runnin' since monday, the 28th of march, 2022.
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As a small preface:
This may include re-listens, this may include re-releases, and I might not give my thoughts on every record listed here - even though I will try to. In addition, typically, I will be tracking releases, here; if I were to have heard one track off of an album, for example, I would not list it here, but if I were to have listened to the full release, then I would. This is also the case for singles, just because I’m pernickety - I will listen to all songs on a single release before committing any ruminations on it (though, that does somewhat defeat the point of them being called singles, which very much annoys me, perhaps to an unreasonable degree).
Furthermore, be warned going in that my music taste is all over the place, and that place often happens to be in the gutter.
Beach Bunny
Sports
2018 [Single]
Listened: 04/01
凛として時雨
Enigmatic Feeling
2014 [Single]
Listened: 04/01
My Chemical Romance
The Black Parade
2006 [Album]
Listened: 04/01
God, why did I sleep on this for so long? After years of basically only knowing Dead!, Teenagers and the title track, I finally took the plunge and listened to the whole thing. Oh my fuck, it's so goddamn good. No wonder this inspired such a huge emo movement back in it's heyday, this shit owns. Every single track on this is killer, and I can't get enough of it. One of very few albums that completely cut past my horrendous memory issues to allow me to sing to almost every track from start to finish.
Tony Molina
Dissed and Dismissed
2014 [EP]
Listened: 10/01
Short and sweet! A really strong EP that's really easily consumable with a vibe similar to Blue Album-era Weezer, except if Rivers actually did become cool.
My Chemical Romance
Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys
2010 [Album]
Listened: 11/01
A definite departure from their prior sound, but that's not entirely for the worse. I quite appreciate the more upbeat, peppy tracks on this album, and I will never be able to get Na Na Na out of my head ever again. That being said, MCR are synonymous with the emo movement, and to almost entirely lack those darker elements feels almost like a fallacy in nature.
Fall Out Boy
Folie à deux
2008 [Album]
Listened: 11/01
Whilst Infinity on High focused on the 'pop' part of 'pop rock', Folie a Deux definitely fixates on the rock part. Much to its benefit, I would argue; Patrick’s vocals always hit
better in a rock song as compared to a pop song, at least in my opinion.
Oh, and I adore the transition between 20 Dollar Nose Bleed and West Coast Smoker - both are arguably my favourite songs from the record, too. It feels almost like if that transition between Get Busy and XO from FUtCT sounded good.
米津玄師 (Kenshi Yonezu)
Stray Sheep
2020 [Album]
Listened: 14/01
Hopefully many people will have a similar experience to me here; I absolutely adored the OP for the as-of-writing newly-released Chainsaw Man anime, and decided to look into Yonezu's back catalogue, only to be pleasantly surprised by the quality of his other releases. Good God, can this dude make some killer tunes.
Maroon 5
Songs About Jane
2002 [Album]
Listened: 19/01
It's crazy to think that these are the 'Moves Like Jagger', 'Payphone' and 'Animals' guys. An honest-to-god pretty okay listen, buried in the sludge that is the remainder of the Maroon 5 discography.
Weathers
Lonely Vampire
2019 [Single]
Listened: 19/01
Half Alive
3
2017 [EP]
Listened: 19/01
Eyedress
Let’s Skip to the Wedding
2020 [Album]
Listened: 19/01
Falling in Reverse
The Drug in Me Is You
2011 [Album]
Listened: 19/01
Oh, come on, it's not that bad. Although I might be saying that as somebody who
liked old Escape the Fate.
My Chemical Romance
Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge
2004 [Album]
Listened: 20/01
If The Black Parade is what gave My Chemical Romance their reputation as dark,
emo-types, this release was laying the foundation for what was to come. Whilst
certainly less rife with melodrama and dark themes as it's younger brother, Three
Cheers still manages to contain that emo rock tone that put them on the map. A
wonderful record in it's own right, and honestly one that stands toe-to-toe as equals
with The Black Parade in my mind.
Mass of the Fermenting Dregs
Kirametal
2006 [EP]
Listened: 21/01
Green Day
Insomniac
1995 [Album]
Listened: 21/01
Green Day
nimrod.
1997 [Album]
Listened: 21/01
Depending on the time you ask me, this album is on par, if not exceeding of Dookie;
and that's no small feat. Nimrod is an incredibly tight record, with all the trappings of
this era of Green Day - catchy hooks, fast guitars, and punk sensibilities in such a
manner that they're more easily digestible by a common audience.
Agent Orange
Living in Darkness
1981 [Album]
Listened: 21/01
It's pretty good! Maybe a tad overrated, since it's not exactly something that'll set your
genitals alight, but it's earned its place in the storied history of punk.
Dream Theater
Octavarium
2005 [Album]
Listened: 21/01
People in the Box
Kodomo rengou
2018 [Album]
Listened: 22/01
ghost//signals
Lives Defined by Winter Skies
2022 [Album]
Listened: 23/01
Soul Media
Funky Stuff
1974 [Album]
Listened: 23/01
AZALI
Voices From the True World
2023 [EP]
Listened: 25/01
Yellow Magic Orchestra
Solid State Survivor
1979 [Album]
Listened: 25/01
Listened to this again the moment I'd heard of the unfortunate passing of Yukihiro
Takahashi. RIP to an absolute legend, one of my favourite drummers. Record is
damn good too, and for it being released in 1979, sounds far ahead of it's time, with
it's wonderful synth-pop.
Excuse Me, Who Are You?
About That Beer I Owed Ya
2022 [EP]
Listened: 06/02
A lovely little EP that makes me very excited for the future. A very passionate and
abrasive Midwest Emo record with an odd Half-Life inspiration? But that little injection
of personality only heightens an already sonically strong record.
Paramore
This is Why
2023 [Album]
Listened: 10/02
I didn't really keep up with Paramore all that much, but this has inspired me to go
sifting through the back catalogue when I get a chance. A very high-energy, catchy
record, with an underlying anxiety that lends it a unique personality from the
Paramore of years past. There's a smattering of that old identity, mind you; The
News especially feels like it could be from Riot!-era Paramore. This is perfectly
contrasted with the more poppy songs, such as C'est Comme Ça, sounding almost
new-wave, Talking Heads-esque in places. A really interesting sound, and one that
has assuredly turned me on to Paramore beyond Misery Business.
Stance Punks
アイワナビー
2008 [Single]
Listened: 07/03
Ikouuuuu ZEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
System of a Down
Toxicity
2001 [Album]
Listened: 09/03 (also relistened since)
This album kicks so much ass. Out of which you should pull that tapeworm.
Wieners
God Save the Music
2021 [Single]
Listened: 09/03
batta
chase
2016 [Single]
Listened: 09/03
ippo.tsk
The Halos and Goodvibes
2018 [Album]
Listened: 10/03
An absolute hidden gem. This album blew me away with how good it was, and made
me extremely excited to explore ippo.tsk's other releases in the near future.
People in the Box
The Saints
2014 [Single]
Listened: 10/03
David Bowie
Station to Station
1976 [Album]
Listened: 11/03
One of the best that Bowie has to offer. The title track is undoubtedly his best
longform song, and the rest of the album is a lovely companion to it to tie together
and create a tight package reflective of Bowie's suffering. The emotion is felt across
every song, and that passion elevates each of these tracks. A perfect blend between
the funky soul of Young Americans and the experimental sounds of the Berlin era.
Nice World
Spacing
2021 [EP]
A nice, short little dreampop record.
Twinkle Park
Endless Summer Malaise!!!
2020 [Single]
Listened: 12/03
An upbeat little single. A lovely little listen!
Twinkle Park
touched, or been touched by
2021 [EP]
Listened: 12/03
A short, lovely little noise pop record with vocaloid vocals. Hazel gets to display her
production chops as well as wearing her Midwest Emo influences on her sleeve.
julie
Pushing Daisies
2021 [EP]
Listened: 12/03
A criminally short record. I need more of this, because what's here is so good. Julie
hits again with heavy, blurry shoegaze, and it's bloody wonderful all over again.
julie
Starjump / Kit
2020 [Single]
Listened: 12/03
Some more lovely shoegaze, and it being a single makes me so incredibly starved
for more. Please, God, let Julie release an LP, I'll cut off a leg. It'd be killer.
Fall Out Boy
From Under the Cork Tree
2005 [Album]
Listened: 12/03
Pretty alright, actually! Not quite to their loftiest heights, but far from their lowest lows,
too. That talking part at the end of Get Busy Living is fucking criminally, hilariously
awful, though.
My Chemical Romance
I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love
2002 [Album]
Listened: 16/03
After having consumed the rest of the MCR album discography so far, I'd honestly
place this one ever-so slightly above Three Cheers, but not quite above Black
Parade; it's raw, angry sound resonates with me a lot, and I adore the emotion put
into each track. I'd have loved to have heard MCR be closer to this, if it was ever
possible, but I'm certainly glad that they found their own sound - this one can sound a
bit generic metalcore in places, although that is far from an indictment!
Descendents
Milo Goes To College
1982 [Album]
Listened: 18/03
How did I let myself sleep on such an amazing album for so long? Truly a juggernaut
of the punk genre that has very much earned its place in its history. Additionally, it is a
proto-pop punk record; it being effectively the beginning of the genre provides this
record a unique sound that simultaneously harkens back to the early days of punk,
sounding akin to The Ramones in places (Catalina, Kabuki Girl), and providing a look
into what the genre would become, being reminiscent of 90s Green Day in parts
(Hope, Bikeage). I'm so glad I finally listened to it after years, and I'm so glad that it
has most assuredly lived up to any expectations I could have ever had. A perfect
length to make me want more, yet not make me apprehensive of spinning the record
up again and again.
the pillows
Little Busters
1998 [Album]
Listened: 22/03
Incredibly strong! A wonderfully jaunty J-Rock record, with the heavier songs
sounding punchy, and the softer pop sounding dreamlike and almost ethereal.
Black Sheep nearly brought me to tears. I'm a sucker for, fittingly, songs that are
black sheep on otherwise rock-filled albums; the example I always point to is
Nirvana's Something In The Way, and now I have another in this hyperspecific niche.
A truly lovely little song.
This release really spoke to me, I love this record a lot after having listened to it! The
Pillows rule.
Permanent Tension
Dedicated to the Guilt That Should Have Been Felt But Never Was
2018 [EP]
Listened: 22/03
This record owns! Very impressive and enjoyable instrumentation throughout, with
incredibly raw and emotional vocals to match. And at 20 minutes, there's no reason
not to give it a try.
Nice World
A Dull Life
2023 [Single]
Listened: 22/03
A lovely little single that sounds like an incredibly promising preview to their upcoming
EP! Very excited to see more, and this taster will be getting much love from me until
that time comes.
The Natural Yogurt Band
Magnified
2022 [Album]
Listened: 22/03
A delightfully laid back jazz record, with occasional hints of something more
experimental - Theme Sixteen being the standout in this regard. A tight release, and
one I very much enjoyed my time with.
Wipers
Is This Real?
1980 [Album]
Listened: 22/03
I really like this record! I went in expecting something pretty good, since I love the
cover that I can only assume introduced a fair chunk of people to this band: Nirvana's
cover of D7 (although shoutouts go to their cover of Return of the Rat!).
What I wasn't expecting was to be greeted by something that Nirvana had evidently
been wearing on their sleeve as an influence all these years, unbeknownst to me!
What we have here is a post-punk record that, at points, is filled with such
introspection and depressing lyrics delivered with emotional vocals behind
noise-cum-melodic guitar. It's... weirdly close to being a grunge record, just obviously
a few years removed from it being able to be categorised as part of that movement.
This lends the record an almost timeless sound; this has got to be one of the
best-aged punk records of this era that I've heard, if not the best. And it's all killer, no
filler!
This record really is something special, and is almost, ironically, unreal. A wonderful
listen, and at 33 minutes, one that I hope to revisit regularly.
Minor Threat
Minor Threat
1984 [Compilation]
Listened: 22/03
There's a reason this thing is often hailed as one of the best punk albums ever
released. It's so angry, loud, and has such a breakneck pace that it's over before you
know it. A delightful treat, especially when experienced as this compilation; I feel as
though they gel together so well that removing them from one another would feel like
there was too little there in either instance.
System of a Down
Mezmerize
2005 [Album]
Listened: 22/03
I felt like a lot more personality shines through on this record than on the prior,
Toxicity, a unique sound forming and setting SoaD apart even further from their
contemporaries.
The composition is magnificent; weird-ass time sigs, complete sonical jumps
mid-song that don't entirely discombobulate, and even some tracks to dance to here.
There's even such good vocal work on here that it lets me put aside my extreme
preference for Serj as vocalist. I'll be damned, Daron can hit some sweet-sounding
shit!
*Note from Eve four months in the future - foreshadowing is a literary device.
Whilst there are a few mild dips, they certainly aren't anywhere near bad enough to
impact it, far from it! The bar is simply set so high by the quality of most of the record
that some of it was bound to falter a little, but I cannot stress enough just *how* little.
I'd likely still put this album beneath Toxicity, due to that record being overall a more
consistently high quality listening experience, but do not let that undermine the quality
of this release. Another set of bangers.
Fall Out Boy
So Much (For) Stardust
2023 [Album]
Listened: 24/03
It's like if Infinity on High and Folie à Deux fucked. And I mean, like, they went at it
passionately for a good while, by candlelight, following an extensive evening of
foreplay. That is to say: it is the best parts of both albums combined, with sprinklings
of their other sounds around. The crowd-rousing anthemic pop-rock sound of Infinity
on High is gelled with the heavier tone and angrier(?) instrumentation of Folie à Deux,
with some occasional jaunts into a poppier sound; I quite like Fake Out.
The break from studio releases really did some good, it sounds like; that much was
obvious from the singles, but now the full release is here, and it's probably the best
the band has had to offer since the aforementioned Folie à Deux.
I'm already a pretty big fan of this album from first impressions, and I'm definitely
gonna keep listening to it. A very triumphant return to form, one that should be
celebrated and appreciated!
Dead Kennedys
Plastic Surgery Disasters
1982 [EP]
Listened: 29/03
Decided to listen to this EP again on it's own, and lo and behold, wouldn't you know?
I ended up liking it more than the combined experience of the later compilation of it
and In God We Trust, Inc. I think that's just down to this record, by itself, being so
incredibly, incredibly tight, though; yes, a few songs perhaps are lower than others -
you won't catch me trying to convince you that Winnebago Warrior is the highlight of
Jello's songwriting career, for example - but we're really comparing heights of trees in
a rainforest, here. Everything is of such high quality. It's a bitingly sarcastic record,
full of the good stuff that the Kennedys (and by extension Jello) became popularised
for. It just keeps getting better with each listen.
Bloody shame it's not available standalone on Spotify. But, that's what playlists are
for, right?
Various Artists
A Punk Tribute To Green Day
2004 [Compilation]
Listened: 29/03
I think it really speaks volumes that most of the acts credited on this record either
have no other listings on this website, have long since stopped making music, or a
mixture of the two.
That thought was swilling around my head whilst I sat for an incredibly excruciating
25 minutes to consume this in it's entirety - I have no clue where the final three listed
tracks came from? They don't appear on any other listings I can find of the actual
record. If anything, that light at the end of the tunnel would have been a nice little
consolation prize for having sat through the rest of this dogshit.
The first two tracks? Pretty bad. Fine enough if you hadn't heard the originals, I
suppose? But if you know Green Day's output like I do, it stung.
Christ, was I not prepared for what lay ahead of me.
As soon as I heard Coming Clean open, I just fucking burst out laughing. I'm so sure
that The Cheats are lovely folks, but oh my good God. Awful.
To continue on with entirely butchered songs, Nice Guys Finish Last. Oh. My. God.
What the fuck happened? It sounds like the whole band had a piss-up, and then
demanded to get into the studio. There is not one thing about this song that sounds in
any capacity good, again, to the point of hilarity. The guitar, from the first bar, is
fucked. The vocals sound like the vocalist has been anaesthetised. Horrendous.
Pulling Teeth isn't bad enough to be funny; it's still pretty fucking bad, though. The
backup vocalist sounds like they're Rivers Cuomo being held at gunpoint. The
instruments aren't exactly terrible in this one, mind you - still not on par with the
original record, not a snowball's chance in hell of that - or, at least, until the final
chorus, where they decide to add an extra guitar in? Completely bastardises it.
Jaded. Fucking hell. If you ever wanted screamo Green Day, here is your niche wish
- please listen to it to understand why this does not work. The vocalist just blatantly
cannot sing, or if they can, their talent is being heavily squandered in pursuit of this
awful, not even remotely in-tune screeching.
Basket Case is a murder, mutilation and pissing on the grave of one of the most
iconic songs of the 1990s. It's all of the issues with the record coming home to roost.
Random screamo vocals that sound awful? Check. Lead vocalist sounding like a
shitty Green Day knockoff more than the genuine article, imitation or not? You bet.
Changes made to the original songs that didn't need to be there? Oh, yeah.
Instruments that sound like Fischer-Price equivalents? Ohhh, certainly. This track is
an excellent summary of why this project could never work, and should never have
happened.
We've been to the bottom. Where do we go from here? Ever so slightly up, actually.
But with this album, it's like going from the seventh circle of Dante's Inferno directly to
the summit of M2, so I'll take what I can get. Imaginary Bill's cover of She is actually
not the most offensive thing I've heard. It honours the original pretty well, whilst
definitely sounding different - this is me being generous, of course, but it's
undoubtedly the best song on the record.
Aaaand straight back into the shit pit.
I thought the prior songs sounded influenced by the band being at various levels of
sedation? Fuck me stone dead, Spank's cover of Hitchin' a Ride. The first chorus
made me go from dismissive of the vocals to actively disliking them, and then the
ending of the bridge, that "shit!" which is iconic to the original, blending in so well with
the screech of the guitar... is entirely butchered here. She most assuredly has the
shrill part, that's for bloody certain, followed by a limp-dick guitar solo and what I may
have misheard in bewilderment at the prior, but I think the drummer actually fucked
up a basic pattern?
Welcome to Paradise, oh my fuck! Please, what the fuck is it with trying to
incorporate screamo elements into Green Day? Not to mention the remaining vocals
sounding like a dollar store Serj Tankian imitator who hasn't slept in 12 days. The
instrumental section at the end of the song has been changed, now incorporating this
extra riff on top of what was already there, that sounds just terrible. Everything
comes together to make this the putrid swan song that this album demanded. A real
cherry on top of the shit sundae.
This album, whilst horrendous, is almost great in it's own rite - it is a blatant
message.
No matter how fucking horrible modern Green Day is, no matter what pits they get
into: at least they are not this low.
A truly abysmal record, and one that I genuinely hope made no great monetary
returns. They did horrendous things to great songs, and likely tarnished the
reputations of every band featured on here, or indicted them to obscurity.
MGMT
Little Dark Age
2018 [Album]
Listened: 30/03
A warm, synth-pop, psychedelic and, in parts, new-wave record. A lovely listen from
start to finish. She Works Out Too Much and When You Die are strong.
Cake
Comfort Eagle
2001 [Album]
Listened: 31/03
What a fantastic record. The only thing I had heard of Cake's prior to sitting down and
listening to this release in full was the famous single from it, Short Skirt / Long
Jacket, which I already had a fair fondness for, for it's strong, punchy bass, the
deadpan vocals, and the quirky instruments. Well, it should come as no surprise that
style is prevalent across the record; what was surprising was just how little of the
experience you get from just one song. It's just such a comfy sounding record, to
me. It's funky bounciness painted a smile across my face, and the trumpets only
made that all the better.
It's also unexpectedly rather funny, in many ways! Meanwhile Rick James is just a
regular gutpunch - it is fucking funny that the song talks about Rick James stealing
your partner, and again, the deadpan vocals serve to make the joke all the funnier.
Then there's Commissioning A Symphony in C. A song which is not in C. Fuck.
This record fucking owns. This is towards the top of the pile for this year so far.
Really really loved it, and I can't wait to revisit it more in the future!
Sadesper Record
A Sort of Sound Track for U.F.O.
2004 [EP]
Listened: 31/03
A simply entrancing blend of shoegaze, noise, house and D&B. Each genre is very
competently assembled, the instruments throughout being excellently played. It
simultaneously conforms to, and breaks convention, if that makes sense. The way it
bounces from genre to genre feels experimental, almost ambient in places; it's an
odd, foggy area, and one that I want to get lost in, one that the record allows you to
explore.
Pretentious imagery aside, though, record's really fucking good. Really easy to listen
to, as well, seeing as it's only about 25 minutes long. Spare a half hour and listen to a
really cool album. I did, and I certainly don't regret it.
Pixies
Doolittle
1989 [Album]
Listened: 03/04
Yet another record I have been putting on the backburner for far, far too long. I'm very
glad to have finally listened to it, too; what a lovely, bouncy, energetic record! Even on
the slower songs, such as Monkey Gone To Heaven, there is a playful feel to each
track on this album that simply invigorated me throughout my listening session with
this record. I went in expecting that Debaser and Wave of Mutilation would stay my
favourites, just down to bias, but hot damn, Tame, Here Comes Your Man and the
aforementioned Monkey Gone to Heaven all kick so much ass. This whole album
rules - it's arguably a little front-loaded, as it starts losing a little bit of steam, but fuck,
man, it's still pretty tight.
Megadeth
Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying?
1986 [Album]
Listened: 15/04
This album is so fucking staggeringly good. I went in expecting good things already,
since I'd heard from many a review and lots of friends that I was in the wrong place
listening to Metallica, and that the rest of the Big Four had a lot more to offer. I'd
caught a song or two from the rest of them here and there - listens to Slayer and
Anthrax are to come, as well as potential relistens to Metallica. Especially after
hearing this record. It is insanity to me that this record, whilst successful, yes, was
not more successful than Metallica. This shit is what I love about early Metallica, with
none of the bullshit - exactly what the band set out to be, to my understanding!
Bloody brilliant piece of compositional genius, with catchy tracks and amazingly good
drumming. Up there for one of my favourites and I intend to keep listening to it!
Metallica
72 Seasons
2023 [Album]
Listened: 15/04
Certainly a post-Black Metallica record. Jesus fucking Christ. Where to begin?
The whole album sounds more or less the same throughout, with very little variation.
There are occasional standouts; Screaming Suicide and Lux Aeterna were pretty
alright, but I knew that going in, seeing as they were singles. If I wanted those, I could
have just listened to the singles again. The album originals though, and the title
track? Fuuuck. This is the peak of Metallica attempting to make a safe, corporate
sound. Zero edge. Lars is on those fucking cymbals to the point it sounds like sleigh
bells are in the back of the track - again - the fastest it gets is still such a slogging,
slow pace that could make a paralytic snail blush, and the whole album feels like an
exercise in soul-sucking boredom - and those which don't bore, simply rehash and
make me wish that these prior innovators weren't living these last few decades as
shadows of what they once were.
I can genuinely say that no other album on this list so far - not even that godawful
Green Day "tribute" - has made me genuinely check the time as much as this album
did. It was so draining, so crushingly boring, so utterly nothing burger that I just
wanted it to end. There wasn't a track that went by when I didn't just entirely consider
turning off the album and going to bed. In addition, each track felt far, far too long - it
felt like they each looped, and the whole song played twice over before subjecting me
to the next two loops of the next song. It was such an odd experience that I can't
properly put into words, but it made what would have already been a monolithically
slow album feel all the slower due to the repetition. And that absolutely was not
helped by the 11 minute long closer - at a point of droning sameiness, I just stopped
hearing it as music and hearing it as background noise.
That's all this album is destined to act as; it's the new set of Metallica background
noise. Just as Hardwired had Spit Out The Bone, my odds are on either Screaming
Suicide or Lux Aeterna making it as the Metallica single until the next record comes
out in however many years. That is all this band can muster anymore it seems, and
there is no more fitting label for this record: commercial metal. I hear these tracks
and I hear "the new Ford F150" alongside them.
I truly cannot believe how little this album made me feel whilst listening - the only
feelings I really had were boredom and exhaustion; a sentiment that I'm sure is
mirrored not only by fans, but the band themselves by this point.
Torturously dull in just about every aspect. A dullness made all the more depressing
by the few peeks in at something maybe even remotely inspired, incredibly fleeting
though they may be.
Not as laugh-out-loud awful as St. Anger, not as "okay-this-makes-me-pissed" awful
as Lulu (pardon my ignorance, Lars), and therefore captures not a fraction of the
entertainment value of either.
Metallica are the Weezer of the metal genre.
...except, at least Weezer have had the decency to occasionally put out something
decent to tease us with the thought that there may be another good album!
Rucka Rucka Ali
Lars is Gay
2016 [Single]
Listened: 15/04
Unironically a palette cleanser after 72 Seasons, I wish I was fucking kidding.
Frank Zappa
Hot Rats
1969 [Album]
Listened: 15/04
So damn jazzy! It's just so uplifting and groovy with the exception of Little Umbrellas -
and even then Little Umbrellas is by no means bad! This whole record was a joy
from start to finish. I think I may definitely be more personally favoured towards
Zappa's comedy rock when I'm just putting random tracks on shuffle, but the genius
present in this record for a dedicated, whole listen is not only undeniable, but a lovely
little trip for ~43 minutes. It's sonically so enrapturing, and I shall listen to more Zappa
if I can as a result.
Coaltar of the Deepers
Yukari Telepath
2007 [Album]
Listened: 19/04
It's somehow both quite possibly a quintessential shoegaze record, whilst
simultaneously breaking any expectations that such a moniker may set for it. A lovely
album all around - I especially enjoy the little lapse of energy in the penultimate
tracks, before everything comes back to a lovely high in Deepless. Liked it a hell of a
lot!
Moon Riders
Istanbul Mambo
1977 [Album]
Listened: 22/04
This album owns! A playful little record, that dabbles in soft rock, new wave, and
pushes the border of art pop at times, to make for a really enjoyable listening
experience.
But fuck all that, though! There's a cover on here of Istanbul Not Constantinople! And
this shit is way before They Might Be Giants did that shit! It is also preluded by a
minute or so of instrumental, followed by a chant of "Istanbul, Istanbul, Istanbul
Mambo" as the instrumental gets faster and those singing it cackle wildly. Certified
and guaranteed kino.
キャラメル
ｳｯｰｳｯｰｳﾏｳﾏ(ﾟ∀ﾟ) (U-u-uma uma) (Caramelldansen)
2008 [Single]
Listened: 22/04
Peak. Both jokingly and wholly seriously. Unironically gives me a sense of gender
euphoria when I listen to it for some reason.
Also if you don't do the dance every time you hear it, you should check your pulse,
seeing as you are a heartless monster.
Dreamcache
Laptop !!
2020 [Single]
Listened: 22/04
A nice little emo-trance single. Nothing earth-shattering, but a nice listen.
Girl in Red
I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend
2017 [Single]
Listened: 22/04
A dreamy WLW love song with longing vocals. I liked it a lot! Perhaps the vocal
melody was a little monotone in places. Also "I don't wanna be your friend, I wanna
be your bitch" is a banger line.
Izzy Camina
Kill Your Local Indie Softboy
2020 [Single]
Listened: 22/04
I think this song helped me realise that I went from the pipeline of listening to Negative
XP before I could safely come out as trans, and I have now arrived here. And I think
there's no better metaphor to describe this song; take the lyrical content of a
Negative XP song, but change the genre - trade your crunchy guitars for a soft,
bedroom pop beat and you arrive at this song. It's a silly way to look at it, probably,
but that's genuinely the only way I can explain what I think about the content at hand
here.
The song itself is a lot less interesting than this quandary, though - not that it's bad,
just a bit uninteresting.
いよわ
きゅうくらりん
2021 [Single]
Listened: 22/04
A delightful glitchpop single. The piano especially fucks.
wawawa
death by desu
2021 [Album]
Listened: 24/04
A short but sweet little lolicore album. It's peak, because it samples Lucky Star.
millennium parade × 椎名林檎
W●RK
2023 [Single]
Listened: 24/04
"Man. She actually made an anime OP."
I'm yet to watch Hell's Paradise, or listen to like, any Sheena Ringo. This is an
introduction to both that makes me somewhat intrigued.
System of a Down
Steal This Album!
2002 [Album]
Listened: 25/04
If Toxicity embodied the more serious, heavy and political side of SoaD, Steal This
Album! serves to be the more humorous side of SoaD. It definitely shows that these
are from the same writing sessions as Toxicity, however - the same writing prowess
displayed throughout that album is on show here. Although, that being said, these are
assuredly outtakes from Toxicity for a reason. Some are goofier than the tone of
Toxicity would allow, whereas others are just plain uninteresting, honestly.
Whilst it couldn't reach the same highs as Toxicity - what could? Taken on it's own
merits, it kicks ass, still. I can't understand why it's quite as lowly valued as it is, it's
certainly not offensive in any regards.
I Know Who You Are and You Are Nothing
There's Gum in the Gears! There's Gum in the Gears! That Faded Light Won't
Glow!
2016 [Album]
Listened: 25/04
A dreamy bedroom pop record, with the addition of vocals that sound like they
wouldn't be out of place in deathcore; and yet, despite this, due to their sparing use, it
doesn't clash at all, and enhances the emotion felt behind the lyrics - Wallpaper is a
perfect demonstration of this. Incredibly raw, powerful and down-tempo. Pretty good
record!
Foo Fighters
Rescued
2023 [Single]
Listened: 25/04
I suppose the unfortunate events of last year must have been a much-needed kick up
the arse, because this single kinda shreds! Assuredly the best the Foos have had to
offer this side of the millennium, I'd argue. Sounds reminiscent to a combination of
what little does work about modern Foos with some elements of The Colour and The
Shape. I was really worried about where the Foos were going without Taylor, God rest
him, but this gives a very pleasing look to the future.
Do him proud, dammit.
Ninja Sex Party
I Own A Car
2023 [Single]
Listened: 25/04
It's weird how strong of a single this is to me. It's like the lyrics of an NSFW-era NSP
met the composition of a Huey Lewis song, and they made sweet love. Or, perhaps
not sweet love - more a bit of a blowie behind the bike sheds - quick, a bit messy, but
overall decent.
Joel
Sex in Minecraft
2023 [Album]
Listened: 27/04
Joel creates the fucking funniest album of all time based on a stream bit regarding
his undying hatred for Minecraft. An album following Little Timmy’s promiscuous
activities within Minecraft, his struggle with addiction to the game, culminating in him
neglecting his dying grandmother, only to be humbled late into the album by him
receiving the news that his liver is failing and he is dying - news that he accepts in
the only way he knows how; he continues to play Minecraft, now with a sullen look
upon his face. Our protagonist’s life only worsens, though, as when out on a walk, he
observes a car crash in excruciatingly close detail - noting things like “their nerves
exploded”. This causes his Minecraft sex drive to resurge as a coping mechanism,
Immediately yearning to fornicate with a Creeper, a mob from the game. The final
track of the album sees Timmy drop out of school, rejecting his life, embracing
Minecraft. Truly a Grammy-worthy story.
Joel
Super Ghostbusters (Deluxe Reissue)
2023 [Album]
Listened: 27/04
It is crazy that this album got a deluxe release five years later.
This album is Joel's magnum opus of shitposting. The joke is driven to deeper and
deeper levels of absurdity as the album goes on, the links to Ghostbusters and/or
ghosts becoming increasingly tenuous, as the shitty MIDI rendition of the
Ghostbusters theme gets bent and warped into many different versions of itself. It's
such an oddly compelling piece of art - dare I refer to it as such. Oddly, too, the first
few bonus tracks seem to have some commentary on the continuation of long
dormant franchises, especially those that have lost creative integrity, or those that
have had key members of their cast pass away only to be replaced by CGI.
And then the rest of the bonus tracks become what I can only describe as a
crackhead's YouTube Poop collection. Joel really outdid himself on the extras here.
Take the absurdity factor of the original tracks and amplify it tenfold. There is a
composition of The Flintstones theme using the Half-Life 2 death sound in here. Holy
peak.
Unironically more fun to listen to than some of the albums I've listened to this year.
Thank you for convincing me music isn't dead, Uncle Jobel.
Vargskelethor
Skeleton Metal X
2023 [Album]
Listened: 27/04
A wonderful celebration of the last (nearly) decade of Joel's wonderful Skeleton Metal
albums. Each redone song for this album is incredibly well-executed, even if I do
believe a few of them to not be as strong as their originals; Robert Cop's guest
vocals don't really do it for me, for example. Alone, though? They're wonderful. You
can definitely hear the progress that Joel has made in his music, from the decently
complex instrumentation to the killer vocals.
This is a really strong comedy metal album that anybody, fan of Joel's or not, can get
a giggle or two out of.
Oh, and everything on this album has infinitely more soul than any Metallica release
since '86.
Dumb Fucks
Hollywood
2023 [Single]
Listened: 01/05
Kotonohouse
pitter, patter
2019 [Single]
Listened: 01/05
AZALI
oh hey strings are pretty cool
2023 [Album]
Listened: 01/05
AZALI
Voices from the True World
2023 [EP]
Listened: 01/05
The Dickies
Killer Klowns from Outer Space
1988 [Album]
Listened: 01/05
Dead Kennedys
Bedtime for Democracy
1985 [Album]
Listened: 01/05
Yeah, I may not recall my exact notes on these albums, but I remember that this one
genuinely depressed me. I fucking loathe this album and the fact that it so clearly
shows the downwards trajectory that Jello’s career was taking. It is so sad that this
album fucking blows as hard as it does.
Sub basics
Vapour / Orbit / Elixr
2015 [EP]
Listened: 01/05
Sub basics
Horus / Cartel
2017 [EP]
Listened: 01/05
MASS OF THE FERMENTING DREGS
kirametal
2006 [EP]
Listened: 01/05
The Ready Set
V2
2018 [Album]
Listened: 02/05
Macross 82-99
A Million Miles Away
2014 [Album]
Listened: 03/05
All Time Low
Tell Me I’m Alive
2023 [Album]
Listened: 06/05
Imogen Heap
Speak for Yourself
2005 [Album]
Listened: 06/05
deli girls
BOSS
2020 [Album]
Listened: 09/05
Nice World
Enjoy the Weather
2023 [EP]
Listened: 14/05
Megadeth
Countdown to Extinction
1992 [Album]
Listened: 28/05
Another banger album! Every song, yet again, hit so fucking hard, and I loved each
one. I swear to God, again, how are these guys the underdogs in comparison to
Metallica? The music is actually just better, straight up. Consider me a Megadeth
shooter off of the two records I’ve listened to as of now.
Two Door Cinema Club
Tourist History
2010 [Album]
Listened: 28/05
I loved this album! After hearing Undercover Martyn for years, I thought I should
probably give the full album a go, and I do not regret it in the slightest. This whole
album just evokes the era it was made in for me in the best possible way. It brings
me back to being a kid, and trying to ignore my drunken parents by having fun with
the jukebox in the pubs they would frequent all the time, dragging me along since
they were too cheap for a babysitter. See, when I put it like that, it sounds bad, awful,
even; but it was still my childhood, and evoking that nostalgia just left me feeling
happy.
7th jet balloon
pleasant, sadness, and…
2023 [EP]
Listened: 02/06
Man, what a record! A lovely little joint that I’ve never heard of, and seems to be rather underground. I look forward to keeping my ear to the ground about these guys, they seem really damn good, and hold a lot of promise.
Kiltro
Creatures of Habit
2019 [Album]
Listened: 29/06
This record fucking owns. The Drunk is the best song on here, and possibly one of my new favourites, ever.
McKinley Dixon
Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!?
2023 [Album]
Listened: 29/06
Man. I’m not typically one who listens to these sorts of records - as though the prior entries didn’t clue you in to my preference for other genres. But holy shit, if there’s a world like this waiting for me in this music, then I want in. Soulful instrumentals, amazingly good flows and rhymes, and just a really sonically strong record. The title track’s chorus was a smidgeon uninspired, but fuck, on one of those choruses, it’s followed by the most sensual saxophone solo of all time which immediately offsets that.
Bad Religion
Recipe for Hate
1993 [Album]
Listened: 29/06
Now that’s what I call a fucking punk album! Greg’s voice is used for incredibly delightful melodies throughout, just the right utilisation of his no-doubt unique vocals. The one constant enjoyment of mine in any Bad Religion joint is Greg’s vocals, and this album really delivers in spades. There’s a lot of meaning behind a lot of these songs, too, definitely evoking a punk feeling even if the songs aren’t all too speedy constantly. Really really solid, although with a sort-of dip on the latter half - nothing too extreme, but you can tell that they were not used to making a release of this length. It’s from Track 7 onwards more or less - that one left me giggling at the incredibly transparent 1984 reference. Come on, now, you’re better than that.
Oh also, I know every word to American Jesus off by heart. Banger song.
100 Gecs
10,000 Gecs
2023 [Album]
Listened: 29/06
Well, that was an incredibly unanticipatedly rocking record. I associated 100 gecs with exclusively Money Machine prior to hearing this record, which is a song I already like, but this is so far removed from that, I can’t tell if it’s just dissonance between one song as opposed to a full album, but if this sort of experimental hopping between genres is across multiple albums, I respect it immensely. Immediately grabbed my attention with the opening track. Heavy and gnarly, with just the right balance between the hyperpop sound I would typically associate the duo with, and these heavy, overblown guitars and drums. Or, sorry, all with the exception of Frog on the Floor. Which is a fucking crazy song, to be honest, I fuck with it so hard. Hell, I fuck with every song on this album; the only one that’s arguably somewhat nebulous for me is One Million Dollars, but even then, the novelty of that track is just funny to me, so it’s still not even that bad.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
Murder of the Universe
2017 [Album]
Listened: 30/06
A wonderfully muddy, loud album. Gizz meets psych-rock in an amazingly fuckin rad record. The spoken narrative takes away from it at times, but it’s nothing to blow up over. Really, really incredible record. Well, outside of Act III anyway. All that shit about vomit was certainly… politely, “experimental”. (What I really mean is that it made me feel physically ill, and not in a remarkable way.) Potentially, there’s something to be said about how despite all of the fantastical, whimsical creatures highlighted throughout the album, the true murder of the universe will ultimately be brought about by humanity’s shortcomings? But then, I might be giving three fucking songs worth of talking about a cyborg trying to pump gut chutney around their body too much credit, there.
The Armed
ULTRAPOP
2021 [Album]
Listened: 30/06
Very ultra-compressed sounding record, but that works in it’s favour; the compression lends a fuzz to the noise wall instrumentals, giving them a crunchy noise that just fucking shreds. I really really liked this one. Favourite track was probably Real Folk Blues.
STOMACH BOOK
Devil Nobody
2022 [Single]
Listened: 30/06
I may have accidentally listened to the song, like, 13 times in a row. This song owns. Cheers, Growl.
STOMACH BOOK
STOMACH BOOK
2021 [Album]
Listened: 30/06
Here it is, the 100th album of the year. And holy shit, what a stellar record to hit
that threshold upon; a record that bounces between shoegaze and noise-gate
hardcore, with a whole host of depressing, personal topics covered, alongside
some of the most chaotic, manic instrumentals to accompany them sufficiently. I
genuinely don’t think I can entirely do this justice by trying to speak on it, so
instead, I’ll give an odd comparison; have you ever listened to Brave Little
Abacus? It’s like if 2015-era The Living Tombstone fucked with BLA. In the best
possible way. Like, more-so the BLA part, but the prior certainly appears.
A genuinely incredible album. Devils and Our Story - especially both together - hit
me on a personal level. Really emotionally raw shit that deserves to be heard.
Yves Tumour
Parody
2023 [Single]
Listened: 30/06
Hey, Ily
Friend Group from Hell
2022 [Single]
Listened: 30/06
This song rocks. It’s got an oddly reggae-meets-emo theme to it? At points it’s as
though Bob Marley and the Wailers met Stomach Book. It’s very strange, but I dig
it. The additional song, 3, 2, 1 Starve! Is just some really strong deathcore. I say
‘just’; it’s really fucking good, sounding kinda akin to early MCR.
awakebutstillinbed
Ride
2022 [Single]
Listened: 30/06
In similar theming to these last few, this is a shoegazey-meets-deathcore emo
joint, and I fuck with it. Sounds kinda like if Charly Bliss fucked with My Bloody
Valentine. Or Twinkle Park. It’s- look, it’s shoegaze.
Kiltro
Ofelia
2018 [Single]
Listened: 01/07
A really good-sounding song - the vocals especially are really strong on it. It also
damn near reduced me to tears because of how much it punched me in the gut
with it’s story. A story that I now find sadly relatable. Thanks, 2023.
Hey, ily!
(/ _ ; )/P.S.S.U.S.S.P.
2021 [EP]
Listened: 01/07
Another Midwest Emo joint, this time with an additional twist that I didn’t know I’d
dig as much as I did - an incredible use of bit-crushing. I thought it would be,
y’know, that typical “wow so retro” type shit, but no, there’s a genuinely thoughtful
use of it here, making the noisiest parts of the record all the noisier. I fuck with it.
There’s also this occasional vibrato to the vocals that almost feels like a 100 Gecs
thing, which also gels well with the lovely instrumentals. Slacker rock for people
who spend too long playing RPGs. (That’s why it hit me, clearly.)
Guitar Fight from Fooly Cooly
Drought
2023 [EP]
Listened: 01/07
A lovely little piece of math rock. Really fucked with it, and I wanna give it a few
more listens.
100 gecs
100 gecs
2016 [EP]
Listened: 02/07
Man, this one was crazy. I adore how slow-paced and low-energy dog food is with
it’s first third, before transitioning into this noise, with the final third being a gentle
little transition into gum. This pattern is a constant throughout the EP; the songs
are so gentle and sweet, harshly contrasted by these abrasive, noisy outros.
I really like the lull of bloodstains and fuck Teeth, exploring more of a connected
theme of addiction, being heavily impaired by the grasp that it has on you, and
then it’s immediately followed by 25 bands and a geccco, a song talking about
doge and sampling dog woofs for the main chorus of the song - a theme that is
seemingly spread throughout not only this EP, but also Laura’s other work. This
is a delightfully experimental, early Gecs project, with still plenty of what made
them known in the first place. Really strong first showing.
100 gecs
1000 gecs
2019 [Album]
Listened: 02/07
Well, just as I suppose would be the logical conclusion, this seems like a direct
improvement on 100, whilst simultaneously clearly sowing the seeds for 10,000,
and maintaining an identity of its own; the harsh outros of the former, the fun
genre switch-ups of the latter, whilst embracing both of these a lot more and also
having a silly air of humour about the whole thing. 800 db cloud transitioning into I
Need Help Immediately is a perfect display of this. 800 db cloud is this, like, really
fuckin rad crunchy metal track, complete with screamo, that absolutely shreds,
followed by I Need Help Immediately, an entirely discordant song that’s just
random. And I really, really fuck with it. It hits the strong suits of both surrounding
releases, adding it’s own flairs to make it distinct, and God, it rocks. Probably my
favourite album of theirs. Genuinely if you can’t see this for the music-altering
release that it is, you have actually been filtered. Laura and Dylan are fuckin
geniuses and also master shitposters all at once.
100 gecs
One Step Closer - Linkin Park (100 gecs reanimation)
2021 [Single]
Listened: 03/07
THIS FUCKING SHREDS????
100 gecs
1000 gecs and the Tree of Clues
2020 [Remixes]
Listened: 03/07
Take 1000 gecs, arguably already their strongest output; and then let everybody in
their fucking contacts just run riot. Every song sounds different on here just due to
how many cooks are in the kitchen, here. Depending on who you ask, that could
be a bad thing. To me, though? This is the most experimental sounding Gecs shit
in the best possible way. It fucking owns so hard. Everything about it just comes
together to evoke and reinforce the already scattershot eclecticism on show in
1000, making for an incredibly engaging listen.
100 gecs ft. Skrillex
snake eyes
2023 [EP]
Listened: 03/07
There is not a single ounce of my being that believes that this is real. I cannot
bring myself to believe that there is a reality wherein a 100 gecs rarity track
performed solely at a fucking Minecraft concert as a shitpost got Skrillex on for
a remix on an EP. Not even an album this time - just an EP. And I also can’t
believe that it isn’t even the best part of the EP. All three songs on here are killer.
Gecs fucking sweep. My status as true Gec-head is now cemented.
Ghost and Pals
Honey I’m Home
2019 [Single]
Listened: 04/07
I thought with me learning to appreciate vocaloid shoegaze thanks to Twinkle
Park, I’d give another tenure with some other types of wider vocaloid music. This
was pretty okay. The mixing sounds oddly way too tinny in some places, even
when the intention was clearly to be bassy? Like, it just sounds really weird. It’s
not even all too bad of a song, is the worst part! It genuinely is pretty okay, but the
mixing is genuinely so distracting that I can’t help but be distracted and not
actually consume the musical content of the song when I listen to it.
Ghost and Pals
Nothing Perfect
2019 [EP]
Listened: 04/07
The mixing is significantly better on this EP than it was on the Honey I’m Home
single, or at least enough so to where it's infinitely less distracting. Everything
here feels sort of experimental; there’s some variety between these 5 tracks.
Despite that, it also feels like there’s not too awfully much to them, as though they
were, for lack of a better explanation, demos for songs that don’t exist.
Simultaneously, I am intrigued by that as a concept, and yet the actual EP mostly
was just background noise to me, most of the tracks didn’t really have any ideas
that pushed past the thirty second mark, at most, as though they were loops
composed for, like, a Mega Drive game or something. Not to say that’s an issue,
inherently; just that it’s not exactly what I set aside time to listen to music directly
for, personally. The titular track was okay, though? I suppose? Really, really don’t
know what I even made of it overall, it just felt sort of bland. And that last song
really, really did not warrant being as long as it was.
Ashley Ninelives
kittycat heartthrob
2023 [Single]
Listened: 04/07
Definitely leaning into the ‘glitch’ part of glitch pop - although, despite the fact that I
would like to complain about the effective holes in the vocals, I won’t, as it actually
adds to the song. I kinda liked it! Might have to keep an eye out for their stuff.
Rebzyyx
daydreaming
2021 [Single]
Listened: 04/07
lil8tracktape
need u…
2020 [Single]
Listened: 04/07
I was not expecting this to be an instrumental song. Honestly kinda jammed with
it! Very vibey.
Hateoryx, ronin, FanBoy808
on evil gang
2022 [Single]
Listened: 04/07
Another scenecore song similar to the cypher that ronin appeared in that I liked.
Kinda rocks; much like that cypher.
hateoryx
getting crunk 0_o
2021 [Single]
Listened: 04/07
Decided to look at another one of heteoryx’s tracks, this time a solo venture. More
rockin’ scenecore. I fuck with it.
ronin (ft. FanBoy808)
Beauty and a Beat
2022 [Single]
Listened: 04/07
Ronin’s output is also scenecore, although this is a lot more song-y if that makes
sense? As opposed to it being more rap, as hateoryx and the original cypher went
for, at least this song is somewhat melodic. Might have to look more into ronin.
scuttlefuzz
Keychain
2021 [EP]
Listened: 04/07
A really relaxing, gentle bedroom pop/glitchpop record, with a very interesting
sound. This is really apparent on Dog Ears, as it features the dichotomy between
the gentle, wistful vocals and the synth tones and little rhythmic patterns, and yet
despite these two elements being arguably at odds with each other, they combine
and intertwine in an extremely lovely sounding way, melting on the ears, the
personal, brooding lyrics coming through to you. And as though to perfectly
contrast that itself, Park is a complete departure, being a bouncy, happy song that,
while being lovely by itself, is all the more impressive following Dog Ears. This
mood then gets carried through to the next track, Critter, which becomes so
uplifting and genuinely close to an emotional pop song that you might hear in a
club or like played over an inspirational montage or something - I suppose that
experience scoring Memory Box a few years prior really went a long way for
composing in such a manner. The ending serves as a comeback to reality, though;
there’s something sad, mournful and just downbeat about Midnight, that serves as
a perfect closer to this record; a return to the melancholy it was birthed in, despite
the earlier period of happiness. I really liked this - short, yet incredibly sweet.
memory card
File Sharing EP
2023 [EP]
Listened: 04/07
This is some lovely, relaxed indie pop to drift to. The music soothes, yet the lyrics
ache. The best example of that on this EP is June, a soft little song with sad
lyrics. I mean, no shit, it’s indie pop, right? Even if it’s a touch generic, ‘generic’ is
a term defined for a reason; adherence to the genre you wish to create does not
necessarily a bad record make. It’s just a nice, quick little listen. Very woozy and it
was certainly lovely on a summer night at 4:50AM.
Left at London, Jedwill, wishlane
lol.
2023 [Single]
Listened: 04/07
An upbeat, yet depressing little glitchpop single about a breakup. It was practically
over as soon as it began, but what little was there, I did enjoy! Poignant, is the
word I’d use, perhaps.
100 gecs
sympathy 4 the grinch
2020 (Single)
Listened: 04/07
A uniquely Gecs Christmas single. It sounds ska-esque, too. It’s a Christmas
Gecs ska song. These fuckers can’t keep getting away with making PEAK.
STOMACH BOOK
anarchy!!!
2022 [Single]
Listened: 04/07
A jaunty little song! Very upbeat. I fuck with it.
Rory in early 20s
please buy it for me daddy
2022 [Single]
Listened: 04/07
An extremely unique sounding song - ‘jungle’ is the closest possible label I have
for it, but even that feels disingenuous. There’s lots happening in just just two
short minutes, and I kinda dig it. It’s like a rhubarb & custard - you experience
such a combination of flavour, and then it’s over. Fleeting, yet satisfying.
lungskull
me
2020 [Single]
Listened: 04/07
A mumble rap/hyperpop song that ends as soon as it begins. Some might call
that a blessing. Also, I’m fucking praying that mixing job is just Spotify sounding
shitty, and not what somebody genuinely decided to release.
STOMACH BOOK
Casket Kids
2023 [Single]
Listened: 04/07
This song fucking rules. A very chaotic song that very much evokes the emo part
of Vivian’s influences; it reminds me heavily of early MCR shit, except given the
playful sound of something like Blood from The Black Parade - or I might even
dare to call the instrumentation ska-like in some places. This stands in stark
contrast to the heavy lyrical matter - wanting to die, dysmorphia, hating childhood,
the pains of being a young LGBTQ+ individual - it’s masterful.
imboring
ice cream truck
2022 [Single]
Listened: 04/07
Comically fitting artist name. Thank fuck this was as short as it was.
100 gecs
Boiler Room: 100 gecs in Los Angeles, Mar 5 2023 (DJ Mix)
2023 [Live, DJ]
Listened: 04/07
EVERYTHING. THEY. TOUCH. SHREDS.
It’s not just hyperpop, really, this time - it’s just hyper. Dylan and Laura just took
a bunch of random fucking songs and gave them that Gecs flair - even a fucking
FNAF song. This is a great encapsulation of everything that Gecs is - bangers,
albeit ones that are completely shitposts. And fuck, I adore it. And speaking of -
they play some new Gecs in here, including some of Dylan’s remixes of Laura’s
old shit under osno1. Just a complete loveletter to fans, with their tongue-in-cheek
identity prevalent throughout. A must-listen for any Gecs-head.
Also the fact that, again, the samples run the gamut from the aforementioned
FNAF song, to Mario World, to Operation Ivy, to Soulja Boy, fucking rocks. And the
fucking Harry Belafonte to Smash Mouth transition??? Holy SHIT. God, I love 100
Gecs.
System of a Down
Marmalade
2000 [Single, Demo]
Listened: 07/07
You can tell that this is a demo from Toxicity; both in the positive sense of it
clearly being cut from the same cloth that birthed those heavy, political bangers,
and yet also in the negative sense, as you can tell why it was dropped. It’s nothing
mind-blowing, but fuck, more Toxicity-era SoaD is not something I’m gonna be
turning down any time soon.
Side Note, 26/08: Yeah, this isn’t a Toxicity demo, technically, I know, but it’s
close enough to the era and would have been produced alongside demos for that
album, and I know that it was on the Japanese release of System of a Down, but
fuck you, let me have this.
System of a Down
Snowblind
2006 [Single, Cover]
Listened: 07/07
A very curious Black Sabbath cover, used on the soundtrack of The Osbournes of
all things. Whilst most band covers tend to be just… well, y’know, covering the
band in question without much different, SoaD always goes all out. Metro is one of
my favourites of theirs, and it isn’t even their song - this is pretty up there, now.
The bridge especially, with those heavy Serj vocals and all the instruments just
firing on all cylinders, God, I really dig it. It’s sweet. The outro of the song is also
really strong, the gentle plucking of the strings slowly fading into silence? Ough.
System of a Down
Shame
2006 [Single, Cover]
Listened: 07/07
Why does he say the N-Word so fucking much. That aside, it’s actually a really
uniquely SoaD version of the Wu-Tang Clan classic, even featuring RZA. So it
clearly had blessing, it’s just so entirely strange to me that such a thing exists.
System of a Down
Hypnotize
2005 [Album]
Listened: 08/07
I think it’s really, incredibly telling that this album released not even a full year later
than the prior album. There are some incredibly promising sounds on this record,
such as Tentative. The issue is, there are also some that really, really aren’t. This
is definitely, to put it politely, SoaD’s least mentally stimulating album; that is to say
that the lyrical complexity and any layer of subtlety is more or less lost, with a few
limited exceptions, but that would be excusable - after all, I dig Prison Song from
Toxicity, and that literally spoonfeeds you statistics on the prison system - but
there is a far bigger fish to fry. Daron. Oh, Jesus, Daron. It’s not just his
songwriting that is lacking in comparison to his and Serj’s combined efforts on the
prior releases - although, don’t get me wrong, just how shitty and frankly
amateurish these lyrics get is still offensive. There are some songs on here that
are nigh unbearable because of Daron’s vocal performance. He constantly tries to
hit these fucking unbearable high notes on every damn song that just make me
annoyed more than anything.
And what’s worse is, Serj’s performances on this album, where they are limited
largely to just softer stuff, they’re the same Serj from Self-Titled, from Toxicity,
from Steal This Album!, from the times where he was on main vocals - frankly,
where he belongs, just massively neutered by the godawful songwriting of Daron.
The worst part is that the only songs I find bearable on this record, I find bearable
because Daron doesn’t really do that shit all that much - the aforementioned
Tentative is great because of this, and that one has the additional benefit of being
a largely Serj-led song. All of the Serj-led songs on this record are pretty great.
And as though to perfectly encapsulate precisely what I mean, Vicinity of
Obscenity. It’s definitely far from their most amazing song ever, but it’s better than
a majority of the tracks on this album effortlessly - and half of the pissing lyrics
are the words ‘banana banana terracotta pie’. Imagine that being the best.
Unfortunately, I think it’s plain to see throughout that these are the table scraps
from the prior album; Mesmerize now looks like Toxicity 2 (actually that’s Steal
This Album!, teehee) when put next to this record. Actually, what’s funny about
that is that Toxicity warranted having a sequel considered with it’s scrapped
content - this, though? This feels like a transparent effort to scrape some more
funds after they saw that Mesmerize platinumed, by quickly letting Daron become
lead for a day - a day that effectively fucking killed the band, seemingly, and it has
certainly entered my shitlist.
As I mentioned, the songs that focus on Serj’s vocals instead of Daron’s
caterwauling are pretty decent, but fuck, if I can’t now see just why the hiatus
happened and why Serj didn’t want to do another record. It’s really telling when my
favourite part of the record - keep in mind I listened to the Spotify release - was
the live rendition of Psycho from Toxicity. Mostly because it served as a refreshing
reminder that System of a Down were good for a few albums. Truly a blight on an
otherwise pretty fucking spotless discography. This is by far the weakest that
System of a Down has to offer, and it’s not even fucking close. Even the fucking
Wu-Tang cover wasn’t as offensive to listen to as this.
Side Note: Immediately listening to sympathy 4 the grinch by 100 gecs made me
realise that they are effectively the System of a Down of this generation; a band that
revolutionised their genre, and are memorable in that scene for their unique, silly
style. Let’s just hope that there’s no similar fall-off. Please do not let me be a prophet.
Steven Buzzcocks
Even Me Nana Smokes Tac
2008 [EP]
Listened: 14/07
An EP that, until a day prior, was effectively lost media. In anyone else’s eyes, it
was probably nothing spectacular that warranted such an extreme search for it,
but for me? Finally listening to this effectively ended a, what, seven year chapter
of my life? If nothing else, this brings me closure. It also happens to bring me new
Buzzcocks content, which is something that I could never have anticipated. And I
certainly couldn’t have anticipated them being genuinely pretty okay. You could not
have paid me to believe that there was going to be a harmonica solo in a
Buzzcocks song, much less that it would be in the middle of a genuinely quite
beautifully composed song also featuring acoustic guitar and piano.
Good Kid
Mimi’s Delivery Service
2023 [Single]
Listened: 14/07
This single owns! It’s like a post-pop punk joint, I think? Or if not, it sounds damn
like it, mixed with the energy of a song like Undercover Martyn.
Steely Dan
Two Against Nature
2000 [Album]
Listened: 21/07
A warm, summery, jazz-funky take on the Dan; and to my understanding, this was
their first work after a nigh-twenty year hiatus under this name (despite having
solo projects intermittently). If that is so, then Jesus, there’s no better comeback
in my mind. A more mellow record than their usual output - although, this may be
heightened given more listening; I’ve only heard Aja in any great capacity. That is
far from a complaint for me, though, this record fucking rules and I really do dig it.
Comparable to just shovelling caramel into me lugs with how delightfully smooth it
is. It’s clean-shaven. It’s… other synonyms for smooth. It’s just really good. It’s
also fucking crazy horny.
Side Note:
Upon relistening to some of Toxicity (not a full relisten, therefore not getting an entry), Daron is so fucking much better as a backup vocalist, like, shockingly so. His voice is crazy on Needles and actually helps that song. Serj is still definitely, definitely where the main vocals belong, though. It’s just a shame that his solo output, outside of Empty Walls, seemingly sucks? Might have to give that a touch of a closer squizz and see if it was a case of a similar fall-off cycle as System, though.
Baby Harp Seal
Baby Harp Seal
1994 [EP]
Listened: 23/07
Another prime example of the RateYourMusic crowd just not agreeing to my taste,
seemingly. This little thing shreds, especially for a first whack! I totally fuck with
this, it’s a total slice of history; it was produced in the grunge era, and yet echoes
a lot of energy that My Chemical Romance would by far skyrocket into the public
eye just a few short years later. Honestly? I’d say that this could go toe-to-toe with
I Brought You My Bullets, if only it were longer. Definitely gonna have to check out
their other stuff.
Baby Harp Seal
Baby Harp Seal
1995 [Single]
Listened: 23/07
Woah. The vocalist now sounds like Milo Aukerman? The instrumentals sound
like a halfway house between In Utero-era Nirvana and a Black Flag record, with
hints of Ozzy-era Black Sabbath? Everyone also just generally sounds a lot more
competent and well-versed in their instruments, which wasn’t even a complaint
that I had with the first EP, but it’s stunning just how good they sound here. It is
just such a god-damned shame that this EP, much like it’s predecessor, is
woefully short. Even more so! Only two songs! Fuck, I’d kill to hear a whole album
of this ilk. I can only hope that their 1996 outing delivers in that which I so dearly
crave. On Power is such a fucking strong song, the guitar is so fucking extreme,
the vocals are intense, the drums are slow and thudding, but have quick little hints
of energy as they need to, with a thick, sinister bassline punctuating the track
throughout. Wondrous.
Baby Harp Seal
Baby Harp Seal
1996 [Album]
Listened: 23/07
Their first full-length! And, unfortunately, to what I can find, basically their last
activity ever. From what I can piece together, the bassist left for a different band,
and now teaches at the Sheffield Jazz Workshops. The guitarist did a few more
solo records and joined some bands up until 2008, where he seems to have fallen
off of the face of the earth. The drummer teaches drum lessons by Saltburn,
and runs a Tumblr blog, where he seems to still be doing other performances
every so often - seemingly as just a touring drummer. The vocalist seems to be a
teaching assistant at Bradford College, or may alternatively be a sex pest - I
couldn’t narrow that search.
And man, what a fucking disappointment it is for them to not still be together in
this band! Yet, I can’t think of a more fitting conclusion.
This whole record is such a lovely little listen, I really do adore it! It’s like
like their prior two releases came together with all of the positive parts of each
combining into the most wonderfully delectable release yet - and there’s a fair bit
of it, too! A 9-track album is a feast in comparison to their prior showings, and
each of them holds up! On Authority, being effectively a sequel of sorts to the
single’s On Power, does what it did and more. Good lord, an 8-minute monolith of
progressive emo, running the gamut from loud and brash to soft and soothing, it’s
so fucking cool to see the range of these guys! I really dig it - this and Aqueduct
Song are both wonderful displays of the talent on display here. I really do dig these
dudes, and I think that their shit is massively underrated. Should totally have more
attention on it. New No Truth also communicates to me that, yes, these dudes
have fucking got to have listened to In Utero. There’s just no questions. The
album gradually loses it’s emo hard edge to reveal a soft, almost ballad-y core to
its final tracks, which also go hard in their own right. It’s a journey of a record, just
a shame that it’s our final journey with this band that was only growing in
magnificence as they kept improving with each outing. I would kill for a Baby Harp
Seal reunion. Especially if they just did Leeds for a laugh - that would be killer.
cute hair!!
s/t!!
2022 [EP]
Listened: 23/07
Bedroom pop that sounded vaguely decent, but it was here and gone in such a
flash that I couldn’t ultimately form too strong of an opinion, anyway. Three tracks
packed into two short minutes, which is either not long enough to do this sound
justice, or it’s long enough for the terrible mixing that’s stopping me from hearing
anything but discordant keyboard honks to get on my tits.
cute hair!!
cute hair volume two (the electric boogaloo)
2022 [EP]
Listened: 23/07
Well, that answers that question. Sod this.
I guess I sort of like how this one all flowed? Like, each track just spilling directly
into the next is a gimmick that I can’t get enough of. But usually it’s, like, done
well?
And the hook between tracks is not a single, held keyboard note that doesn’t
fucking change for over a fucking minute whilst the vocalist is “singing” like they’re
trying not to wake their mother - it’s less “dreamy” and more “sleepy”, y’know?
There’s none of the elegiac feeling evoked for me by this - it just turns out that it
did end up getting on my tits, and all it took was another two minutes. sappy love
song showed promise for all of I think like five seconds? Then that stupid fucking
over-loud keyboard came back in. Seriously, man, hire a fucking mixer, or at the
very least listen to your damn music before you release it. It’s obnoxious, you can
barely be heard over your moody droning. And even then, maybe just stop the
moody droning! It, too, is wholly obnoxious!
David Bowie
Hunky Dory
1971 [Album]
Listened: 01/08
An album where I’ve listened to the individual tracks a fair few times apiece, but
I’ve never consumed it fully in sequence prior to now. And, unsurprisingly, it’s
stellar. Yet another Bowie album that’s just peak from cover to cover. Of course,
you’ve got your widely appreciated greats - Changes (the strongest opening of an
album ever, by the way), Life on Mars?, etc., - to some more obscure hits - Eight
Line Poem, Andy Warhol, and basically just most of the second side. Truly lovely.
nelward
Alive in Screen
2017 [EP]
Listened: 05/08
One of those new-fangled chillwave records I’ve been hearing about from the kids.
Nah, I just heard about it from my wife. And chill it most certainly is - a lovely,
sweet and playful little record that dances around in your ears as you listen to it,
with all the yummy synth funk trappings. It also does the thing that I’ve mentioned
before wherein each track leads into another, which does earn bonus points. A
nice little romp; I can see why this is spreading to playlists everywhere.
Also, it probably goes without saying, but Apple Shampoo is likely the strongest
showing here. It sounds like a Snail House and Lena Raine collab, with incredibly
lovely vocals. It going straight into #SORETRO The Minus World is fucking
criminal though. One of those samples sounded straight out of a fucking Ephixa
remix. If that was the intention… that’s funny as fuck. I dig the song regardless, it’s
just a bit of a lurch in comparison to the prior.
MF DOOM
MM..FOOD
2004 [Album]
Listened: 05/08
Just a really strong album. The instrumentals are incredibly tasty, the rhythms
delectable, the double entendres… creamy. Hell, and although I can’t commit to
the bit for this tiny little overview, the way DOOM commits to the food theming
gimmick, whilst tying in his diet for the whole album is admirable; although, I must
state my preference for the heavy use of sampling on this album, and just the
wide gamut of sources from whence they originate. From old Marvel cartoons, to
just Dre songs, the fucking Space Ghost reference with Fat Albert audio, the Fist
of the North Star audio (this one really got me), it’s all tasty. I would argue that it
gets off to a semi-slow start and very quickly picks up - not to say Beef Rap and
Hoe Cakes are bad, far from it, it’s just that the rest of the record is so fucking
strong. Especially, if you ask me, the quadrilogy of skits - Poo-Putt Platter,
Fillet-O-Rapper, Gumbo and Fig Leaf Bi-Carbonate, whilst obviously lacking in the
rhythm and rhyming departments that the vocals do exceed in, are just such
strong sonic showings that I can’t help but appreciate them.
It must be said: I was fairly tired whilst listening to this album, so I can’t help but
feel as though I haven’t been able to aptly sum how much I do like it - perhaps a
re-listen is due in the future so that I may soliloquise it more efficiently.
The Strokes
Is This It?
2001 [Album]
Listened: 07/08
What a killer record. Especially for a debut, too? This album slams, with nary a
bad moment on it; I’d argue it’s damn close to perfect, especially amongst others
in the swamped garage rock revival period of the late 90s to early 00s. It feels
heavy, whilst simultaneously sounding so sparkly, catchy and smooth. I really
fuck with this record! Really yummy. Especially Last Nite! My God, I never knew
this was The Strokes, let alone it being off of their debut. Such an amazing
album.
Side Note:
Have you ever realised how, like, nobody talking about seeing a Metallica gig mentions any material of theirs from the last 30 years? Like, nobody in their life has ever said ‘Oh, that Lulu gig rocked’ or ‘That live Hardwired… fucking screamed!” or anything of the sort; no, you always hear people go as late as Black Album, and not a year later. With little, if any exceptions. Am I not alone, and the entire world at large does also despise modern Metallica, and I’m not in on some pre-established need to be polite to them? Are the band themselves aware that nothing that they’ve made that hasn’t been a direct rehash of what they stole from Dave Mustaine is dogshit? Am I injecting my own narrative into an entirely innocuous situation to make myself feel better about my seemingly rejected opinion? Quite possibly, that last one. Who knows. All I know is that I’ve despised anything of Metallica’s after Black Album.
Various Artists
Fuwa Fuwa Spring Storm
2020 [Album]
Listened: 07/08
High-energy lolicore to soothe the soul. I really fucked with this record, even if this
incredibly brief synopsis doesn’t really say much about it. The sampling was really
good, and I’d say that my favourite tracks off the record were probably ELECTR’s
contributions.
100 gecs
Coalchella
2018 [Live, Album]
Listened: 09/08
Crazy to me that the most consistent band of the last few decades has been two
shitposters who have done multiple Minecraft concerts without having even a
minor bit of exposure with the game prior to this initial concert. And fuck it rocks.
The songs are really strong, as per usual, as is the humour of the brief interludes
between songs. I’d drop more than a dollar in Laura’s PayPal to piss her off, it
sounds funny.
System of a Down
System of a Down
1998 [Album] [Japanese Release]
Listened: 15/08
Wow. I can tell how Toxicity came out of this album, and I can certainly see how
Serj considers their later material to be ‘not as heavy’, god damn. What a fucking
hard-ass album! I really super-duper fucked with this, from the heavy screamo
Suggestions to the more sludgey, slow Spiders, it’s plain to see why System
exploded in popularity. Serj’s vocals are definitely at their growliest and arguably
their maddest here, the screams in the vocals feeling less like “oh, it would be
goofy,” and moreso “I am so fucking angry and it needs to be heard.” Though,
that’s not to say that that sort of goofiness is absent - it wouldn’t be System
without it, after all. The standout goofy track this time around is DDevil, a song
that I may dare to even place near the top of the album for me, just on how
System-y it is. Like, it’s written like a metal cover of a sea shanty in an
instrumental sense, and features the lyric “shake your spear at Shakespeare”.
That is so fucking silly, how could I not adore it? However, that being said, I’d argue
that it’s still edged out by Toxicity, just down to it not having as many bangers as
that record does. That’s not this record’s fault, though, and not something I’ll hold
against it - just a sign that even from a record that I find as great as this one, there
is still improvement to be made. Just makes it all the more disappointing that
System took a slow, gruelling death of progressively worsening albums
post-Toxicity.
And with my listening to this album, I’ve completed my journey across System of
a Down’s discography, and I think with that, comes time for a ranking!
#1 - Toxicity. All time classic, by far and away their best work, and just so fucking
iconic in every song.
#2 - System of a Down. This may be recency bias, but this is so toe-to-toe with
Toxicity for a majority of it’s runtime, with equally iconic System greats.
#3 - Mesmerize - The singular time I can confidently say I enjoy Daron’s
contributions to the band - great singles on here, too.
#4 - Steal This Album! - It’s a shame that this is the last album with the main
vocals being handled by Serj; definitely outtakes of Toxicity, with occasional
glimpses at it’s greatness, but it also falls into the traps of later System.
#5 - Hypnotize - Said aforementioned later System. I don’t know how people can
say that System has a flawless discography when this as an album is just such
an extreme step down in just about every capacity from the stellar rock-solid
albums that came prior.
Side Note - I made an observation about these first two System albums following this ranking - the more goofy songs tend to be far shorter, faster and simplistic, while the heavy political songs tend to garner further exploration and hence a longer runtime. Take System of a Down, for example - we have Mind, a six-minute sprawling song exploring government mind control, and the dangers it would yield in our society, whereas DDevil, mentioned in the above summary, only runs for a minute and 43 seconds. Contrast this with Hypnotize; an album where funny “terracotta pie” song gets the same billing as what should probably be a deeper exploration about sex workers being trapped in a cyclical process of being spotted by those who may exploit them, and the workers’ efforts feeding back into these exploiters’ drug habits - a rather serious topic, given the same lyrical complexity as the funny “terracotta pie” song. I think this is very telling of just how the songwriting priorities shifted as time went on - there were no designated “silly” songs that were just a quick little shot of stupidity, no, instead, the entire record would relish in this, which makes their attempts to tackle serious issues feel… I don’t know, almost disingenuous, in a way? Like, I obviously know that at the very least, Serj cares about these things, but it simultaneously feels like there’s just such a blatant cut-off point where there’s these System albums that tackle these issues alongside their goofing off so gracefully, interwoven yet removed, and then the later era, where they are mushed together, having to share the same billing. Just a bit of an observation, and perhaps a reason as to why I don’t like their later output nearly as much as I love their early stuff.
Gorillaz
Gorillaz
2001 [Album]
Listened: 15/08
I was struck with inspiration upon hearing Vinny Vinesauce talking about the
prospects of bootlegged Gorillaz, and it made me realise - man, I used to dig
Gorillaz when I was younger, but I can’t say I’ve ever sat down and listened to one
of their albums in full, in sequence. And I must say, what a mistake it’s been to
leave it all these years. All of my problems I have with modern Gorillaz - the
homogenous sound, the feeling that there’s only a few decent singles on an album
then the rest are re-hashed (haha), et cetera - they’re all absent from this album.
This debut feels very much like… well, like what it is; it is a highly experimental
brainchild of Damon’s following Blur. His past shows in parts - M1-A1 feels as
though it could be almost this album’s spiritual successor to Song 2 - but it’s
largely a departure from any sound familiar to him. Hip-hop, trap, house, punk and
other genres are peppered throughout this album, and it makes it a far more
captivating listen than most of Damon’s back catalogue. And I like Britpop;
however, this shows that then, and now, when Damon settles into just one sound,
it is less compelling and interesting, at least to me, than a record as experimental
as this. There’s not two tracks here that feel samey, not just those few highlights;
everything has it’s own identity and, subsequently, stands on its own, which I feel is
an issue that Gorillaz has since struggled with, to an extreme degree (post-Plastic
Beach, anyway.)
Side Note - Listening to SoaD on shuffle, it’s wild how something can just be saved by not being lumped in amongst further shit. Like, songs from Hypnotize sting a lot less when it’s sprinkled in among a few from Toxicity and the debut. I guess that’s simultaneously because I know that it’s going to be two minutes of dogshit immediately preceded and proceeded by peak.
Blacksheep
2
2011 [Album]
Listened: 25/08
Crazily good avant-garde freeform jazz, bringing with it a sound that is both as
chaotic as the above would suggest, whilst also providing this cosy, twee
feeling alongside it that really makes this album speak. It’s dissonant, yet still
warm-sounding. Obviously, a whole album of just instrumental jazz, especially
one as eclectic and all over the place as this isn’t exactly a dead-set immediate
recommendation to everyone, but should somebody be really impressed by
compositional skills, or just have an affinity for jazz, this album is amazing. Nothing
beats all the pianos slamming whilst that saxophone wails away in the background
- A Memory of Gravity is fucking nuts for this, and I’m nuts for it.
Side Note - It’s wild to me how much of a difference even just the app you use on a given device to listen to your music can make. Like, sure, I would accept it if some apps could only read up to a specific bitrate, or just specific filetypes, or what have you, that’s fine; but it boggles my mind that I can use the exact same FLACs across both foobar2000 and WinAmp/WACUP and have there be a rather discernable discrepancy between each - maybe I enabled some volume equalisation setting in WACUP at some stage that I don’t recall turning on in the first place? Perhaps, but even then, that just goes to show how large of a difference such audio tampering can make.
Extension - It is also wild to me how I always get lost in swathes of customizability, especially so when I can’t sleep. It’s something of a comfort, I suppose, being able to maintain control over a piece of software, seeing as it certainly doesn’t feel like I possess any such faculty when it comes to my life. Depressing, yet scathingly true.
System of a Down
Toxicity
2001 [Album]
Listened: 25/08 (Relisten)
I thought, maybe, just maybe, that after listening to literally everything else System
had to offer, that anything may have held a candle. Nope. This album is still a
fucking masterpiece, and if anything, my appreciation for it, in all it’s quality, has
likely only grown; I have a newfound appreciation for the more simplistic songs on
this record than my first documented listening - I fucking adore songs like Bounce
and Johnny now, being bite-sized little injections of the best of the band’s
personality and oddities, whilst the, I suppose, main tracks, are a one-stop shop
of both the aforementioned personality, as well as ever-true political commentary,
and it is, yet again, by far and away the greatest that System have ever had to
offer, as much as it is totally a much accepted opinion to claim that… well, it’s for
a reason. Debut is great, but it’s their sophomore album where they had literally
every single fucking track be peak.
System of a Down
Mesmerize
2005 [Album]
Listened: 26/08 (Relisten)
That’s crazy. It 100% totally is just Hypnotize that sucks dogshit off of a hot
pavement. And, as with Toxicity above, listening to it again has only further
cemented my adoration for this record, and made Hypnotize even fucking worse.
I’m not sure whether I’m depressed because of just how astronomically large the
discrepancy between albums is, or if I’m glad because I can still enjoy the band
without everything being retroactively tainted. I will say, though, on this re-listen, I
was a touch more down on some of Daron’s vocals - although it was incredibly
scarce, like I mean I just had some issues with how he delivered the verses on
Old School Hollywood, and that was the extent of it. Otherwise, this very
comfortably earns the pedigree that being a System of a Down album facilitates.
Side Note - Oh, God, if I’m relistening to Toxicity and Mesmerize, it makes me somewhat tempted to give Hypnotize another look-in, but frankly, that’s like me saying “my ball got knocked over by that opened lamppost, and I’m tempted to stick my hands into that live wiring to get it back”. Sure, there is the thing that I want just in reach, potentially, but there is also a 95% chance of death if I do attempt it. Perhaps that’s a touch over-exaggerative; I’d sooner chew a live wire like a cow with grass than I would listen to Hypnotize again. Said it once, I’ll say it again: actually a band-killing album. Crazy.
Perhaps I’ll do a Coaltar discog dive next. Fuck, or maybe a Weezer revisit. I dunno - I guess I will see how I feel, and whichever one takes my fancy. I could pull the trigger on either.
Green Day
American Idiot
2004 [Album]
Listened: 27/08
What can I say about this album that is truly original, and that hasn’t been already
cemented in the minds of everybody the world over? Yes, it’s a great album. Yes,
its Green Day’s last great album. I mean, I suppose the only insight I can provide
is that, whilst I do really love this album, it kind of drops off in the second half? I
honestly forgot about most of the record after St. Jimmy prior to this relisten,
being real (obvious exception going to Wake Me Up When September Ends,
Christ knows I couldn’t escape that one even if I wanted to). Whatsername feels
somewhat tacked on with it’s position, seeing as Homecoming feels like just a
strong, definitive ending to the album and everything it’s covered, only for us to
spend a further 4 minutes just pissing about, really.
Uhm, I guess also I prefer their 90s output, too?
Sod it, I’ll not beat around the bush any longer - Green Day (or, more specifically,
Billie Joe Armstrong), promised in interviews for Dookie that their smash-hit
album was not in any way attempting to grab popularity - they just so happened to
make some of the most seminal pop-punk of not only the 1990s, but arguably the
movement as a whole. However, on this album, he admitted, many times, that this
album was a product of a complete last-ditch effort to try to hit it big, to be popular
and get money. I would argue that this is able to be heard in the record; there’s
this innate edge to earlier releases, one that feels absent from American Idiot.
Like, it’s not a dealbreaker, but there’s just something that separates this from
every other Green Day release before or after it, being a departure from their prior
sound in many areas, and being the basis for the albums following, and a
success that they are still desperately struggling to lampoon to this day. Fuck, if I
truly get bored, I can soliloquise my disappointment in the past 20 or so years of
Green Day, but that’s not for now.
For now, however - this is a really solid record, that marked a new chapter for
Green Day, as well as sort of foreshadowing their demise, or more accurately,
their purgatory. Simultaneously their first taste of selling out, and yet their last
gasp of anything even remotely approaching soulful content.
Side Note - I’d never considered it before, but two of the most prevalent genres in my musical taste were both arguably spearheaded by rock operas - pop punk was given a huge shot in the arm when Green Day put out the above American Idiot, and My Chemical Romance basically made emo mainstream single handedly through The Black Parade. Yet, there’s always one thing that seems to hang around rock operas, from what I’ve seen - they are the most polarising things, like, ever.
You’ll have people who sing their praises, who will appreciate the concept of having… well, a concept for your lyrics to form around, and the sweeping majesty that writing in this style allows. Yet, you’ll have people despising that very same idea; lambasting the lack of variety, or calling records like these pretentious.
I’m totally beating around the bush here. I’m totally just thinking about rock operas because of those two albums, and my brain is trying to drift off to tell me to listen to Songs from the Black Hole by Weezer again. I haven’t in a few years, so I might give it a squiz if I get a chance.
Addendum - It’s scary how close I am to just having a huge Weezer binge. God gives his fiercest battles to his weakest soldier yet again.
Against Me!
Transgender Dysphoria Blues
2014 [Album]
Listened: 01/09
What a surprise that the literal trans girl album spoke to me on a spiritual level.
Who could have seen that coming? Incredibly potent album about the struggles of
being transgender, experiencing dysphoria, depression, suicidal thoughts, and
other such mental health issues that effectively come hand-in-hand with the
experience of being trans, as well as the discrimination and hatred that trans
people face in society. Yeah, I’m not ashamed to admit that I bawled like a child
when I heard this record. Don’t get me wrong, whilst I totally did go in expecting to
cry, the record did still totally blow me away, and with more than just the lyrical
content; make no mistake, this is also some expertly-done pop punk, with crunchy
guitars playing catchy riffs, frenetic drums that had me tapping my foot, and such
beautiful vocals that perfectly capture the harrowing reality of the words being
said, sung and shouted. Where has this album been for the last 9 years of my
life? I needed this the fucking day it dropped, I’m so happy to have heard this, and
it’s probably one of my new favourites ever, just for how much it both validates
me, and provides much-needed trans rep in the music community.
Arctic Monkeys
A.M.
2013 [Album]
Listened: 06/09
If this is proclaimed as the ‘best of British’, then Jesus Christ am I glad to be
moving out of this country at some stage if this is the best we have to offer
musically. I cannot stress how utterly mid a huge majority of this album is; yes, Do
I Wanna Know? and R U Mine? will forever remain eternal classic singles - but
this is the problem. We’re having the Metallica quandary again - a few pretty good
singles, but failure to deliver on basically the rest of the album. As much as I
would love to sing this album’s praises, since I used to quite like it when I was in
high school, I can’t - I’ve just simply heard better, both in general and from this
band, specifically. Favourite Worst Nightmare this ain’t. An album so boring that I
fell asleep halfway through it, re-listened, fell asleep again, woke up, re-listened,
and still did not gel with any of it.
Public Image, Ltd.
Double Trouble
2015 [Single]
Listened: 09/09
John Lydon is really showing his age in his vocal performance here; the energy is
very much Johnny Rotten as ever, but his voice has this newfound scratchiness
to it that makes it sound like… well, what it is, really - a 50 year-old dude trying to
do Sex Pistols. Trying his damndest, mind you! It’s just that it’s not exactly the
same as what he used to bring to the table. That being said, though, this
post-Pistols output sounds pretty close to what would have happened if Pistols
were still a thing if Sid hadn’t have, well, you know full well how that story goes.
V
Layover
2023 [EP]
Listened: 09/09
This could be the start of a catastrophic ‘Evelyn gets into KPop’ arc, because
wow, if this is what I can expect going into the genre a bit deeper, I’m quite
interested in exploring. These brooding, deep vocals, that despite their baritone,
are also able to get rather high, too, making for some lovely melodies. Pair this
with the relaxed, chilled instrumentals that sound akin to a lo-fi hip-hop YouTube
playlist, and it makes for a lovely little listen. Each track flows into each other
pretty seamlessly, feeling like the continuation of waterfalls into rivers sonically -
hell, I had to keep checking my phone to know when the track had changed, or if it
was just a really well-executed change of tempo. I really like how it all just gels
really well, yet without a feeling of homogeneity amidst them. The use of various
different sampled sounds across the EP are interesting, too - call it basic in this
example, but there’s something to the casual use of the iMessage typing and
sending noises in Rainy Days that especially sells that feeling of a relaxed rainy
day, sat inside, texting your friend - or, alternatively, a sad day, where you
desperately need to text somebody to tell them how you’re feeling.
System of a Down
Toxicity
2001 [Album]
Listened: 11/09 [Relisten]
I don’t even know what came over me, this time. I just needed to listen to the
whole thing, again, in full, from start to finish. I had, like, a carnal need for this
album. I should also use this space to clarify that System are by no means, like,
the greatest metal band ever or anything, but Christ, when they do hit, they hit
hard, for me, anyway. That may be some sort of advanced stockholm syndrome
because I’ve been listening to this shit on music stations, radio stations and CDs
since I was, Christ, since I was born, really. Literally the only song I skip on
relistens is Arto, and that’s only by virtue of the fact that when I listen to the CD, I
can’t be arsed to wait the extra, like, 20 seconds or so for it to come on. I really,
really cannot fathom how my parents never had me tested for any sort of attention
deficits.
Korn
Korn
1994 [Album]
Listened: 28/09
An album that is, for a first album, very enveloped in what would become rather
staple Korn-isms; their heavy, raging and yet all at once sophisticated sound,
ranging from the crunchy droning guitars that reign over many a track, to the
frankly fucking incredibly delicious drumming stylings of David Silveria - I don’t
care what you say, some of those drum fills are so delightfully replayable - the
original Korn drummer prior to The End Times, various experimental instrumental
sections (most prevalently, the bagpipes as featured in Shoots and Ladders),
Davis’ scatting and other various noises, along with his stellar vocal performance
with all the little trifles of stress, agony and grief (see Faget for the greatest
performance of all of Davis’ strengths simultaneously). It’s frankly quite amazing
to see how perfected their sound was by their first proper record; sure, there’s not
quite that same Freak on a Leash moment on this album, but it gets damn close
to those heights. Come for the oo-rah-ta-ooo-baba-ee-bap, stay for the honestly
quite emotionally explorative lyrics. I already fucked with Korn - actually listening to
a full Korn record has only accelerated that.
( ^ ω^ )
zzkillme
2023 [Album]
Listened: 13/10
mtv2
zzkillme
2022 [Album]
Listened: 13/10
CHASER
femtanyl
2023 [EP]
Listened: 13/10
Morosis
Morosis
2019 [Album]
Listened: 21/10
Pretty sweet little shoegaze number. I first heard the name uttered under hushed
breath in some shoegaze communities I like to hang around in, and I think I
sussed out why it was being kept so secret - I think they might have been doing a
touch of gatekeeping for their thing. Holy shit, so few people have listened to this
record! I think the peak amount of listeners on a song was 10,745 or so? And
even then, for music, that is a bloody pittance. And it’s a shame, too! They’re not
all that bad, I kinda dig them, honestly. No loveless, sure, but it’s a nice lil spin.
Went really well with the vibes I had from eating cold chicken nuggets by
candlelight whilst horribly sick.
The Visitors From Deepspace
Coaltar Of The Deepers
1994 [Album]
Listened: 21/10
And so begins my aforementioned look into the discography of Coaltar of the
Deepers. The cold open with a fucking shredding as fuck metal cover of Killing An
Arab by The Cure fucked me up as an opener to this excellent record. It’s one of
those albums where, even if I don’t actually make any noise, I get that little
feeling in your throat like I could just squeal from how much I’m enjoying it. This
whole fucking record shreds! I especially love how it’s bookended by that Cure
cover, and The Visitors; both tracks are rife with aggression, and anger,
surrounding these otherwise poppier little shoegaze-y hardcore numbers, all of
which also rock hard. Amethyst was a damn good one!
More Brilliant Is the Hand That Throws The Coin
Margaux
2019 [EP]
Listened: 21/10
A slow, relaxed lil indie rock joint. Very relaxing, but it’s not boring as to put you to
sleep.
loveless
My Bloody Valentine
1991 [Album]
Listened: 23/10
You know what, I brought it up in that Morosis mention, but it has been bloody
ages since I last heard any My Bloody Valentine, let alone their seminal record.
God, did I ever miss this record. There’s a reason it has been hailed for the last 30
years (more!) as the shoegaze album - and arguably also the noise pop album.
Stabbing guitars, almost siren-esque vocals and a harsh yet bubblegum sound
make this one of the most immersing records I can say I’ve ever listened to: you
will either let the sound pleasantly seep you in its wake, or you will fight as it feels
like you’re stuck underwater. Really, really, really good.
MASS OF THE FERMENTING DREGS
MASS OF THE FERMENTING DREGS
2008 [Album]
Listened: 25/10
This was a lovely little listen as I attempted to drift off into a hazy sleep, lulled by
the dulcet vocals, yet kept wanting to listen to every track in full due to the
crunchy, hypnotic guitars, truly entrancing music. Really fucked with this record.
The Spider-Cake EP
Ashens
2023 [EP]
Listened: 27/10
It’s a bloody song about a 20-year old Spider-Man cake that he found. I’m not
exactly sure what you expect me to write. We Had To Include This To Make The
Release Possible, though? Ooh, now that’s funky. Good’un.
WHAT LOVE?
I DON’T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME
2023 [Single]
Listened: 27/10
A lovely little dream/indie pop joint! Whilst a lot of elements here are very much
their standard (not a complaint, mind you!), there is this new almost Michael
Jackson taste of something closer to R&B with the vocals. What a lovely little
song!
The American Dream Is Killing Me
Green Day
2023 [Single]
Listened: 27/10
Oh, for fuck’s sake, this whole new album is going to just be a 21st Century
Breakdown rehash, isn’t it? At least try ripping off one of your good albums, damn
it. This song is as generic as power pop gets - which is a bloody achievement,
seeing as you’re supposed to be pop punk artists! Sod this song. More proof,
should it have been required, that Green Day have long since sold out and just
want money.
The Orbiting Human Circus
The Music Tapes (& The Orbiting Human Circus)
2017 [EP]
Listened: 28/10
Oh, man. Being a Neutral Milk Hotel fan for so long, discovering this is like finding
gold at the end of the rainbow. This is like if after On Avery Island, Jeff Mangum
kept going with it. And it’s so good. It’s such odd music; the instruments are all
wacky things like bowed banjos, chord organs, and a bloody saw. Yet, despite the
odd elements, that almost makes it feel more human, more genuine and like
there’s just this real sense of this album being driven by pure creativity and
passion for the medium, whilst being quite unlike much else I’ve heard before. It
almost evokes this feeling of nostalgia, albeit nostalgia for events that have never
actually happened. It just brings about that warm feeling of a positive childhood
experience inside of you, with all these odd things going on around you, these
many-faceted instruments… it’s beautiful. It almost feels like Christmas to me, it’s
just such this wholesome joyousness alongside the lo-fi sound that makes it feel
that way to me. What a crazy, crazy good EP. Magical.
Jazz Joint
Cinemassacre, Adri Malaki
2017 [Single]
Listened: 29/10
I had to listen to this just on the principle that it was threatening to potentially be an
AVGN jazz song. It’s not; but it’s also not a bad thing. It’s this 8 minute ambient
track that feels almost like I’m hearing it in the menu for one of the PS2 Gran
Turismo games, in the best possible way. It’s just a really relaxed, synthy, slow
dance beat.
RUNNERS HIGH
the pillows
1999 [Album]
Listened: 29/10
Take what I enjoyed about the… god, 132 entries ago-mentioned Little Busters,
apply all of that here - then, refine it further, whilst introducing some crazy
experimental sounds, such as White Ash, which sounds like a Red Hot Chili
Peppers song for its verses, but then takes on this heavier, punchier, faster guitar
riff in the chorus that makes it closer to almost a Nirvana song, I really fucking dig
it! It also has some really silly sounds - I especially like how Sawao Yamanaka
goes ‘waoww’ along with the guitars after the first and final chorus in Juliet, and at
the end of the aforementioned White Ash. And… god, what could I even begin to
say about Paper Triangle, from the wonderful hi hats ringing through it, to the
slowly building guitar that eventually roars through, only to settle back down to
make way for the second side of the record, what a lovely little instrumental break.
The whole album just has this spice of life throughout it, this unique flavour, an
underlying personality of just… fun, and trying to play with their already
established sound, that makes it both an amazing successor to Little Busters,
and just a wonderfully off-the-wall expansion of their already strong identity. This
record owns so damn hard, it’s like Little Busters got into the hands of a Coaltar of
the Deepers jam sesh. I really liked this album! Again - another lovely J-rock
outing. Bloody hell, I should hurry and watch FLCL.
Asobi Seksu x Boris (Record Store Day Split)
Asobi Seksu x Boris
2012 [Single/Split]
Listened: 29/10
The Asobi Seksu song is a very chaotic, shoegaze-adjacent song that keeps
becoming discordant, then falling into this relaxing, almost deprivation-like state of
minimal instrumentation. It’s really good, a really interesting sound!
The Boris song perfectly compliments it - it never goes into the deprivation, or the
relaxation; no, it is pure, balls-to-the-wall, thrashing shoegaze, with these ethereal
vocal effects, these like… I don’t know the name of the fucking instrument, so
“generic show UFO music instruments” over it, and goddd, it’s just so wonderfully
composed. Love it!
cherrycolacrush
Doused
2022 [Single]
Listened: 29/10
The title track is this hazy, heavy shoegaze track, rife with punchy guitars, and
thrashing drums, set against this ethereal, dreamy vocal track about being unable
to be happy as a result of being used by people. That was obviously very relatable
to me, unfortunately!
Conversely, the second track, trees & flowers, was a far slower track about hating
the world, feeling as though it’s overly imposing, that everything is far larger than
yourself, and the isolating feeling that such a mindset inflicts upon you, believing
that you are alone in your fears. Again, relatable!
I really dig this single. It’s a wonderful one-two punch of existentialism as delivered
through the lens of some sludgy, grungy shoegaze that just sounds so lovely.
“smiling broadly” EP
smiling broadly
2023 [EP]
Listened: 29/10
Twinkle Park’s, Burned In’s, YouTube’s, Hazel is back at it again! Another delivery
of indie-pop shoegaze with Vocaloid vocals. This time, there’s a lot more
experimentation going on with her sound, though. There’s far more pianos, odd
instruments, strange harmonies, and… honestly, there’s far more bloody
chiptune than I would have expected. Ohh, god, there’s this really heavy,
distorted, crunchy-ass guitar around a minute in to patterns of behaviour, and
fuckkk I really really liked it. And for these to just be the outtakes off of a
forthcoming full-length? Holy fuck, color me excited for the future of Hazel’s
output. This shit is nuts.
Come On Pilgrim
Pixies
1987 [EP]
Listened: 03/11
Man, I was honestly kinda mixed on going back in time with Pixies to see what they were up to prior to their bigger hits, and as it turns out? I was wrong to be! I'd say that whilst you can certainly tell that this is earlier output, that doesn't make it bad by any means, it's full of really catchy songs that are sure to be earworms just as much as basically all of Doolittle has haunted me. I especially liked Vamos (Pilgrim), Isla de Encanta and The Holiday Song. It is crazy how good Deal and Francis sound together - just a bit of a pisser what ended up happening to split the band. But, with this being their first record, that was a fair bit off yet, and so you can just enjoy the music. Lovely little quick record.
DONT THINK ABOUT THE DISTORTION
LilyNiku
2021 [Album]
Listened: 07/11
Wow. I had heard rumblings about this being FEMTANYL's prior alias; this most assuredly sounds like it could be. Similarly to FEMTANYL, it is very, very strong, very catchy... not quite breakcore, but getting close to that sort of place. It's "soft breakcore", for lack of a better term. Either way, it sounds lovely, and I like it a lot, very creative sampling work, a lovely little record!
runnin' since monday, the 28th of march, 2022.
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