The Music Slut Committee

"I do want to focus on these originals because they are all so different. He open with this swamp rock jam, Going into the bombastic show stopping Travlin’ Band with those great drum breakdowns. John screaming is just so raw and the excitement is contagious. Then we have the laid back country ditty Looking Out my Back Door. The dark Eerie run through the jungle. The standard rocker with one of the greatest intro licks of all time. A ballad that defined a generation (who’ll stop the ran), but it’s isn’t too ballady, it has a great tempo and band work. And then the very soulful As Long as I see the light. He wrote all of these and all of them a fantastic. How is this album is so great and goes against the statistics. It’s the 5th album out of 6 in a chaotic 2 year frenzy of making records and touring. How could the 5th album be so good, when you already had 4 other albums packed with songs that were massive. People would beg to just have one song in a lifetime. CCR has like 20 genre defining standards in 2 years. John was the song songwriter on these songs, he sang and played lead (insane) and he def was able to convey to the band how to perform these songs. He had a gift and a fantastic point of view that really resonated with people as he seemed to have his thumb on the pulse of the people and the culture around him. I think it helps that they did what they wanted in their sound without falling into the tropes of the 60’s California sound and the acid rock. They were playing things that were old in spirit but fresh and new as well. A perfect balance.

we know he is the brain, soul and power behind CCR’s success. But he did rule the band with an iron fist and was definitely blinded by that power. So much that when the band shared their disappointment over not being able to have any creativity. John was like alright, we will split it evenly. you guys have to write and sing too, I’m not gonna do all the work. They did. AND IT FLOPPED and they broke up. Like the dude risked it all to be petty. He was a one man band at the end of the day. Though he didn’t have the massive success after leaving the group apart from a handful of singles. This part of his life was his biggest and best creative output.

Of 7 albums. 6 are dynamite. And I believe Cosmo’s Factory (5) is the peak of this band with its diversity and quality of all the material." - Zach

"Yeah I love this album. His lyricism here is unreal. Each song is a story with the music to match, from the narrative arc of John Finn's Wife to the desparate alcoholism of "Brother, My Cup is Empty". He's so efficient with his descriptions and getting across what he wants. You could just read them as poems and get some of the same effect. "The moon looked exhausted / Like something you could pity" just gets me every time. When the democrats formed megazoid to push Joe Biden into the primary in 2020 I was singing "I Had a Dream, Joe" all the time.

I think it's so rare to find such grounding music nowadays. I mean grounding like...almost literally. The soundscape, acoustic guitars and hammond organs, feels earthy to me, and the stories feel like people conjured from the ground that you might run into on the street or in any bar. They're songs about people of the land. The common clay of the new West. You know … morons.

I agree it reminds of McCarthy in scope, they definitely feel like they're speaking the same language and playing with similar feelings." - Steve

"I listened to a good amount of rap back in the day, but I always found myself going back to NWA, Biggie, and Eminem. Obviously Dre is the common denominator for two outta three of those, but still...older rap was just more interesting to me. Over the years, it felt like hip hop was abandoning the cool samples and unique production tricks in favor of boring beats that don't really do much to carry the songs. It was all on the rapping, which isn't without value by any means, but it was harder to bop along to. The lyrics were still as poetic and poignant as ever, but it was missing that musicality that made it fun to listen to as background noise while working or driving. Then I heard Close Your Eyes and lost my shit. Hot damn! This is what I was waiting for!

Killer Mike is voice of RTJ, 10000%. He makes every line a captivating experience. His funny lines are a riot, his quiet bits are contemplative, and hard lines take no prisoners. We're at his mercy from the second he starts letting it rip, and I count on one hand the other rappers that are as equally captivating. El-P, like Nick said, is fine. He's a hype man; just there to pump us up in between Killer Mike verses. It can be kinda silly to hear Mike drop a line about killing cops, then El-P comes in talks about being good at sex. BUT, El-P is vitally important to the duo as a producer. He's responsible for so much of the crazy production ship that I love, so he's still an inextricable part of RTJ. After I consumed all of RTJ, I went back and listened to some solo Killer Mike stuff and it just wasn't the same. (Though the solo stuff after KM met El-P, but before they formed RTJ, is pretty good).

If I had one other complaint (outside of Love Again), its that the first few tracks are bit too Pedal to the Metal; the album really hits its stride with Close Your Eyes. While I enjoy those first three songs on an individual basis, I think the manic energy can be overwhelming at first and the album may have benefitted from splitting those tracks up." - Alex

"Alice Cooper is a theatrical mastermind. The scenes he creates with his lyrics and music on this album for me is unmatched. We have a number of different types of songs that keep the album interesting and the songs so not blend together. I feel the album is very well paced. One thing I love about Alice is his sense of humor, it is very much showcased on his early records with the Alice Cooper Band, but in a song like Cold Ethyl, he uses that dark humor to make a very fun song that is very disturbing if you took it at face Value. Not sure if you caught it, Ethyl’s dead. But even the little Donnie Osmond joke at the end of Department of Youth, just adds to his charm. One the other hand his lyrics get you deeply into the story that is being presented. You feel this horror and wickedness in The Black Widow. The eeriness was of Years Ago and The Awakening. The desperation in Only Women Bleed.

Bob Ezrin, who worked with the Alice Cooper band and later KISS, and Pink Floyd. Really adds to this dream like atmosphere with his arrangement of songs like Nightmare, Steven and Only Women Bleed. But there is something about of this album was mixed and engineered that just never sat right with him. The early Alice Stuff has all the instruments sit very well into the mix, even on a bombastic song like Elected on Billion Dollar Babies. And there is a very smooth production and mix on The Wall, and The Division Bell. I feel the mix is very rough and unpolished, this is also how I feel about Kiss’ Destroyer (Detroit Rock City excluded, that sounds mega) but the production elements in Beth and Only women Bleed def are DATED and feel like they focus on the wrong placements. All that aside, I think a remix / remaster would really help with record shine, all the parts are there, it’s just having them sit right. I am not sure if you guys have felt that with other albums you love." - Zach

"I could have chose any album to be a Halloween pick, but I chose off my list and this one hits it for me. We’re talking about some different types of horrors. Useless war (even rings true today), conspiracy, destruction, magic, fear.

Megadeth is a guilty pleasure band for me. Dave can’t sing. He sounds like a Ted Nugent got his balls stuck in a vice. but he makes it work because he is very passionate about what he’s saying, and no one else is going to preach his words. His guitar playing is truly on another level, it’s like he breathes through the strings

Metal can be very corny, lame, over indulgent, but still awesome. This album is all that and more, but I keep coming back because it’s authentic. Dave is a complete goon, but like Nugent, he at least has the chops to keep standing."

"I've been an on again off again fan of Baroness for a while. They get compared to Mastodon because they're also from Atlanta and use a similar banjo-picking style with a heavy metal sheen, but they can be a bit dense (and half their albums have trash production). Then Stone came out and it catapulted to one of my favorite albums.

Variety is king here, from the blistering opening track to the chanting choruses of Magnolia, it just takes me places. So many hair raising moments for me. I love Gina Gleason coming in on the harmony for the last chorus of Last Word (hell, anytime she comes in to harmonize). The acoustic closer Bloom makes me want to cry every time, and I think it puts the perfect cap on an album that feels like it is so much about living in darkness. Baizley's lyrics are often obtuse and more about vibe than inherent meaning, but Bloom somehow makes it all come together for me.

Playing this album while driving on a misty, cool October evening is something else." - Steve

"Melissa and I were talking once about how MCR exists on a continuum from "Raw to Polished." Their first album, bullets, is their most honest, heartfelt album, but can be hard to listen to at times because it is extremely raw and the songwriting doesn't really shine. It's a lot of screaming and banging on instruments, and its never done much for me. The last album, on the other hand, is so put together I don't even know if I would call it emo/punk anymore. It's very poppy and happy and anthemy from start to finish.

I think this album, and The Black Parade, sit nicely in the middle of the spectrum. I'm Not Okay was my first single MCR song, but I actually didn't listen to the full Three Cheers until long after I'd listened to The Black Parade. While the latter is a masterpiece of a concept album, I do think this one ends up feeling a bit more liberated by just being A Bunch of Very Good songs instead of trying to tell a whole story.

It's funny you bring up "Get what you deserve" because I actually have noticed that before I one time considered writing a dubious blog post about how themes of consequence and justice kinda weave through a lot of MCR's lyrics. But I didn't end up writing it." - Alex

"I found the band when trying to find more female rock bands, and discovered the 90’s west coast subgenre, Riot Girrl. Sleater-Kinney definitely stood out the most from the other artist.

Lyrical honest, combative, and strong. Musically on fire. Classic punk feel. You can hear both guitars equally, doing their own thing. They work so well together. And I feel the riffs would only stand so much on their own. They need each other. The Drumming is just so fucking tight too. Also, no bass, so Zach probably hates it.

These songs really wanna make me rock the fuck out. They are catchy and different that so much stuff we hear on the radio. I always catch myself signing “Little Babies” or “Words and Guitar”

If you want more aggression listen to “Call the Doctor”. If you want to hear a more maturing punk sound, “The Woods”. Their newest “Little Rope” is also fantastic.

As a bonus, there is an album they produced of cover versions of this album. Check to see if any artist you like are on there and see how they interpret these tracks. My fav on there is Courtney Barnett doing “Words and Guitar”. A cover so on par for her, you’d think she wrote it." - Nick

"Persona 5 is crazy because I didnt really expect to love this game. It was given to me as a gift, and though I'd heard a lot about it, a little part of me was apprehensive because it was 120 fucking hours long and with a lot of story to sift through (and, typically, JRPGs sorta frequently lose the plot as they go, which always disappoints me). But I carved out the time and played it. And I loved it. It's a Top 5 game for me, and I thought my Top 5 was pretty set in stone. Half-Life 2 held a pretty safe spot for over 10 years, but alas. On top of that, Melissa fucking loved the game. We ended up building a schedule for how we'd play the game so she could get all the fun story/character stuff. Like a month or so after we beat the game, she was like "I miss Persona" and now we have a "Persona Lofi Beats in a Coffee Shop" video on speed dial for those nights where we just wanna hang out and chill.

Overall, the album rips. Its billed as "Acid Jazz," I guess because there is a lot of instrumental stuff that fits with the definition of Jazz? Idk, I didnt go to music school. But after playing the game, I looked at the soundtrack, was BLOWN AWAY by how many tracks there were, but also by how cohesive and complete it feels. And thats what made me want to put this album on here...its not like Paper Mario where, yes, it rules, but context is vitally important to why we flip from a Desert Song to a Haunted House song one after another. Here, it flows seamlessly. Little lietmotifs pop in and out, the keyboards and guitars and horns all creative thus very distinct feel, any every song is a masterpiece in its own right. Like the song Layer Cake is such a sicksss groovy tune, and its used for like one specific item shop that you go into a handful of times in the game. Songs that would be headliners in a lesser game are just casual, throwaway tracks here. Its crazy.

Anyway, I had a lot of TTCs too, so in no particular order: Layer Cake, Soooo Boring, Tokyo Emergency, Triumph, Price, Last Surprise, and Beneath the Mask. So many great songs."

"If I could make an album with this sound as the production focal point I would in a heartbeat. It is my exact style. These Big drum sounds and this grand electronic production with strong bass and analog instrumentation was well. Big is just the best way to describe the things I really like about the album.

The Wickedly Talented Pat Grimes was the one who showed me Midnight City first in college but it took me a bit to want to explore the rest of the album.

For me, the album feels very Peter Gabriel esq especially some of the vocals and their delivery. Lyrics not so much, but it’s Melodie’s and instrumentation and just daring to explore within your themes. The lyrics probably might be the weakest part of this record as what Steve said, it really breaks everything down to being very simple and idealistic. We know that we can have moments of this in life, but we know it cannot be all the time. So just take what you can get. This trying to recapture the innocence of our youth, which for me speaks a lot. There was something I reflect on with me discovering that I was gay that I feel projected me out of innocence to experience. I had to deal with this dread and fear and not really celebrate that part of myself that I feel many people (the straights) just don’t have to deal with as much. It’s different. So when I heard this full record when I was 23, it really resonated with me as I still was young. Now 10 years later, I am at peace with that and my dread and fear is placed elsewhere." - Zach

"The first time I heard this album, I was on a road trip in the southwest, driving around the deserts of Arizona and Death Valley. My friend put this album on and as soon as Silver Morning gave way to the bouncing bass of Deep Blue Day while the red rocked plateaus rose and fell along the road side as we drove into the night, the album was etched into my soul. It was spectacularly beautiful, quiet, contemplative, a soundscape I had never heard before paired with a landscape I had never seen. Otherworldly but comforting.

The western sounding influence is also intentional. When creating the soundtrack, Brian Eno looked at what the astronauts would take on their cassette tapes with them, many of which were country or western songs, so he felt it appropriate to incorporate those textures into the ambience. Being out west when I first heard this, the desert topography not unlike the moon, I imagine, definitely amplified the impact.

This album means a lot to me and I appreciate you all willing to give it a try! I'm glad it hit everyone differently. I confess I've never tried this album while working out." - Steve

"She can rock, out-sing anyone, get weird on the Hammond, and just absolutely sexy as hell. Attitude, looks, kindness. Total package. These days, she’s still nuts, but more reserved.

This album was just an absolute banger. It took the band to an experimental rock form rather than a singer-songwriter more root sound. Grace has two wonderful albums before this (and a lost Americana album just released this year from the third album’s sessions). And I liked those a lot, but this album had balls. They really took their live sound and pushed it to its limits recording this. We also have Dan from the Black Keys producing the album, which probably inspired some of that raw experimental energy.

We have a lot of love songs, and a lot of songs of finding direction, fighting on through tough times. Every one sounding authentic with Grace’s delivery. One hell of a performance.

I got to see them on this tour. I met her husband, Matt, and he got her to sign a $5 AUD bill for me (It looks like a scribble, but that’s how her signature is)" - Nick

"I discovered this album out of a need to listen to instrumental rock. Someone I just wanted and extended song without words. So I knew Jeff Beck has a large amount of instrumental work so i saw it and thought was a safe album. Boy did I discover something cool.

I think this formation of a band is really cool with having a guitar virtuoso, a producer / keyboard virtuoso. Very dynamic rhythm section of drums and bass (with a neat voice) and a superb violinist (/ guitar).

To Alex’s point about live records. Some live records are special. They can sometimes capture something well rehearsed better than any studio can. Listen to the studio version of Cheap Tricks’s “I want you to want me” and you’ll be running to Live in budokan. The studio version of rock and roll all nite, won’t get me through dusk. Live At Leeds shows us Some albums are just like just hits not done as well. This one I feel captures a better energy due to its heavy handedness of instrumentals and it is mixing a headlining guitarist with another group headed by another prominent musical figure.

And I just love a jam that doesn’t seem like directionless noodling. This band is tight and feel like they really know how to communicate. The three part back and forth duel (truel???) between Guitar / violin / keyboard is just neat. The Train keep a rolling break in Blue Wind is sick.

It made me realize that Jeff Beck was the best of the yardbird trio. Jimmy is a studio mastermind, but he cannot hang on a stage. Clapton is the blues scale God, but he is a piece of shit. Jeff Beck has skills that other guitarist can only dream of, especially when he changed his style in the 80’s. Him being less popular than the other two in the mainstream gave him an opportunity to be more of an artist than a pop / rock star. Also when you get a chance listen to Freeway Jam on the autobahn." - Zach

"I agree with Alex that the songs are indistinguishable from one another. I've been listening to this album for 15 years and I still don't know what song specific movements belong to. When I want to listen to the album, I just put it on front to back and it's a trip every time. They just have this knack for knowing exactly where to push a song and their riffs are blistering. The groove breakdown in The Last Baron and the spaced out introduction to Crack the Skye all feel clockwork tuned to perfection. Makes sense when I was reading that the band listened to a lot of Animals and King Crimson when they sat down to write the album.

I didn't expect this week's pick to end up being a eulogy for Brent Hinds, but I'd be remiss not to mention his mark. His banjo playing style is unique in every way (save for some influences in Baroness, a band they often get compared to - we'll get to them later this October). I've never heard cascading chicken-picking and yet heavy metal solos like that before. His voice, both his guitar playing and singing, will be sorely missed in the rock world. Death seems to follow Mastodon. A lot of their albums usually end up being influenced by a loss of a family member or friend. Crack The Skye is about a parapalegic who time travels through space to inhabit the same body with Rasputin, sure, but it's inspired by the suicide of drummer Bran Dailor's 14 year old sister, Skye, whom the album is named after. All the concept bullshit falls aside when they get to "Floating up through the crack in the sky(e)/leaving material world behind" and you know they're just pouring all their grief into this thing. I think it's going to be very hard to revisit some of their material and not have it be affected by Hind's death as well." - Steve

"Enter: Alanis Morissette. Abandoning her Canadian dance-pop roots, she drops Jagged Little Pill right smack dab in the middle of the decade and manages to capture so much of what people were feeling. Damn near every song hits on some emotional truth, and they do it SO WELL. Alanis tackles female sexuality with You Oughta Know, (Is she perverted like me? Would she go down on you in a theatre?...//… Every time I scratch my nails down someone else's back, I hope you feel it). She tackles feminism, specifically in the entertainment industry but, not coincidentally, at large in Right Through You, (You took me for a joke, you took me for a child, you took a long hard look at my ass and then played golf for a while…//…You took me out to wine, dine, 69 me but didn't hear a damn word I said). Religion? Forgiven has you covered, (We all had delusions in our head, we all had our minds made up for us, we had to believe in something, so we did). It’s even got a wonderful Generational Trauma song in Perfect that has so many brilliant lines I can’t pick just one. But most notably, we have songs about relationships. Songs about hurt. Songs about emotional intelligence. Songs about gender roles and expectations. Songs about the self. And to wrap it all up, we have Hand in My Pocket and You Learn that celebrate the journey through all of that. Life is imperfect and messy. It is painful and complicated and full of sadness and hurt. And that can be funny! It can be weird! Isn’t it ironic?

This is not to say, of course, that nobody had written albums that were About Important Things before. Obviously not. But when I throw on some Roger Waters Protest Joint, I know that not only is it About Something, but it was constructed brick-by-brick to be About Something. A lot of work went in to making sure we all know that it is About Something. That’s fine, nothing wrong with that. But where Jagged Little Pill feels different is that so much of the album’s lasting poignancy seems to be almost…incidental? Alanis is singing from the heart here, absolutely, but I’m not sure just how much she, or anyone else involved in the record, realizes just how tapped into the culture at large this record is. She set out to write a meaningful banger album, but she ended up writing The Album of the Decade. And I almost think that’s better. There is so much raw authenticity here, so much unfiltered emotion, so much zeitgeisty analysis. It’s a cross-section of a decade where finally starting to think about themselves in a very different way. And, with 9/11, we lost that. We’re back at war, ambling around the Middle East for nearly two decades, and now this album of introspection is just a jagged little time capsule.

There’s another side to this record, of course. It’s not just that I like the songs and it’s not just that I relish in it from an academic standpoint. It’s also, accidentally, the soundtrack to my marriage.

In the week or so leading up to the wedding, once October 14th was showing up on the 10-day forecast, we saw the same thing: 50% chance of rain. What a prickly little number, no? A coin toss, maybe yes, maybe no. And for ten fucking days, right up to the 2PM deadline when we had to make a decision, 50%. So, when there is an artist whose most famous single lyric is “It’s like RAAAAAAAAAIN on your WEDDING DAY,” of course we’re going to listen to that song on repeat. Maybe by inviting the possibility into our heads, it wouldn’t happen. That would be ironic! But there’s only so many times you can listen to just one song for ten straight days, so we looped the whole album. Again and again and again. And so those last panic-fueled days of making sure everything was just right, Alanis was there. I’ll never forget laying in the hotel bed that morning, angry that I didn’t sleep a goddamn wink, listening to Melissa take a shower, the muffled sounds of the album swirling around with the sound of running water. It was this beautiful moment of quiet comfort." - Alex

"I don’t listen to much R&B. I find the early 2000’s R&B to just be really generic and overhyped. So this album was a very big surprise to me when I listened. Right from the get go and every song after Frank paints you into a picture of the situation and world he’s in. You really feel you’re with him when he’s on these adventures. You remember your first love, the first time you may have found yourself beautifully out of place in a situation. You even agree that the shower head he’s using is amazing.

The production is wonderful, great instrumentals, great flow. The songs mostly build from something seemingly simple. I enjoy it most when I’m driving. Listening at work or with headphones sounded a little empty to me, but driving, I think with the hum of the car, really fills in that little emptiness. Maybe I’m crazy, Lyrically, Frank uses a lot of humor with his painting, like I don’t really get “Monks”, but I wanna be at that scene so bad. Mosh pits, wet tits, stage diving Dalai Lama.

I dare to say, this album really shines in the 2nd half. The songs are a little more my pace. Chuck full of good shit man." - Nick

"This album delivered Genre crossing or straight forward rock, dance, ballads beginning of a 4 experimental album arc, thus being clearly the best and most focused one. The Guitar effects the edge used. The new approaches to song writing and experimenting with Different time signatures.

Bono poetry on this album hits many different emotional levels. Talking about relationships, reinvention, betrayal. I feel his words in songs like So Cruel, Acrobat and Love Is Blindness are sort of universal in any relationship we are in that we just accept the bad in it.

Can we talk about The Edge?!?!?! He was going through a divorce during the record and he channeled those emotions and put his whole pussy into every single note. Even Better Than The Real Thing and The Fly being just guitar juggernauts

One and Mysterious Ways (more Christian themes but not Christian rock) are just simply great songs and did capture the attention of all the doubters that U2 could continue after Joshua Tree.

This is the first time during my section of the project where I feel even more in love with one of my picks. I’m happy Nick is picking it for his album this week. (My love for clockwork angels. Hedwig and Melt reinforced my love but could never exceed the love I already had)" - Zach

"The first half of this album is so dark and angry and when I first heard it in 2021 it felt refreshing to finally have modern music feel like it was calling out what I was seeing, which feels like a big hole that's missing in popular music. Everything that I want to scream about living under capitalism and growing up in a religious household gets hit here. Died in the Prison of the Holy Office reflects David Bello's background growing up Catholic and the crescendo breakdown at the end after Away with God makes me want to punch through a brick wall every time. It's the only true catharsis I've ever felt as an ex Catholic myself. His voice isn't my favorite (but y'all should know by now how high my tolerance is lol), but the straight poetry in Interludes like Blank//Worker work for me. Ohio river, stomachache/Pray DuPont, our water is safe/If we don't die out here on the grass/We might one day be middle-class just sets you up for depression and then you end the song with May the lower class remember this/And every rich man get what's his and it trails off into that spiraling guitar, carrying your depression and hope with you into the back half of the album.

Then you get to Fewer Afraid and you're so sick of capitalism and death and overbearing oppression and the song lets you thaw, taking its time to build before hitting their conceit which they've used before in other albums: The world is a beautiful place, but we have to make it that way/Whenever you find home, we'll make it more than just a shelter/If everyone belongs there, it will hold us all together/If you're afraid to die, then so am I. The first time I truly listened to this we were driving around the Italian country side on our first vacation post-Covid and I knew I was going to marry my wife and my crippling anxiety paled in comparison to the world I got to experience and I broke down crying in the car, and still do when I'm locked into listening to the album." - Steve

"I found Blackpink during lockdown. I was desparate for something new, my musical wellspring had run dry, BUT I also didn't want something that would take, like, a time investment to get into. Like, no, I've never really gotten into Radiohead, but doing that sounded like a lot of work. What was new but was also accessible and easy? BTS was huge at that time, Butter was all over TikTok, but didn't do much for me. So I bounced around a few spotify playlists and then Boombayah came on and I was like "HOLY SHIT." That was exactly what I was looking for. Blackpink was very in-your-face and aggressive in a way that other Kpop groups I'd heard weren't. (Katie was really into one group and, frankly, they fucking suck and it put me off the genre for a long time).

Steve mentioned them being Stryofoam cups, but I was going to liken them to Twizzlers. They are sugar, gelatin, and red dye #5. The Twizzler Corporation makes no attempt to say that they are healthy, that they can cure a disease, or give you an energy boost. It is unapologetic sweet chewy bullshit.

And I fucking love Twizzlers." - Alex

"The band really wanted to try something different. They were already really big in Canada and ripping it up. They wanted to get into a dark storytelling and heavier sound. In a house in New Orleans, they delivered that dream. These songs are all about fear, determination, and coming to grips with reality.

Three stars of the game:

Johnny Fay drumming on “So Hard Done By” all the instrumentation is a little weird on this one, but John is bringing some really interesting approach to the percussion in a way that has you thinking about the piece as a strange trip from the beginning

Rob Baker ripping that guitar on “Fire in The Hole”. It’s like the most violent guitar I’ve heard from such a beautiful player. You can get caught speeding listening to this driving

Gord Downie singing and lyrics from beginning to end. This man captivates my soul. I think he is just one of the best writers of all time. I never felt more connected to a poet than him. I don’t know why. He’s funny, deep, caring, insightful. He writes about things others don’t, about his country, about real people in situations you don’t think about. He brings you into these worlds where you can understand the feelings of a sex worker or someone stranded at sea.

I hope you liked it and I hope you explore more. I would really suggest “Fully Completely” or “Trouble in The Henhouse” next." - Nick

"This album takes a very Experimental / Art Rock approach which I love. Experiments on Intruder lead to the invention of the Gated Drum technique which defined the 80’s Drum sound, especially for co inventor, Phil Collins. In hindsight it might seem like it is standard art alt rock, but at the time what Peter was doing was very off the wall for the time, and has been extremely influential in future musical projects. The arrangements on a lot of these songs are so cool. The approach to limit the drummer and producers to being creative by not having cymbals be played at all. So finding interesting ways to fill that sonic range and limit a dependency that drums have. This led to the driving beat in the rock section of Family Snapshot and the more percussive Games Without Frontiers. We get some wacky guitar work from experimental guitarist and 3 time Music Slut Performer Robert Fripp on Control and Remember.

All this is made possible by Steve Lillywhite’s unique production style which will bring us great records from U2 and Dave Matthews Band in the future.

Throughout his career Peter has been a storyteller through his songs. For this album we have a lot of darker stories such Intruder, No Self Control, Family Snapshot and Biko. He gets into character for all of these and convinces you through his narration. This verse in Family Snapshot just hits me, how someone could take a life for the purpose of being known, without a real meaning. With the song being based on Arthur Bremer’s assassination attempt of George Wallace, Wallace was just a backup when he couldn’t kill Nixon. He just knew killing someone high profile was enough. The motive wasn’t political or really even personal.

“I don't really hate you I don't care what you do We were made for each other, me and you I want to be somebody You were like that, too If you don't get given, you learn to take And I will take you”

I just think this whole album is neat.

This is also where Peter become an activist. He wrote the anti war Games Without Frontiers comparing war to a game show. And Biko a reflection and reaction to the brutal arrest and murder of anti apartheid South African Activist Stephen Biko. Since then he has been extremely outspoken on human rights, a big contributor to Amnesty international.

At the end of every concert since the end of apartheid in South Africa, he ends Biko with this statement “Whatever happens now, is up to you” We can change the world if we want to. With the state of the world as we deal with international and national human rights abuses, I think of this line

“The eyes of the world are watching now”" - Zach

"Faith No More is one of my favorite bands. I think everything they do is original and inspiring. They're not afraid to pull from a wide range of influences, from bygone mainstream tastes to modern underground acts (which they love genuinely and not in a dumb hipster way). They take themselves seriously but have a shit ton of fun. The Real Thing is actually the more influential album for me. When my dad shared it with me it was a revelation (I couldn't believe he liked something that cool, tbh).

But I went with Angel Dust as a Pride month pick because of Roddy Bottum's clear influence. Besides the obvious track he wrote, his keys are all over this album in fun and interesting ways. He's credited with coming up with with the name of the album as a way to reflect how something so horrible could have such a beautiful name, which is how they felt about the variety of sounds on the album. Even the guitarist at the time, Jim Martin, referred to the album derisively as "gay disco" during production (isn't that redundant?). It doesn't surprise me that he departed the band shortly after. I think he deservers way more credit than he ever got for coming out in an incredibly awful time to be gay and in a "metal" band. The entire band are Real Ones." - Steve

"As with Zach, I had heard a bunch of these songs before but rarely ever listened to it through. And this was a weird week, because I was also pretty unfamiliar with the album and put it on, not to share it as a Ziggy Expert, but to rediscover it. So I had a great time even though, as you all have mentioned, the back half does sorta drag until we get to Suffragette City.

It's admitted not nearly as Queer Exportation-y as our last two albums, but to Steve's point, its kind of incredible that Bowie got to be Bowie his way at that time. Pioneering and proud, its great. Bisexuals are truly more enlightened than everyone else." - Alex

"To me, this album is a punk masterpiece. Mostly every song has a different punk musical approach that is familiar, but covering ground that hasn’t been walked upon. This album is very dark, but very open into Laura’s mind. She has been afraid before her announcement, and still is, but she’s taking it in stride. She reintroduces herself on this first album post-announcement, but we see it’s just been her the whole time in this band.

The songs really channel Springsteen to me. The poetry paints beautifully in all the songs. You can play the movie in your head.

I would say, ignorantly, society, and even myself, perceived trans women as weak, “feminine”, scared. These songs def show that you can be scared, but don’t go down without a fight. They also show you can be feminine and masculine as a trans person, just like a cis person can be.

I’m happy I discovered this one, it’s one of my favorites of all time." - Nick

"These songs are catchy, rocking, diverse, angry, sad,hopefully and just fucking awesome. They have attitude and heart and really drive home the thesis of the piece.

The rockers rock (tear me down, angry inch, Exquisite Corpes) the epics epic (Origin of Love, Wig in a Box, Midnight Radio) the ballads ballad (wicked little towns, Hedwig Lament) and the Campy Camps (Sugar Daddy). Each feels like a masterclass in themselves. Stephon Trask’s brings a perfect interpretation of John Cameron Mitchell’s Hedwig character and lays it all out. All the songs have a heart that help the plot along and have you feel what Hedwig is going though.

Angry Inch being this very aggressive track of getting the wrong end of the stick when trying to get the means to an end and it blows up in your face. It’s so raw. The origin of love setting up this story or a peaceful world that is destroyed by the fearful jealous good and the music carries you through that.

I really could go on and on about these songs. AND IM GONNA. What kind of musical has a song like Exquisite Corpse???? That song might be the least plot driven of the whole lot, but it just a punch in the face of bad assery. I fucking love the camp of Sugar Daddy, the country really gets that camp, and being about their relationship with an American really needed something like that to help it along more. “So you think only a woman can truly love a man. Then you buy me the dress. I'll be more woman than a man like you can stand.” Is a fucking great lyric. The stage setting of Tear Me Down bringing right into the chaos that is Hedwig’s on going journey.

We end this with Midnight Radio which is a fucking fantastic song and a great ender to this saga.

The movie is a bit dated but I feel it pushes the themes to light. Having John direct it is great as sometimes a director might not get something 100%. Keep the creatives in control. It is important to note Hedwig is not trans, they only transitioned under circumstances. They are genderqueer. That is debated in today’s world among critics and fans of that being a bad mark on trans representation. But it is more about the character than it is commentary on everyone’s identity. But we do see Yitzhak have a trans story line that I feel is decent.

This production was a love letter to punk and glam rock and roll and to loving yourself who ever that may be. It is apart of my heart and I am glad you all got to experience it. Take from it what you wish." - Zach

"Enema of the State is a really fun album. Has some good tracks, All the Small Things is a certified anthem, and I really enjoy it as, like, a driving album or something. It's very fun. But this album is where you see that the members of blink are actually great musicians. The song structure is varied and complex; we're not just getting fast-paced punk in 4/4. We're getting acoustic ballads, interesting interludes, and whatever the fuck Violence is. Of the three mates, this is the first time I've been blown away by the drums. It's Travis Barker's world, we're all just living in it. I had always known him as just "A Fast Drummer," doubling up just because he can. But he's in rare from on this album, from the aforementioned Feeling This fill to the commanding shifts in Stockholm Syndrome. Wild.

I came to this album a few years ago when I was working at the NHL. Melissa and I quote All the Small Things quite frequently. One of us will shout "WORK SUCKS" and the other will reply "I KNOW!" And work did suck. That shit has stuck with me for years and has harmed me in ways that I probably still haven't even realized. But despite that call-and-response, All the Small Things, and Enema of the State as a whole, didn't really provide any form of comfort. I couldn't really throw that album on to push through the endless days because, as mentioned before, it's just a bit too poppy and silly to carry a whole lot of weight. I'm not sure what compelled me to give this one a shot, but I did, and it really hit. All the disillusioned sadness here actually broke through and it was a huge comfort listen for me during those months. Lyrically it was on a different wavelength of course, but emotion was raw and real enough for me that it didn't matter. (And, of course, now the struggles of adapting to life in da burbs has given this album new life for me)" - Alex

"Similar to Nick, my other TTC was Send His Love to Me because I think it's hard to beat a raucous jangly acoustic banger. I love how this album is structured around those moments like C'mon Billy and Send His Love to Me but manages to extend outwards and encompass all sorts of related sounds that feels like it's in dialogue with artists both before and after. The Dancer at times sounds like a Coctau Twins track, and when we listened to St. Vincent, Bring Me Your Loves as a refrain instantly reminded me of the title track. While sounding so different, the inspiration was clear to me.

I just think it's a really solid album and I'm so glad it's ended up dovetailing with a lot of stuff we've listened to already." - Steve

Editor's Note: We were provided with a playlist that stripped the radio play out of this album.

"Pete Townshend is my all time favorite songwriter. He had a way that he can craft a song throughout his 60 year career that mesmerizes me every time I hear a song. Not all songs are perfect and some are down right bad. But I would say 90% of his output I love. I started to dig into The Who and Peter Townshend in 2006, slowly listening to all available things Who and Townshend. Browsing Wikipedia and absorbing all the knowledge I could muster, seeing Psycoderlict as Pete’s last solo album and last produced album he was apart of until 2006 raised questions and interest. Why did he stop, he was consistent in releasing stuff with shorter windows. Reading this album had mixed reviews and low sales due to the radio play aspect forced the release of the music only version. This even added more to the lore. I bought the Music Only version because, to be honest, I found the use of actors lame in a discography full of just straight up music. Even the Tommy movie has no spoken lines. This review focuses on the Music Only version as it is the one I feel in love with and we can focus on what Pete does best, convey messages through songs and lyrics. The lyrical themes in the album that he expands upon that he had previously written about. growing older, struggle with that, the pedestal’s we put famous people and others on. Being a post war British baby boomer. One aspect of the story we do not get in the music only is the explanation of the Grid, which is sort of a fleshed out version of Lifehouse, Pete’s complex abandoned project.

What makes this different than” the same old song with a few new lines.” The music is different than who and pervious work. I always appreciated Townshend’s ambition to try new things. Every record stands on its own, and this is no exception. and there is a range of different musical styles. Like the higher pitched vocals in the last chorus of “Let’s Get Pretentious” this jazzy bluesy “Outlive The Dinosaur” the vocal arrangement for the verses of “Early Morning dreaming.” He shows he isn’t gonna do the same old thing, he is gonna dress it up. He still presents catchy songs with complex arrangements, guitar lick and phrasing that are him but pushed

One of the instrumental pieces stands out to me above the rest and that is Meher Baba M3 as this is just a greasy guitar band jam. I love the tone of the guitar.

Flame is the outlier here, it doesn’t really fit stylistic, given it isn’t even write by Pete. Very dated sound where I feel the album doesn’t have a dated feel overall.

To comment on Alex’s view of Now and Then, I think sometimes the simplicity of what the chorus is and deliver a powerful message. Love is like that, you just feel it when you get to know someone beyond the physical. We can’t do a thing about it. People try to put us down, just because we get around, also simple also massively affective." - Zach

"I don’t really remember why I decided to put this record on when I did the first time. Maybe George Clinton came up and I was just wondering what the Funkadelic side was. Parliament being that disco funk that I love, i was wondering what the other band did (not realizing that it’s kinda the same band, but not?)

But I took a break at work and threw it on. And maggot brain blew my mind. I remember starting to just cry a little. Like I felt the pain that Eddie was trying to convey (while both on acid, George asked him to imagine that his Mom died and what his guitar would say about that). I kinda like how all the songs fade out (which I usually don’t like) because it makes me feel like there is more to the story of the music, and they’re still playing the song today lol I think I would be remised if I didn’t talk about the other songs. “can you get to that” is so unique, but familiar. The guitar is so chill. I imagine being on a boat with a bunch of friends and having a sing a long. The bass vocal is so great in that tune. I was also happy the first time I heard it because I realized that “Rill Rill” by Sleigh Bells used the guitar as a sample (I guess that’s why it was familiar)

“hit it and quit it” and “you and your folks, me and my folks” are kinda two sides of the same coin. Real sexy songs. Post-Motown psych. Something I really wish I could find more of. I love my disco, but I really love the underground style pre-disco funk. It’s what really paved the way so the stars could shine.

I like that these songs aren’t afraid to get sexual. People complain that hip hop and R&B of the 90’s and 2000’s was too sex forward. But a lot of black music seems to gravitate towards that thematic. Maybe because in this country, it was the only thing they could do that was making them feel equal, as their rights were stripped elsewhere. I kinda like that black music gets weird and “freaky”. Everyone tries to copy it without the authenticity. Like hearing Igor by Tyler, I don’t know if that could have existed if George Clinton didn’t step up and get weird with it. Would I say he probably was one of the most influential black musicians of all time without people realizing?? Yes.

Any true artist beats to their own drum and doesn’t compromise. Black musicians, like Zach said, have to be innovative and better than the white musicians. They have to do their own thing, and then white boys with guitars reap the benefits when they cop it." - Nick

"I picked this album because it surprised me. I was pretty unfamiliar with Blondie and their mix of punk and 50s sounding rock and disco still feels novel to me. Even on close listen, I forget that One Way ends with that breakdown that really elevates the song for me. Same with the reggae jam at the end of Fade Away and Radiate. The album just really surprised me, and when it wasn’t throwing new interesting twists, it was just straight up solid rock.

And then there’s the lyrics, which yeah having a dude sing One Way completely doesn’t work but women should write all the creepy stalker songs they want. The album is straightforward about its lust but also sometimes it just describes falling asleep in front of the television. It’s just fun!" - Steve

"It took me a while to come around to Coheed in general. I think its partially because I read "Oh, the albums are all rock operas, that means I need to listen to every album in order and read the comic books at the same time so I can understand and follow the story." But I never made it this far because the first album is very raw and little too meandering for it to really click. It wasn't until I said "Ok, fuck the story" and just listened to the greatest hits that I started to really enjoy it (and, ironically, I remember exactly when and where I was when it did! I was walking up 31st Street in Astoria to Derek's apartment, and Ten Speed came on right as I was crossing under the subway in front of Mela Pizzeria).

This is the first album where things started to fall into place, at least musically. I still don't love the story. But the songs feel very distinct and memorable, the leitmotifs are easier to track, and the whole affair just feels more put together. I especially like how Apollo I feels polished and composed, then Apollo II (aka Willing Well III) feels more slipshod and frantic...very In the Flesh? vs In the Flesh." - Alex

"I knew of St. Vincent when this came out. Really liked her appearance on SNL. But I listened to this album for the first time after seeing her on the Grammy’s performing with Dua Lipa, doing the self-titled track to Masseduction. So I listed to both of those albums non-stop at that time. The self titled album being more of what I was use to and masseduction being more where I was heading musically was a really cool experience to jump between the two.

The Self-Titled just really paints a wonderful picture of this dystopian tech hellscape where life is still happening. Even your guitar doesn’t sound like a guitar. And I really loved that about it. The instrument has so much more to offer. (Really liked Zach’s Jack white comment). It’s a great showcase of indie rock pushing the bounds and not being like everyone else. All the songs are different.

My favorite line of many is from “regret”

“I'm afraid of heaven because I can't stand the heights. I'm afraid of you because I can't be left behind” is such a relatable line about the death of, well, anything. Friendship or a loved one, or even of a society.

Also, Rattlesnake fucks" - Nick

"This album's just a great dance party. It tells the Sophomore Slump to kick brick. One of the fascinating things about this record is that it came out on March 27, 2020. Right as we were about two weeks into lock down. A lot of artist pushed their albums back (Lady Gaga famously) but Dua and her team still pushed forward and gave everyone a little joy during that weird time. It paid off. It was all about Tiger King, Future Nostalgia and clapping for nurse at 7 PM.

The album consistency of the new but old feel is something I love. The producers go full on with the disco string and the funk, but bring in the modern production techniques. He voice suits the materials very well and the lyrics are clever, and fun. It’s a great record to put on for any occasion." - Zach

"I know you all know this about me, but I'll repeat it anyway so its on the record. Pink Floyd is my favorite band and Roger Waters is the reason for that. While I do think Roger and David bring out the best in each other (neither of them did anything solo that was as good as their joint stuff), I am firmly in the camp of "Pink Floyd would be nothing without Roger." He basically defined to me what music could be and what it should strive to be. He taught me that songs can be bitingly political and witty/funny at the same time, that music can tell an expansive story, and that it can kick ass all the way through.

Despite this, I also think he is one of the goofiest human beings on planet earth. I don't think I can think of an artist whose work I revere as much, and who I also simply cannot take seriously. He's a freak! A lunatic! Deeply unserious! This mfer really said "Dear Ukrainian Woman, you should stop resisting and let Russia come in, that way the violence would be over. By the way, send me pics of ur dog."

Radio K.A.O.S. is the ultimate embodiment of that dynamic. It's a rock opera that is extremely earnest and heartfelt, Roger clearly has stuff he wants to say, and a lot of the messaging does land for me. BUT. It's also the cheesiest corniest silliest fucking thing I've ever listened to. The whole premise of a dude in a wheelchair picking up radiowaves in his head is such a bonkers stupid (offensive?) concept, but Roger commits fully to it in a way that almost comes across as endearing.

I'm sitting here laughing at the album. Even in Radio Waves, I'm just thinking like "Man, Roger, why do you sound so old and tired? We're not that far removed from Floyd?" Or Home, like Nick said, a signature Roger Waters listicle song. Or Me or Him, which ends in such a fucking Roger way with TV commercials and cars going by...this dude has been doing the same stupid audio tricks for a decade!

AND YET I LOVE THEM EVERY TIME. I turned on a Waters album and the second I hear advertisements crackling over static, I'm always like "Hell yeah brother, you change that channel!" To me, this is such a perfect distillation of who Roger Waters is. A guy that has serious things to say, pours his heart into it, but still comes across like a goofball because he is a fucking goofball. It's perfect." - Alex

"I was really getting into “every open eye” during covid (highly recommend this album too). CHVRCHES was a band I skipped at a festival to get front row for LCD Soundsystem (worth it!), but I always regretted that. Their other two albums didn’t do much for me. Initially, the “he said she said” lead single didn’t do much for me. But I still, I was interested to hear the full album when it dropped. Blown away from the first listen. During a dark time in the world for many, and a new spark of feminism calling out their abusers, this album really brought it. I feel everyone, especially women, were trying to figure out how to “survive” this world where monsters were uncovered and really realized no one is safe if silent; even the rich, powerful, and famous. I will acknowledge Alex’s issue with kinda the same sound. Every Open Eye can feel like that too (but they fucking rule on that one too). But I feel with world building, and in loose concept albums, you want recurring themes. I think of it as a movie in a way, these songs all live here, and they don’t live anywhere else. It should all meld together.

Lauren is an incredible woman. She never shies away from speaking up for those who feel they can’t. Even criticized DJ Marshmellow whom they collabed with for also collabing with Chris Brown. Even knowing that was going to alienate the new audience they may have gotten from that collab. Standing up for what is right is a big turn on for me musically. I did get to see them in Buffalo. I was in the pit. It was incredible, I think even on stage, I was taller than Lauren." - Nick

"Thank you for giving this one a shot - I picked this one knowing it would be challenging. I agree that the voice seems to be a gimmick because he can actually sing, but then I think, then there must be a reason he's doing this intentionally? And then I start seeing how his usage of it makes his melodic moments hit way harder, The Councelor's Office "All the probleeeeeems, stem from the lack offffffff...." or in An Evening of Moving Pictures "So what's the catch? Will you catch me when I fall?" and it just makes the song and lyricism soar.

It is a very, very dark album and I 100% get not wanting to go there at any point. I think to tie it back to Nick's earlier point, especially in the metal/hardcore scene, it feels like an important album for giving a voice to underserved viewpoints in that community. Finally, emo that isn't about wanting to kill your girlfriend. It's been a long time since I heard an album that felt like I was getting raw unfiltered emotion from someone." - Steve

Editors Note: As most of TMSC are Gaga fans, this album was placed in the rotation the week it released and not indicative of any member's pick.

"Overall, loved the album. I felt like it was a sequel to every Lady Gaga album. Step aside Taylor, the real Eras tour starts here. Killah and Zombieboy feels very The Fame, LoveDrug feels very Born This Way, Garden of Eden feels very Artpop, Blade of Grass feels very Joanne, etc. Obviously I hope she keeps making music forever, but if this were to be her final album, I'd think it was a good high note to go out. Feels like a solid culmination of everything. (Please don't stop making music, Stef).

In general, I think this probably is my favorite album of hers since Artpop. Right from the jump, those first few notes of Disease, I was sold. I had the hook that I felt Chromatica was missing and the edges that Joanne had (admittely, rightly) sanded off.

But also, my GAWD, I can't get over what a Taylor Swift song How Bad Do U Want Me is. Like, it is unfathomable to me that Gaga wrote this and not Swift. I'm not the biggest Swiftie here, nor am I her biggest hater, so the song didn't bother me per se, but I can't listen to it without thinking "The wrong person is singing this." Also, I didn't notice the Peter Griffin laugh until you pointed it out Zach, and now I can't unhear it." - Alex

"In 2009, I remember hearing a DJ say that in a recent interview with Neil Peart that the next Rush album would be something no one has heard from Rush before. That day I was already a fan of Clockwork Angels. When the album came out I felt like I was hit in the face by this sonic masterpiece and every time I listen to it, I love it more and hear more things I fall in love with. For the past 13 years it has been a rock in my listening. This is no Clorox commercial album.

And these 3 guy fired all the cylinders for this album. Each of them show case their masterclass abilities on every track. Everyone having a moment to shine with solos. Complex arrangements and just fucking funky breakdown. The arrangements are diverse but held together.

I just love this album so much. Some of these songs are just fucking sick and rip. I could go on and on. In the end, The Garden is a perfect ending the Rush’s career. It is such a beautiful song. And I love the ebbs and flows and I feel Alex’s solo. Just a great piece.

I hope this album encourages you to look beyond the lighted stage of hits this band has. Their catalog is not perfect but there are so many awesome gems throughout their 40 years of recorded music." - Zach

"[T]his album was the epitome of a grower for me. I also came to the album from Zombie and was so disappointed when the rest of the album initially didn't meet my expectations. I thought it was too slow, too sparse, not enough to hook into (and sometimes, I still feel this way! I think the overall pacing is a bit slow). But as I kept listening, it kept unfolding more and more to me. Tuning into the lyrics helped, but just setting into the ebb and flow of the songs, like skimming atop waves. Sometimes you ramp up and your blood pumps and sometimes you drift down and sit in a groove and a mood for a bit. I've been listening to this album on and off for years but my close listen this week was the one I got the most out of yet. Music is powerful!

Shout out to Yeat's Grave and Daffodil's Lament, I think both of those songs are S-tier as well. Also agree on No Need to Argue. Dolores could sing the alphabet and I'd be enraptured. I don't know if it's intentional or not, but I feel like a lot of artists' accents get hidden for whatever reason, and I love that you can hear Dolores' brogue so clearly." - Steve

"In general, I feel like modern rock has sorta gone off in two directions. It's either gotten really heavy, very metal- or metal-adjacent. Or, its gone into super alternative indie noodling territory. Outside of, like, the Foo Fighters and a handful of classic rock-inspired punk bands, its tough for me to find modern rock and roll that feels like it has the far-reaching roots of the stuff I grew up on. I almost feel about modern rock how Hayao Miyazaki feels about modern anime. The modern rock/anime is influenced by older rock/anime, whereas older rock/anime was influenced by a whole bunch of other things. And that's why this album really speaks to me. Like, yes, its rock (and its rockin' rock), but I hear so much blues and folk and country in this band that it was like a breath of fresh air when I first found them. Whereas a lot of albums take several listens for me to really grok them, this one hooked me immediately. I was like "Oh, I get it." - Alex

"There are not many rappers in the modern era that are musicians themselves. I am happy that members of Odd Future (and their offshoots) were recognized for their talents musically, lyrically, and for performance. This album is an absolute stunner from Tyler that I don’t think anyone ever expected from really anyone. You can tell this is such a personal story of him as he put everything into it, and its effect.

I’m a sucker for a theme and concept album, so when my friend Brandon threw this to me, I was very very into it. It also helped me understand Tyler’s previous work, working backwards. The mass confusion that came after Flower Boy and him alluding to his sexuality being other than straight was a shock as he had some very controversial homophobic lyrics in prior works. What makes this album work is his honesty with himself. He likes chicks and dudes, and he wrote about that. He didn’t have to hide any of it, and that authenticity shined through. It’s truly one of my favorite albums of the century. It’s wild, aggressive, heartfelt, and down right beautiful. He’s not a good singer, but his emotion drives enough to be convincing otherwise" - Nick

"This has Everything an album needs: Songs about Sex, Motorcycles, sci fi stories of avenging someone against a gang in an unreal epic bloodbath that sends shivers down your spine and Rock and Roll

Tom Allom’s production really pulls the best performances out of each member. Even changing up the sounds on a song like Love Bites, where it is not a traditional metal sound, or even a sound the have done in the past. The fast bridge vocals in Freewheel Burning is so impressive to me to get all those ideas to make them work. The way that Glenn and Kk’s guitars just mesh so well and don’t step over each other when both players are truly metal master. He reeled them in so well.

Obviously our stand out performer is Rob Halford who’s runs are absolutely insane and earn him the title of “The Metal God” how his voice sound great in every register on every song. His ability to sound so good so high is jaw dropping. He was at his peak. And this was 6 years before Painkiller. They say your early/ mid 30s is a vocalist peak. He was around 33 at this time. Some of the lyrical content features so very Heavy handed innuendos. I’m sure we all gathered that Jawbreaker is about a Penis (something the band didn’t even know until after Rob came out) and Eat Me Alive being as they say “tongue in cheek”. (Read up on The Filthy 15, satanic panic bullshit) In today’s music, especially with the superstars, it seems trendy to have all your songs be autobiographical and you can just make up crazy stories just write about motorcycles and Cock.

This album is one of my favorites of their career. I would consider it their last great album. All Theo pieces really came together. Making something off the heels of another fantastic record adds pressure and they really cooked well under it for this one." - Zach

"I also just knew Spiderwebs, Don't Speak, and Just a Girl (goddamn all three of those rip though). A friend had been begging me to listen to No Doubt for a long time and when I finally did I also didn't expect ska. It's funny Zack mentioned Gwen Stefani sounding like Geddy Lee because I also was going to highlight that vibrato thing she does and that's exactly the right description. Same with the Blondie call out - I actually also put Parallel Lines in the album pool lol.

Anyway the album a really fun listen. It's got rockers, boppers, and dramatic grooves (groppers?). You just can't go wrong with Tragic Kingdom. It's the album I'll always put on if I'm not sure what I want to listen to because Spiderwebs always hooks me from the get go." - Steve

"I really like the first two Gunship albums, but they've always felt like Really Really Really Good versions of a genre that is sorta just background music. Whenever I put on synthwave, its usually when I'm going into deep work mode or space out on the couch mode. I never really listen to synthwave. This album feels like Gunship took a major step, making the first synthwave album that really holds my attention and keeps me engaged with each and every song (except Ghost). There's a great sense of purpose to these songs; some of them are more aggressive, others more pensive, but meaningful all the same. On top of that, I just find several of the songs to be extremely sexy. Right off the bat, the whispered line of All this living is so worth dying for...I can make you feel alive immediately grabbed my attention. Alex Westaway also just has a very sultry voice and Weaponized Love does not hold back. The whole album just feels like this crazy amalgamation of moods; it's scary, it's soothing, it's horny, it's happy. Just a super rich evolution of the synthwave genre." - Alex

"My roommate freshman year introduced me to a lot of indie music and I really have to thank him because he lead me to explore music more than just the classic rock and their deep cuts. I was introduced to LCD Soundsystem, Kid Cudi, modest mouse to name a few.

I never heard anything like modest mouse before, I literally couldn’t believe my ears. A whole new world of music and approach, also something that people my age actually listened to (girls love modest mill use for some reason, but not king crimson???)

The album is close to my heart because of that. New fun experiences and new perspectives.

I love the aggression, even on the slower songs. This is the first time that I heard obvious mocking of God in music (along with their other albums). It was very rebellious and thought provoking. I have grown to like the 2 albums after more since they’re more controlled and polished, but have the same intensity and lyricism, but this started it for me." - Nick

"Basically a supergroup album Adrian brings his power and influence from playing with Frank Zappa, David Bowie and talking heads. Tony Levin, studio musician master introduces us to the Chapman stock as the first instrument you hear on the album. Bruford from Yes and Genesis and jazz roots and of course Robert Fripp as an innovator himself (look up Frippertronics), the brain child of the king crimson band but also probably its silent but deadly weapon.

This album is like Talking Heads on more Acid. The overall piece is unlike anything I have ever heard before. It just takes you to so many places and draws influence from so many areas. Prog, jazz, pop, spoken word, fusion, rock, jam. Though it is not something I would share with anybody it is pretty dense. My one issue with it in terms of putting identify on the players is who is playing what. The stick covers bass and treble ranges and Adrian and Fripp both play weird and complex passages. I know sheltering sky is Fripp because of the friggertronics tone. When I saw beat play live. I was stunned by of how much ground was covered by levin.

Years ago before hearing the album I looked up king crimson to see what the fuss was about and it was a performance of Elephant Talk on the show Fridays and I was horrified by the look and sound of the band but Adrian did the solo before the last verse and it was fucking insane to me. As indiscipline says. “The more I listen to it, the more I like it.”

As a music nerd I love the complex arrangements and stellar musicianship, the story of a band trying to be innovative. But I just really appreciate the humor that Adrain puts into some of the songs. Elephant talking with its verses begins with a letter ending with E to get to the title, but the line “these are words that start with a D this time” is just funny. Indiscipline being about a painting his wife made. The whole story in Thlea while this intense music is playing in the back." - Zach