Taylor Swift is very talented but she seems to be surrounded by so many yes men in recent years. Fans can never get enough so the machine must be fed. As a result, there's a conveyor belt of pop tunes with surface level lyrics for the mainstream public. You can feel left out when you're not entirely caught up on the Taylor lore of who she brought to the 2008 Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards. Red is a rare exception as she moves from her county roots into the pop word in a big way for ... read more

That "Hey Ho! Let's Go!" in the beginning was like the activation word for the sleeper agent in me. I raised from my seat to dust of my PlayStation and boot up Tony Hawks Pro Skater. I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend is quite a sweet song for such a loud and raw production. Followed by Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue in case you thought these were the type to bring home to Mom and Dad.

This album goes against all the essentials you would expect in music. Vocals in key, instruments in tune, melodic. The most out there approach is an 8 minute song called The Gift which is really just the first short story audiobook. Now I know what to pick for the next Karaoke night. "Sucking on my ding dong" is a pearl grasping shocking lyric for 1968. Felatio existed long before then but a flushing toilet was considered offensive just 8 years earlier when Hitchcock made Psycho. The ... read more

Back when Rap was punctuated in unison at the end of each bar. Clean cut lyrics compared to more modern hip hop. Maybe it was cool to rhyme school with fool in the mid 80s but now it doesn't rule? Maybe this clean rapping things is harder than it sounds. There's product placements at play here that are so significant it surpasses the typical boasting rappers pull off. Adidas and KFC essentially have their own songs. The RUN DMC Adidas representation is as iconic as the three stripes ... read more

This was far more experimental than I had expected. The Beatles have a signature sound in my mind with slight variations depending on their haircuts at the time. This felt like a playlist on shuffle across genres. Feels like a blue record at times, a Led Zeppelin B side next and then a jam session to top it off. The boys from Liverpool were on such a streak at this time that any pen to paper or whistling melody could be a sure fire hit so they let it be and watched the mania take hold.

R.E.M have an unquestionable sound. For their debut album to be so recognisable instantly is quite the feat. These cookies were fully baked before the oven even heated up. Pumping out biblical level hymns long before they lost their religion. There's a complexity to their lyrics that doesn't always appear in songs as catchy as Moral Kiosk but they pulled it off. The album cover looks like an accidental picture with the thumb over the lens edited out. Still managed to cause a public ... read more

Not what I was expecting from a Blondie album. Early days so still figuring out their sound for the most part. Debbie Harry's voice has a gentle danger to it. She'll lull you into a false sense of security then hit you with a bang like a shotgun barrel through a velvet pillow. Some of the songs felt like a high school dance with chaperones ensuring adequate distance between dancers. Need to check out their later work with more notable tracks. Back when I believed Blondie was Debbie ... read more

This is what the Swinging 60s is all about. And by Swinging I mean put your Mini Cooper keys in the bowl because Colin Blunstone is coming to steal your girl. They achieved a big hit in America on only their second studio album. They were only supposed to blow the bloody Top of The Pops off. Wild to think that they had already had split at the time so never performed the songs on stage. I could have sworn I saw a live performance of Time of The Season. Perhaps it was She's Not There or I ... read more

All the songs. So many songs. That's what it takes to have four hit singles I guess. Parklife is the reemergence of Britpop in force. Blur scratched the cool S into their school desk before Oasis could sit down and flick their boogers at Coldplay. Tracy Jacks is a standout for me and should be classed alongside other songs titled after people like The Police's Roxane, Dolly's Jolene or Michael's Billie Jean. Recently watched the Blur: To The End documentary. These men now in ... read more

This album is packed So much is happening at every moment. I had to look up how many band members and instruments were used in the making of. It's like if the Shibuya pedestrian crossing were all musicians going their own way bit it creates something truly unique. David Byrne often gets most of the credit for Talking Heads which more devoted fans may argue if it's deserved or not but this album shows he has some tricks up his sleeves. This was before his big baggy sleeved suit so even ... read more

Led Zeppelin is the definition of a rock band. Younger generations are most likely familiar with the band logo as a font for graphic tees without appreciating the artistry of music from over 50 years ago. Which is completely their right! Is there anything less rock and roll than listening to your Dad's (Dad's) music. Stairway to Heaven is one of the greatest songs ever written which has a relisten-ability which not many songs that long has. Such an ambitious undertaking for a song. ... read more

Peter Gabriel has eluded me for too long. I knew he was successful but I had him written off as a bit of a two hit wonder. Sledgehammer was one of the first music videos that mystified me as a child. Most would say Thriller but for me it was a toss up between Sledgehammer and Christopher Walken tearing up a hotel lobby in Weapon of Choice. Some of the tracks feel a bit like a Diet Phil Collins soundtrack to a direct to DVD sequel to Tarzan. Red Rain is an exception though an has motivated me to ... read more

Listened to the remastered version. Can never tell the difference between originals and remastered audio. If it was critically acclaimed at the time why change it? First time I had heard of "The Band". Maybe I heard of them mentioned before but I thought the person was being deliberately vague on the band's name. This is genre-expanding level work. Hauntingly beautiful to start and gets increasingly more fun with a song dedicated to looking like a killer but being unable to clear ... read more

This album is wild. So deeply personal it feels like you're flipping through the diary of Marvin's heartbreak. The lyrics to some of the songs feel freestyled being recorded after only a few takes. Truly unlike anything I've ever heard before. If this was a big album release from a major singer going through this level of heartbreak now it would mostly be tied with subtle jabs on Instagram for fans to decode. Marvin goes all out. Incredible how he was able to document the falling ... read more

This was a wild ride. Never noticed layers to songs so clearly before. Felt completely separate from one another. Interesting mashups of different genres. The fusion of jazz and electronic beats were masterfully paired as if someone was using dial-up internet in the room next to a jazz band. Can't emphasize enough how great Everything In It's Right Place is. Who would have though a sing about waking up and sucking on a lemon could have such a specific media influence. Used in ... read more

I heard of Public Enemy for years without ever truly hearing them apart from the typical "Fight The Power" backing tracking to protest videos. As far as I was aware Public Enemy could have been a John Grisham book. This album is so alive. The added effect of changing back and forth between radio station news channels still feels fresh. Not my first introduction to Flava Flave and Ice Cube though. I knew of them through a completely different lens. Flava Flave was a near sighted ... read more

Bob Dylan is not my guy. First full album introduction was challenging despite keeping an open mind. Maybe I started too early in his discography as fans are divided on before and after he went electric. There's no doubt the man is an incredible lyricist. His singing of vowels specifically is really called into question for me with this, elongating them wherever necessary to fill the needed space to align with the next. The delivery of these lyrics feels like a slam poetry rendition of Old ... read more

Arcade Fire really had their signature sound figured out right from the start. Always loved The Suburbs but The Neighbourhood seems like a first draft for their later album. Is Wake Up must be the most late 2000s film trailer song or was that just Where The Wild Things Are. The Shins New Slang came in as a recommended song after which give Spotify the manic pixie dream girl fringe it has always wanted.