Thoughts on albums I listened to today
 

These aren't going to be full reviews, but I listen to several rekkids a day so this might be fun. Some of these are first listens, some are second listens, and some I've heard a lot before.

1. Crass - Penis Envy (1981)

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Really a great, solid album. The Feeding of the 5000 and Stations of the Crass remain my favorites, but I might actually consider giving this one 10/10 on some days.

9.5/10


2. Butthole Surfers - Psychic...Powerless...Another Man's Sac (1984)

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I was skeptical, but this is a great landmark noise rock release. Lots to like here, like 'Dum Dum', 'Concubine', 'Lady Sniff', and the obvious Roxy/Eno impression, 'Negro Observer'.

9/10


3. Radiohead - OK Computer (1997)

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I don't see how it can just be me: isn't this album just pop music? I've never been impressed by Radiohead, but I have them another chance today. Truly tame, boring 'alt-rock' which made me feel almost as guilty as if I were listening to Coldplay. Honestly, there are albums from the sixties that'll challenge your ears more than this record will.

5.5-6/10

Penis Envy rules!

Penis owning rules

I just listened to Crystal Castles II by Crystal Castles. I have a good feeling that will pop up in the Albums Your Digging thread in the next couple of days. Really solid electronica that threw a few curveballs my way. That's what I love.

lovelovelovelovelove Crystal Castles

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Karp-Action Chemistry
At its fastest, this album sounds how happy feels.

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A lot of this album sounds the same but its not boring. Its cohesive, I guess? Thats not the right word either....if you changed some of the lyrics, this album could be elevator music. The craziest, best written, most layered elevator music ever.

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I only like 3 songs on this album. I don't understand why the rest is so unappealing to me.....

It's the album of the year for me, there's only a few songs that I don't go out actively to listen to now. 1 through 13 are all genius, apart from perhaps Birds, which is still a good song. I'm (not) in love :3 (which incidentially is my favourite track on the album, followed closely by intimate and Doe Deer)

I already like this thread.

I haven't heard Penis Envy, but I completely agree with the other two. Psychic...Powerless...Another Man's Sac is an incredibly album. While OK Computer in general bores me as well. There are a few songs on it I love (Climbing Up the Walls and Exit Music (For a Film) especially), but otherwise it's tolerable but not much more.

speaking of elevator music have you herd elevator tribe, not to bad but i do have a very strange tast in music, i get the feeling this thread is on an electronic vibe so i'l let yiz no some of my favorite electronic bands, i have to start with klaus schulze, any of his albums are incredible but a good first up listin would have to be cyborg, i have herd many people say that electronic music has no feel no soul, i'd like them to say that after listning to that album and many more schulze,
vas daferens organization,
smooth quality excrement,
skinny puppy,
spectrum, forever alien - a fantastic album
crevice
conrad scnitzler
coil
faust
cluster
kluster
cosmic jokers
experemental audio research
manual gottsching
michael hoenig
richard pinhas
can

just a couple of my favs, you mite like some you mite not, some are very trippy, some are atmospheric, some will just mess you up :)
i hpe yiz like some of them

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Guns N' Roses - Chinese Democracy (2008)

One of my friends is obsessed with Guns N' Roses and attempted to convince me how there latest release despite only having 2 of the original members Axl Rose and Dizzy Reed (one could argue that he isn't considered an original member because he only came into the band for Use Your Illusion) was still just as good as there older material. Being slightly curious by the fact that this album took 15 years to make and considering the fact that my friend wanted me to listen to it I thought I may as well listen to it. Going into listening to this was kind of a shock. The material I was hearing didn't sound anything like there older material only a few key tracks had some of the same qualities of there older material (Better, Street of Dreams and I.R.S.). A lot of the songs have a more industrial sound to them (Shakler's Revenge, If The World and Raid N' The Bedouins). Looking at the lyrics I'm not really impressed by what I see and the music itself is good at some points other points it doesn't sound very developed. I get the feeling from listening to this album that (Axl's) Guns N' Roses wanted a very large sound going into this and you could hear that from Use Your Illusion I & II and you would think that it would sound great, but for some reason it doesn't hold up. Overall, I would say I'm not really impressed and can't see how it took 15 years to develope this material. Being compared to Guns N' Roses earlier albums this is just a notch above The Spaghetti Incident. It held very little substance for me.

Ket Tracks: Street of Dreams, Catcher in the Rye and Madagascar

4/10

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Iron Maiden - The Final Frontier (2010)

Iron Maiden is one of my favorite heavy metal bands of all time. Satelite...15 The Final Frontier is one of Iron Maiden's best opening tracks on any of there albums. Very futuristic and very dark about an astronaut losing control and headed into the sun with no hope at all having no regrets. Bruce's vocals sound great here however, throughout the whole album you could hear Bruce's voice is a little bit strained all those years of singing the way he has must've taken a toll. Regardless he still sounds great. El Dorado is a good track starts off with a galloping bass line a song about greed, a great guitar solo in here to. Mother of Mercy A soldiers perspective of war. Great track has one of the best drums on this album. Coming Home The song is about a pilot coming home, Bruce does a lot of operatic singing on this track like most tracks except you could hear that his voice is a bit strained on the operatic parts, as I've said before. The Alchemist my favorite track on the album. Clocking at 4:29 it's the shortest track on the album and that's completley fine it ends appropriatley wouldn't want it any longer or shorter. The song is about mathematician and alchemist John Dee I dig the lyrics in this one. Isle of Avalon A very subtle, but good track apparently about Avalon the guitar effects at the begining kind of remind me of The Who's BabOriley for some reason. Starblind the lyrics here are very open and very good because of this it could be interpreted in many ways. Regardless this song has a great riff. The Talisman the first track on the album to feature an accoustic (at the begining). This is a pretty good track some dark themes here about sailors fighting for there life in sea. The Man Who Would Be King My second favorite track on the album. For some reason the begining of this song sounds like something Metallica would do. Not saying that it's a bad thing it sounds good in this case. The song probably has the best lyrics on the album, human reflection. I'd also like to add a lot of the songs on here including this one start out soft and then go big. At some points this is cool other times it seems a bit cliche. When The Wild Wind Blows A very atmospheric opening to the last and longest track on the album clocking to 10:59. A very cryptic ending to I might add dealing with the end of the world. Overall a good closure. This album is good. Certainly not Maiden's worst or best. It shows that they still have it in them to produce some great music. None of the songs were necessarily bad in fact most if not all were good. The lyrics here are top notch along with the musicianship. The only real gripes I have is that Burce's voice is strained in a few of the songs. The cliche openings to some of the tracks starting off soft then stopping and going loud something that has been going on for quiet some time in metal (especially 80's) which does show some aging on Maidens part. And the fact that with the exception of 1 track the songs are quiet long which means that they could run you down a bit by listening to them making some songs sound similar to each other. This being said I thought this was a good album by Maiden standards, but there's always need for improvement on what I just mentioned.

Key Tracks: Satelite 15...The Final Frontier, The Alchemist and The Man Who Could Be King

7/10

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Blur-Leisure

Boring. I don't really like it but I only listened to about a third of it. I'm trying to give Blur another chance because I really like the Gorillaz and had only heard Modern Life is Rubbish but this seems to be pretty much the same. Crappy. I think I'd like "Parklife" because I love all of the singles from it and it seems like the album where Damon removed his head from his ass. Maybe I'll download that if the rest doesn't put me off too much.

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Nirvana-Nevermind

Hooky. I like Mudhoney better but this album had no bad tracks, no weak spots, no crap at all. So much better then Insecticide.

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Hole-Pretty on the Inside

Dear god, what an ugly fucking cover. I love this album. I like Hole way better then Nirvana even though almost all of Hole sounds the same. Opener track, "Teenage Whore" is the best track on the album, its just a big noisy "splat" with one hell of a guitar riff.

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Lightning Bolt-Hypermagic Mountain

Different from my standard noise. 10/10 when I'm in the mood for it. How the hell do you describe Lightning Bolt? I can't do it.

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Big Black-Atomizer

Old steady. How I love thee. The last 4 tracks on this album are probably the only 4 Big Black songs that I don't better then my own thoughts. They kind of blend together. Songs about Fucking gets all the hype but Atomizer is probably better. Excellent lyrics. Subjects covered range from child abuse to anal fisting to racism to killing cows.

Stare at each other and wait 'till we die..........

Of course Nevermind is better than Incesticide, that was just a compilation album. Although, minus new wave Polly and Stain it didn't really have any bad tracks either. Neither have a chance in stan's heck against In Utero though.

I looooooove Lightning Bolt and Hypermagic is my favorite. Ride The Skies is insane too. I'm gonna have to get some Big Black eventually....

I expected Nevermind to be balls because it was talked up to me a lot and all of the albums that are talked up to me like that turn out to be terrible.

Can't reccomend Big Black up to you enough. Entire discography is impeccable. Not everybody likes them, but you're Conan. You'll like them. Start with either Pig Pile or Atomizer. Pig Pile is the live album but Albini's a mindfuckingly good performer and the song list is perfect. Atomizer's just the solidest album. Songs about Fucking is slightly quirkier and The Hammer Party isn't so much of an album as a collection of EPs (which gets on my tits a bit) but there's nothing wrong with them either. Report back to me after you check 'er out.

Will do! Thanks, pal.

Big Black is awesome. Atomizer's one of my favorite albums ever.

Yeah, if I had to choose between Atomizer and Songs about ****ing, Atomizer would win - partly because of "Kerosene", but also because the whole album is just unbelievably loud, vicious, twisted, angry, and completely exhilarating. Can't wait for the remastered version, though. ;-) It really deserves to be even louder...