroom Hush (ECM Style Jazz + Drum n' Bass)
Jam City - Dream a Garden (Deconstructed Club + Sophisti-Pop)
Seefeel - Pure, Impure (Dub Techno + Dream Pop)
Archive - Controlling Crowds (Hip Hop + Progressive Rock)
_________________
Finally updated the overall chart

2020s
90s

[EyeKanFly]

1)

...Baby One More Time is about as good as I remember it: the highs are very high: absolute nostalgia trips as well as songs that still hold up 20ish years later IMO. The lows are...meh, but not as bad as I remember about half of the album being. They're all solid pop bits though some much less so than others. I think I like the album as a whole better than other similar albums I've done here like Spice. Maybe because I'm American I prefer Britney over Spice Girls, idk.

Anyway, the obvious highlight is the title track, but "(You Drive Me) Crazy", "Sometimes", and "From the Bottom of My Broken Heart" are every bit as good as I remember, which is huge considering these were pretty much the only tunes I heard circa early 1999. The surprises are mostly on the second half of the album: "Deep in My Heart" and "E-Mail My Heart" are actually better than I remember.

The nostalgia high will probably peter off if I listen to the album even one more time, but for now this was a treat. High 3.5/5 I think.

2)

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Those Who Throw Objects At The Crocodil...o Pernadas
Not as big on Bruno Pernadas as some on here or over at RYM, but this is IMO his best. I'm also firmly now in the habit of recommending the album with the funniest/silliest title

3)
NPR: The 150 Greatest Albums Made By Women:
61. The Writing's on the Wall by Destiny's Child (know most of the tracks but never listened to the album in full)
65. Blue Light 'Til Dawn by Cassandra Wilson
71. Blacks' Magic by Salt-N-Pepa (this album doesn't have the hits by SnP that I know, so I might be going in blind)
76. Stand by Your Man by Tammy Wynette
85. Diamonds & Rust by Joan Baez (surely there must have been a more notable 60s Baez album to put on this list instead? Maybe I'm sleeping on this one)
97. Daydream by Mariah Carey
103. انت عمري [Enta Omri] by أم كلثوم‎ [Umm Kulthum]
105. The Glamorous Life by Sheila E.
110. Platinum by Miranda Lambert
111. The Litanies of Stan by Diamanda Galás
_________________
51 Washington, D.C. albums!

[Tha1ChiefRocka]

I don't remember where I was at.

Diamanda Galas is incredible if I can pick that for you. I can't remember the stipulations.

I don't know where to go from here, so I'll choose the most recent albums.

BEA top of 2021

Promises-Floating Points, Pharaoh Sanders
Sometimes I Might Be Introvert- Little Simz
Bright Green Field- Squid
G_d's Pee at State's End- GY!BE
Chemtrails Over The Country Club (fuck you guys)
To See The Next Part Of The Dream- Paranoul
Donda- Kanye West
Daddy's Home- St Vincent
Carnage- Nick Cave
Blue Weekend- Wolf Alice

[LedZep]

(1)

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Those Who Throw Objects At The Crocodil...o Pernadas
Progressive pop + exotica, with progressive pop being a main genre and exotica found in traces (a secondary tag on RYM). I've heard their new one and while I liked it (it'll probably end up near the end of the 2021 chart), I wasn't interested enough to actively seek their other albums. This one was better, at times a complete realisation of their maximalist pop sound, but at times let down by the songwriting just like the successor. But there was a number of great songs too, with my faves being Spaceway 70, Lachrymose and Anywhere in Spacetime. A very good effort overall, low 8/10

(2)
Glad to have you back Chief. You'd probably love Promises, but let's go with Simz this time around. One of the best hip hop albums of the year.

(3)
A new list yet again. It's something I made on RYM, the description reads: "So I wondered what would happen if I tried to search for 2-3 genres combined on RYM charts. Got some hits for extremely weird combinations. An hour later..." I'll probably alternate between several lists I have at the moment.

The Mothers of Invention - Weasels Ripped My Flesh (Avant-prog + Blues)
Estradasphere - Buck Fever (Doo-Wop + Klezmer)
The Polyphonic Spree - The Beginning Stages Of... (Drone + Progressive Pop)
Mother's Finest - Black Radio Won't Play This Record (Soul + Alternative Metal)
Plutonium 74 - Pasilasta Kallioon (Dub + Indietronica)
Jaga Jazzist - A Livingroom Hush (ECM Style Jazz + Drum n' Bass)
Jam City - Dream a Garden (Deconstructed Club + Sophisti-Pop)
Seefeel - Pure, Impure (Dub Techno + Dream Pop)
Archive - Controlling Crowds (Hip Hop + Progressive Rock)
Spectral Lore - III (Space Ambient + Dark Folk)
_________________
Finally updated the overall chart

2020s
90s

[EyeKanFly]

1)

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The Litanies Of Satan by Diamanda Galás
Apparently it's "Satan" not "Stan"... whoops. Well anyway, I'm not usually into expressionist avant-garde wailing like this, but you caught me at a good time this morning and it really hit the spot. As a musical album, this is probably not something I'll revisit with any frequency. But as a piece of performance art, this was incredible. The anguish and agony in Galás' voice is astounding, and if you can't stand the album as a whole, I'd highly recommend listening to a few minutes of one of the (two) tracks to get a sense for how incredible her talent is. Her screeching reminded me of Grimes to a degree, but I think her vocal range wayyyy outclasses Grimes, while the backing instruments (are there any instruments?) are much less developed and force you to focus on her voice. I went and listened to another of her albums as well which seemed more accessible but still very intense. I think I'll be listening to more of her.

I'm really glad the NPR list didn't just stick with pop/folk/R&B. Sometimes you get Spice Girls and Britney, and sometimes you get some weird shit like this or Meredith Monk or Pauline Oliveros. I dig it.

2)
Let's go with Polyphonic Spree. Haven't heard that album but I had a phase where I listened to them near-nonstop for a while. I should check them out again...

3)
NPR: The 150 Greatest Albums Made By Women:
61. The Writing's on the Wall by Destiny's Child (know most of the tracks but never listened to the album in full)
65. Blue Light 'Til Dawn by Cassandra Wilson
71. Blacks' Magic by Salt-N-Pepa (this album doesn't have the hits by SnP that I know, so I might be going in blind)
76. Stand by Your Man by Tammy Wynette
85. Diamonds & Rust by Joan Baez (surely there must have been a more notable 60s Baez album to put on this list instead? Maybe I'm sleeping on this one)
97. Daydream by Mariah Carey
103. انت عمري [Enta Omri] by أم كلثوم‎ [Umm Kulthum]
105. The Glamorous Life by Sheila E.
110. Platinum by Miranda Lambert
114. Rumor Has It by Reba McEntire
_________________
51 Washington, D.C. albums!