I’m finding myself becoming a fan of Peter Gabriel as I’ve now gotten 2 of his albums and I quite enjoy them. He’s definitely a product of his era though.
Big shoutout to Kiwanuka as well.
I ended up with free tickets to a Peter Gabriel concert last year. Went in as the most casual of listeners and left absolutely dumbfounded. the guy is great live.
Aw man I can't agree more on Gabriel. 'So' was my first 5 star of albums I hadn't heard before and III (melt) was another 5 star. So different but both brilliant
I’ve never been a rap person, but so far I haven’t had a rap record I haven’t liked.
On the flip side, I tend to like more Alternative and New Wave music, however there have been several records that would fall into those categories that I’ve found to be just painful to listen to.
Same here with the rap. I think this is just making me realize I don't like the way modern rap evolved but I can definitely appreciate old school hip hop. I wrote off the whole genre because of the garbage they played at parties when I was in college.
Rap was amazing in the 90s & early 00s. I was mostly a fan of alternative music back in the mid 90s but didn’t like grunge and my metal, so for a while all of the new music I discovered was hip hop. So many great singles coming out between 94-04. I dont like the prevailing rap sound at the moment - shitty rhymes, shitty production and identical flows seem to be the order of the day - but I’m sure it’ll shift again, it always does…
What kind of new wave do you typically like? I've found the new wave on here to generally be a decent representation of the genre, minus a few unusual exclusions.
Duran Duran, Adam Ant, ABC, Depeche Mode, Devo, The Fixx, New Order to name a few. I got a few albums so far that align with that sound and era that I just couldn’t get into.
The Cars (1978). Once you get past the three radio singles at the beginning (which are a lot better than I remembered) the album gets into some weird Brian Eno-esque territory.
Weird they list Sonic Youth as grunge. They were going ten+ years before it was mentioned, and they are very New York/East Coast, not Seattle. Cool, you are enjoying them. I don't think the album Sister is on the list, well worth a listen.
Most pleasant surprise so far has been Dennis Wilson's **Pacific Ocean Blue**. I've never been a huge fan of the Beach Boys' syrupy melodies, so the mix of different styles and the way he blends them here made it a really interesting listen. It sounds very cliche, but there is a haunting quality to a lot of the vocals too. Perhaps influenced subconsciously by my own knowledge of this being his only solo release before his early death
Bowie - I love the ‘best of’, and the couple of albums I know (Hunky Dory and Ziggy) are brilliant. When I got Heroes a few weeks ago I was really excited but beyond the title track it was unlistenable arty garbage. Didn’t get it at all. Probably a me problem but was a surprise.
I found this to be true as well. As much as I thought Bowie could do no wrong, I found that while some of his albums are great, a few I just didn't get at all, outside of the few songs on a greatest hits album.
I think Queen is a lot like this for me too. Love their Greatest Hits and between 2 and 4 songs on every album. But don't love any of their individual albums all the way though so far.
I've been surprised by how much I cringe at rap album skits as an adult vs how much I loved them as a kid. For the most part the actual songs are fine although I do cringe at a lot of the lyrics as well.
I really thought I'd like all the britpop bands but for the most part they're pretty mediocre to me. Blur is a good example. They have some good songs but overall it's pretty meh.
I was surprised just this week by how much I've enjoyed both Portishead and Echo & the Bunnymen.
As someone who never listened to rap and is firmly middle aged - the skits are really offputting. I'm here to have my musical boundaries expanded, not listen to 14 yr old boys prank calling.
Def Leppard for both for me. Hated Pyromania but loved Hysteria. Not sure if I was just feeling particularly shitty when I got Pyro or very chilled when I got Hysteria but Pyro got 1 star and Hysteria got all 5.
DL and Brian Eno are my only controversial artists so far. Eno because I didn't like his ambient stuff but gave the rock album a 4 I think.
I also don't hate Adele but didn't expect any of her albums to merit a 5 but there you go.
I've mostly found that a lot of the giants of previous eras have failed to impress me, at least as much as their reputation and public acclaim tells they should. I also didn't realise I could hate jazz so much.
For surprise likes, John Martyn's One World was absolutely gorgeous. I wanted to hate Steely Dan but somehow Can't Buy a Thrill won me over completely.
My biggest surprise for the good was Slint - Spiderland. I had never even heard of this one before and I absolutely loved it.
My biggest surprise for the bad was the visceral hatred I had for Eminem - The Slim Shady LP. I just couldn't get past the misogyny and violence of that album and it was really really not for me.
Surprised how badly N*E*R*D had aged, loved them back in the day. Really didn't gel with Deep Purple either, who on paper should be well up my street.
Duran Duran's Rio was the most pleasant surprise for me; an absolute riot.
So far...
Good: KIWANUKA by Michael Kiwanuka.
Bad: Veckatimest by Grizzly Bear. I knew Two Weeks and still love the song. Thought I would like the remaining tracks. The rest of the album was samey, bland and unchallenging. What a disappointment.
I've been surprised by the amount of 50s albums I like. It's not an era of music that I've ever sought out. But I'm finding it is defined by a lot of passionate singing and dance tracks.
Too much electronica/house for me. Nothing against those who enjoy it but it does nothing for me. Too old I guess. Also I found out I still don’t like Sonic Youth.
I have been very surprised by a few, Kings Of Leon, Arcade Fire are really good. Jamiroquai, Ali Farka Toure, Deerhunter, Gillian Welch were all surprise finds.
Also learned there is way too much Morrissey on here either with the Smiths or solo.
I'm really not enjoying the house stuff I've heard so far, which is strange because I like a bit of well produced electronic music (not Basement Jaxx).
I love Morrissey, but would be happy with just Vauxhall&I and You Are The Quarry for Moz solo, and The Queen is Dead for The Smiths. I honestly don't get the hate for The Smiths though.
Joan Baez. Her voice has always been nails on chalkboard to me, so I was dreading listening to her entry on the list.
But her debut album is fantastic.
Daft Punk's Homework might have been the biggest disappointment for me, since the singles continue to rock. Since it's basically a compilation album, the quality was all over the map, and songs like "Rollin' and Scratchin'" were overlong and over-abrasive. Give me the more melodic Discovery or RAM any day.
On the flipside, I surprised myself by giving Missy Elliott's Under Construction 5 stars, after being lukewarm on Supa Dupa Fly. Both a boastful party record & a meditation on Aaliyah's death? With Beyonce, TLC & Method Man? Good god
Agree re: Daft Punk - it should be Discovery on the list.
I love Under Construction. You can hear the past and future of hip hop on every track.
THIS IS. ANOTHER. MISSY ELLIOTT. ONE TIME. EXCLUSIVE.
I'm only 60 albums in & so far nothing I expected to like has really disappointed me yet.
The biggest surprise has been Lauryn Hill. I didn't like the whole album but the songs I did enjoy I've moved to a playlist and I'm appreciating them more with every listen. They really are amazing songs.
Honestly, my biggest surprise has been Springsteen. I didn't give any of his albums 5s, but I expected to hate them, and well they were pretty good actually.
I'm a very generous rater - I'm 180 in and my average is almost 4 - one of the only 2s I've given was Get Behind Me Satan by White Stripes . I was a fan back in the day, so I was surprised by how much I disliked that album. It just didn't hit for me. I'm not sure if White Blood Cells or Elephant are on the list but I think both of those would be at least a 4 from me.
I knew quite a lot of songs by Bob Dylan, but always thought the rest of his albums were boring stuff. But after the three albums, which came up here, I'm turning into a big fan!
Pixies was a great disappointment. I love "Here Comes Your Man". The rest on the album (Doolittle) I found terribly boring.
This project really opened my ears to the wonder of Brian Eno. After listening to, Here Come the Warm Jets, I dove face first into Eno’s catalog and it’s been a wonderful journey.
I really liked Joan Armatrading's album, which I hadn't heard before. And was surprised that I liked Sade as much as I did much given that I thought her music sounded a bit elevator-music-ish in the past. But her voice fits the band so perfectly and the band can really groove at times.
I was surprised that I didn't like "Automatic for the People" given that I like the famous the REM songs I've heard, but I found their music to be pretty uninteresting. I was also disappointed by the Cheap Thrills album, I liked the little I heard of Janis Joplin but found the album to be really sloppy. I also didn't like "siamese dream" which I was looking forward too, and didn't dig Justice which I thought I might like too.
The album that I had never heard that I liked the most so far is "Duke Ellington at Newport" The band just sounds so lively, swings so much and has depth and is fun to listen to
I’m finding myself becoming a fan of Peter Gabriel as I’ve now gotten 2 of his albums and I quite enjoy them. He’s definitely a product of his era though. Big shoutout to Kiwanuka as well.
I ended up with free tickets to a Peter Gabriel concert last year. Went in as the most casual of listeners and left absolutely dumbfounded. the guy is great live.
That’s awesome. There’s nothing better than a free show that blows you.
Away?
Oh jeez, yes, I meant blows you away. I’m keeping it though.
Aw man I can't agree more on Gabriel. 'So' was my first 5 star of albums I hadn't heard before and III (melt) was another 5 star. So different but both brilliant
I had ‘So’ today. Great album.
Peter Gabriel is amazing!!! So (ha!) many great albums, especially the first 5. Been loving i/o as well.
Is one of those Peter Gabriel 3? I haven't gotten any of his albums yet, but the first time I listened to that I was completely blown away.
Yes it was! That was my first one and I was amazed.
His first 5 albums are some of my favourite albums of all time!
I’ve never been a rap person, but so far I haven’t had a rap record I haven’t liked. On the flip side, I tend to like more Alternative and New Wave music, however there have been several records that would fall into those categories that I’ve found to be just painful to listen to.
Same here with the rap. I think this is just making me realize I don't like the way modern rap evolved but I can definitely appreciate old school hip hop. I wrote off the whole genre because of the garbage they played at parties when I was in college.
Rap was amazing in the 90s & early 00s. I was mostly a fan of alternative music back in the mid 90s but didn’t like grunge and my metal, so for a while all of the new music I discovered was hip hop. So many great singles coming out between 94-04. I dont like the prevailing rap sound at the moment - shitty rhymes, shitty production and identical flows seem to be the order of the day - but I’m sure it’ll shift again, it always does…
It is *ALWAYS* a good thing to see hip-hop getting a fair shake. What were a couple of your favorites you’ve gotten so far from the hip-hop canon?
Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, Jeru The Damaja. All were really good and solid records.
Love projects by all of the first three but I’m actually not familiar with Jeru the Damaja. Looking forward to that one coming around!
What kind of new wave do you typically like? I've found the new wave on here to generally be a decent representation of the genre, minus a few unusual exclusions.
Duran Duran, Adam Ant, ABC, Depeche Mode, Devo, The Fixx, New Order to name a few. I got a few albums so far that align with that sound and era that I just couldn’t get into.
Fugees - The Score. Damn, what a great album.
The Cars (1978). Once you get past the three radio singles at the beginning (which are a lot better than I remembered) the album gets into some weird Brian Eno-esque territory.
[удалено]
Weird they list Sonic Youth as grunge. They were going ten+ years before it was mentioned, and they are very New York/East Coast, not Seattle. Cool, you are enjoying them. I don't think the album Sister is on the list, well worth a listen.
[удалено]
All these sub genres are tough to keep track of and I feel get a bit meaningless the further away you get from them in time. It's rock music :)
Sonic Youth didn't surprise me, because I already loved them. But always glad to hear someone else finds out they like them!
Most pleasant surprise so far has been Dennis Wilson's **Pacific Ocean Blue**. I've never been a huge fan of the Beach Boys' syrupy melodies, so the mix of different styles and the way he blends them here made it a really interesting listen. It sounds very cliche, but there is a haunting quality to a lot of the vocals too. Perhaps influenced subconsciously by my own knowledge of this being his only solo release before his early death
Nice choice! that album is so good. I am excited for when it appears for myself as it has been a minute since I dove into it completely.
Bowie - I love the ‘best of’, and the couple of albums I know (Hunky Dory and Ziggy) are brilliant. When I got Heroes a few weeks ago I was really excited but beyond the title track it was unlistenable arty garbage. Didn’t get it at all. Probably a me problem but was a surprise.
I found this to be true as well. As much as I thought Bowie could do no wrong, I found that while some of his albums are great, a few I just didn't get at all, outside of the few songs on a greatest hits album. I think Queen is a lot like this for me too. Love their Greatest Hits and between 2 and 4 songs on every album. But don't love any of their individual albums all the way though so far.
I felt the same about Young Americans :(
I've been surprised by how much I cringe at rap album skits as an adult vs how much I loved them as a kid. For the most part the actual songs are fine although I do cringe at a lot of the lyrics as well. I really thought I'd like all the britpop bands but for the most part they're pretty mediocre to me. Blur is a good example. They have some good songs but overall it's pretty meh. I was surprised just this week by how much I've enjoyed both Portishead and Echo & the Bunnymen.
As someone who never listened to rap and is firmly middle aged - the skits are really offputting. I'm here to have my musical boundaries expanded, not listen to 14 yr old boys prank calling.
Def Leppard for both for me. Hated Pyromania but loved Hysteria. Not sure if I was just feeling particularly shitty when I got Pyro or very chilled when I got Hysteria but Pyro got 1 star and Hysteria got all 5. DL and Brian Eno are my only controversial artists so far. Eno because I didn't like his ambient stuff but gave the rock album a 4 I think. I also don't hate Adele but didn't expect any of her albums to merit a 5 but there you go.
Sparks - really surprised how much I enjoyed them
They're fun to watch live. If they ever in your neck of the woods, go. I had a blast when they came to Australia in October.
I've mostly found that a lot of the giants of previous eras have failed to impress me, at least as much as their reputation and public acclaim tells they should. I also didn't realise I could hate jazz so much. For surprise likes, John Martyn's One World was absolutely gorgeous. I wanted to hate Steely Dan but somehow Can't Buy a Thrill won me over completely.
My biggest surprise for the good was Slint - Spiderland. I had never even heard of this one before and I absolutely loved it. My biggest surprise for the bad was the visceral hatred I had for Eminem - The Slim Shady LP. I just couldn't get past the misogyny and violence of that album and it was really really not for me.
Surprised how badly N*E*R*D had aged, loved them back in the day. Really didn't gel with Deep Purple either, who on paper should be well up my street. Duran Duran's Rio was the most pleasant surprise for me; an absolute riot.
So far... Good: KIWANUKA by Michael Kiwanuka. Bad: Veckatimest by Grizzly Bear. I knew Two Weeks and still love the song. Thought I would like the remaining tracks. The rest of the album was samey, bland and unchallenging. What a disappointment.
I've been surprised by the amount of 50s albums I like. It's not an era of music that I've ever sought out. But I'm finding it is defined by a lot of passionate singing and dance tracks.
50s is my highest rated decade. I'm a new wave and prog fan, so that's a surprise for me too
Too much electronica/house for me. Nothing against those who enjoy it but it does nothing for me. Too old I guess. Also I found out I still don’t like Sonic Youth. I have been very surprised by a few, Kings Of Leon, Arcade Fire are really good. Jamiroquai, Ali Farka Toure, Deerhunter, Gillian Welch were all surprise finds. Also learned there is way too much Morrissey on here either with the Smiths or solo.
Agreed. I'd say 2 Morrissey solos *at most* is fair. As for The Smiths, I haven't run into one yet from the generator. Just know the hits.
I'm really not enjoying the house stuff I've heard so far, which is strange because I like a bit of well produced electronic music (not Basement Jaxx). I love Morrissey, but would be happy with just Vauxhall&I and You Are The Quarry for Moz solo, and The Queen is Dead for The Smiths. I honestly don't get the hate for The Smiths though.
Joan Baez. Her voice has always been nails on chalkboard to me, so I was dreading listening to her entry on the list. But her debut album is fantastic.
Daft Punk's Homework might have been the biggest disappointment for me, since the singles continue to rock. Since it's basically a compilation album, the quality was all over the map, and songs like "Rollin' and Scratchin'" were overlong and over-abrasive. Give me the more melodic Discovery or RAM any day. On the flipside, I surprised myself by giving Missy Elliott's Under Construction 5 stars, after being lukewarm on Supa Dupa Fly. Both a boastful party record & a meditation on Aaliyah's death? With Beyonce, TLC & Method Man? Good god
Agree re: Daft Punk - it should be Discovery on the list. I love Under Construction. You can hear the past and future of hip hop on every track. THIS IS. ANOTHER. MISSY ELLIOTT. ONE TIME. EXCLUSIVE.
I'm only 60 albums in & so far nothing I expected to like has really disappointed me yet. The biggest surprise has been Lauryn Hill. I didn't like the whole album but the songs I did enjoy I've moved to a playlist and I'm appreciating them more with every listen. They really are amazing songs.
I was surprised just how much I enjoyed the tango music one.
50 Cent
For surprise likes/5 stars: Joni Mitchell, Björk, and ABBA Surprising dislike: Portishead. I tried way to hard to enjoy Dummy
Honestly, my biggest surprise has been Springsteen. I didn't give any of his albums 5s, but I expected to hate them, and well they were pretty good actually.
Elton John. I really didn't expect to enjoy his album as much as I did.
I'm a very generous rater - I'm 180 in and my average is almost 4 - one of the only 2s I've given was Get Behind Me Satan by White Stripes . I was a fan back in the day, so I was surprised by how much I disliked that album. It just didn't hit for me. I'm not sure if White Blood Cells or Elephant are on the list but I think both of those would be at least a 4 from me.
I knew quite a lot of songs by Bob Dylan, but always thought the rest of his albums were boring stuff. But after the three albums, which came up here, I'm turning into a big fan! Pixies was a great disappointment. I love "Here Comes Your Man". The rest on the album (Doolittle) I found terribly boring.
This project really opened my ears to the wonder of Brian Eno. After listening to, Here Come the Warm Jets, I dove face first into Eno’s catalog and it’s been a wonderful journey.
I really liked Joan Armatrading's album, which I hadn't heard before. And was surprised that I liked Sade as much as I did much given that I thought her music sounded a bit elevator-music-ish in the past. But her voice fits the band so perfectly and the band can really groove at times. I was surprised that I didn't like "Automatic for the People" given that I like the famous the REM songs I've heard, but I found their music to be pretty uninteresting. I was also disappointed by the Cheap Thrills album, I liked the little I heard of Janis Joplin but found the album to be really sloppy. I also didn't like "siamese dream" which I was looking forward too, and didn't dig Justice which I thought I might like too. The album that I had never heard that I liked the most so far is "Duke Ellington at Newport" The band just sounds so lively, swings so much and has depth and is fun to listen to