#149: Fiona Apple - Tidal

Emily: Even though Fiona Apple’s Tidal spawned numerous singles, including the Grammy-winning Criminal, and even though the videos for those singles received heavy MTV airplay, to classify the album as just ‘90s pop singer-songwriter stuff does not even begin to accurately describe the beautifully nuanced music and storytelling behind it. Through both her music and her lyrics, Apple’s soul is on display for all to hear. She was a teenager when she wrote most of the album, but her deeply personal lyrics are mature beyond her years. Each song is an emotional snapshot of the love and loss in a relationship gone bad. The music behind the lyrics plays into the story as well. Tidal takes on a variety of styles beyond mere acoustic pop; jazz, soul, and blues are clear influences on the album’s haunting yet beautiful musical arrangements. This is definitely not your typical singer-songwriter fodder, but every element works beautifully together – an emotional display definitely deserving of its recognition, praise, and success.

Favorite Tracks: Criminal; Sleep to Dream; The Child is Gone

Zack: I expected this album to be overall enjoyable but nothing special. I thought it would probably be a typical poppy performance with mostly upbeat songs, 1-2 haunting melodies, and maybe a heartfelt song somewhere in the mix. Apparently, I drastically underestimated the musical ability of Ms. Apple. Because, well damn, homegirl can bring it. Most of the melodies are haunting and every single song is heartfelt. While I expected more of a jazzed up Katy Perry with some indie cred, I got something much more akin to a Jeff Buckley or Kate Bush. It was, in a word, tantalizing. I’m not even completely sure that Criminal was the high point. I…I…I can’t even pick out a high point. The entire album fluctuated from very good to very, very good with several songs bordering on brilliant. Bravo, Ms. Apple. Bravo. Oh, and call me?

Favorite Tracks: Sleep to Dream; The Child Is Gone; Criminal

#148: Bee Gees - Odessa (1968)

Emily: Unlike Zack, I was actually really excited to listen to the Bee Gees. Saturday Night Fever is one of my favorite movies, and their soundtrack is a big part of that. So many of those songs are classics – Stayin’ Alive, Night Fever, You Should Be Dancing, and so on and so forth. Yes, that album and movie are very disco and very dated, but I love them anyway. I was expecting something similar before I listened to Odessa. Unfortunately, that’s not what I got. I made the mistake of not looking at the date of the album before I listened to it. While I’m a fan of the Bee Gees circa 1977, Odessa hails from 1969 – way before the disco era and the sound that created my interest in the band. This album is less on the dance side, leaning more towards soft-rock ballads, instrumentals, and a bit of country influence. With my expectations as they were, I was underwhelmed by Odessa. That’s not to say it was a bad album; there’s some beauty in its understatement, especially with the instrumentals. But if you’re expecting John Travolta disco swagger, skip ahead to the Bee Gees of 1977.

Favorite Tracks: Whisper Whisper; Black Diamond; Never Say Never Again

Zack: If gambling were legal in our country, and if I could find a suckerrrrrrrr….I mean investor willing to place a prop wager against me on the matter, I would put a hefty sum on this being the most forgettable album of albums 101-200. I have already forgotten more of it than I did the last winner, uhhhhh. Never mind. Anyway, this is a double album, which makes it doubley as shrug-worthy. I can’t imagine any mood or activity that I could possibly be doing where I would want Odessa to be the soundtrack. Nothing. Even with metal, albums, I would want that playing while I fought a grizzle bear in the Octagon or something. But this? I just don’t want to hear it. Not because it’s bad, mind you. Because it elicits absolutely no response from me. If I’m taking the time to listen to something, I want to at least feel like I am invested in the music itself. If an album is bad, I have a powerful emotional response because I invested my time and I’m disappointed it was bad. The opposite is true for a good album. But with Odessa all I could muster was a “1 hour and 4 minutes of my life spent listening to that huh? Oh well.” And honestly, I expected a little more.

Favorite Tracks: Seven Seas Symphony; Marley Purt Driver; Suddenly

#147: Sinéad O'Connor - I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got (1990)

Zack: I listened to this album in its entirety while preparing a stew. And for some reason, it just worked. Seriously, this is really good cooking music. It’s nice and relaxed with beautiful vocals. It’s just a very calming thing to play while you brown some beef and transfer it to a slow cooker. I would be willing to wager that if one Gordan Ramsey listened to more Sinéad O'Connor while he cooked/hosted a game show about cooking, a lot less people would tune in every week. Despite what some of you may view as my divided attention, I did get a pretty close listen. For instance, I caught to subtle hint at police brutality towards African Americans in London in the song Black Boys on Mopeds. Okay, maybe it wasn’t that subtle. Anyway, it was nice to make such a connection with an album that’s just a little bit older than I am. Even today it still is just as lovely and passionate.

Favorite Tracks: Feel So Different; Nothing Compares 2 U; Black Boys on Mopeds

Emily: Sinead O’Connor is one badass Irish bitch. She’s bald, she refused to play a concert when the venue played the national anthem, and she ripped up a picture of Pope John Paul II on SNL. She even had the nerve to take a Prince funk song and turn it into a beautifully stripped-down love song. Okay, maybe that last one isn’t so badass, but it’s what skyrocketed Sinead O’Connor to all of her badassery. I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got is O’Connor’s breakthrough album, and pretty much the only one that was a hit (ripping up the Pope didn’t really serve her career too well in the long run). It’s easy to see why though: from heartbreakingly honest ballads to more upbeat alt-pop tracks, O’Connor’s vocals shine on every song.

Favorite Tracks: Nothing Compares 2 U; I Am Stretched on Your Grave; The Last Day of Our Acquaintance

#146: Klaxons - Myths of the Near Future (2007)

Zack: “When you're less a band and more a sonic Socratic method wrapped in hard-driving guitars and anthemic melodies, the gulf is embraced, and the void is ultimately surfed.” That is a quote from Klaxons home page. It is also a perfect representation of how torn I am over them. On one hand, ¾ of their album was really good and even, dare I say it, innovative. On the other hand, who describes themselves as a “sonic Socratic method?” As someone who has read a pretty solid amount of Plato, let me be the first here to say no. N. O. No. But, then again, the only reason I saw that quote was because I was on their website surfing for tour dates because I enjoyed most of their album (with a few songs that fell into the meh range pretty squarely). And that’s after two close listens, so I’ve had some time to evaluate. They’re a little different. They have a certain Talking Heads vibe to them, but more modern. I’d venture to guess that the Flaming Lips may be the closest comparison I can come up with, but even them the lack of synthesizers and spacieness through that off. One thing is for sure, though. They don’t sound like the Socratic method.

Favorite Tracks: Gravity’s Rainbow; Two Receivers; Totem on the Timeline

Emily: Zack and I listened to this album together a few weeks back, but neither of us actually wrote anything until now because we got caught up in an epic game of Text Twist. Seriously, it lasted for like two hours, and by the time we lost it was 2:30 AM and we had lost all semblance of writing ability and even what we thought of the album. Fast forward to today, and I finally had time to revisit Klaxons without getting sucked into another endless game. Then fast forward to a hipster warehouse party in the future, and you’ll get a pretty good idea of what Myths of the Near Future is all about. It’s rhythmic, fun, and catchy, perfect for dancing, but it has a futuristic vibe going on as well. Not something you’d find at a typical club, but I can definitely see hipsters grooving to this…or me in my living room. Either way, if the Klaxons are the future of dance music, than fast-forward me to that future.

Favorite Tracks: Golden Skans; Two Receivers; Gravity’s Rainbow

#145: System of a Down - System of a Down (1998)

Emily: System of a Down is an interesting band. On the one hand, they’re metal as metal can be – loud, fast, and ear-splitting. But on the other, they’re surprisingly listenable and mainstream. Songs like Chop Suey (not on this album, but worth mentioning) have become hits while playing with the fast, hyper-guitar driven sounds of their genre. The band’s self-titled first album shows early glimpses of this balance. To me it was kind of a crossover between metal and ‘70s punk. Most songs are short, fast bursts of guitar and screams – but not oh-my-god-I’m-scared screaming like in most other nu-metal. It actually reminded me of a metaled-up version of the Dead Kennedys, especially considering Serj Tankian’s vocals. I have no idea if that’s an accurate interpretation, but whatever. System of a Down is at the top of their genre for a reason – they take music that has become a cliché of shock value, and at least try to do something different with it.

Favorite Tracks: Spiders; Mind; Suggestions

Zack: I genuinely kind of like System of a Down, and am not embarrassed by it at all (I can’t say the same about my affection for Korn, but that’s a matter for another post). Mesmerize, Hypnotize, and Toxicity are three justifiably good albums (in that order of course). But I’d never listened to SOAD’s debut album and wasn’t really sure what to expect. Well, it’s really just more of the same as far as that distinctive System sound. My favorite part of SOAD’s style? Easily how quickly the vocals fly in range. In one second, it’ll be a Mickey Mouse-esque squeek. The next will be a booming screech of pure rage. It’s so hard to keep up but it gets me amped regardless.

Favorite Tracks: Mind; Spiders; P.L.U.C.K.

#144: Electric Light Orchestra - Out of the Blue (1977)

Zack: I’ll be honest: I listened to this album like 3 weeks ago. I just didn’t have anything to write, so I threw it on the backburner and used finals and papers as an excuse not to set aside 10 minutes to write a little blurb about it. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Emily has been silently judging my laziness (she listened to it about a week ago but wrote her review promptly; just like a business school kid to do something as if there’s a deadline).But luckily for all of you, inspiration hit me in the form of an article on one of my favorite websites of all time: Cracked. It pointed out one of the songs on the random 4-song concept mini-album that appears in the middle as something that just randomly makes him happy. I couldn’t agree more. I don’t know why or how, but this album just makes you happy. I wouldn’t say it’s particularly upbeat or is just so good that it restores your faith that humans can produce good music every once in a while. It just naturally uplifts. Like it’s the sound of puppies cocking their heads slightly to the right and then running up to sit on your lap and lick your face. Yeah, that sounds about right.

Favorite Tracks: Mr. Blue Sky; Turn to Stone; Believe Me Now 

Emily: Imagine a laser light show perfectly coordinated to booming classical music. Like Trans-Siberian Orchestra, or something like that. It’s ridiculous and over the top, but something you absolutely need to see at least once. That’s what I thought I was getting before I listened to Electric Light Orchestra. To an extent, that’s what I got. Out of the Blue definitely wasn’t classical and I don’t really think it would coordinate well with lasers, but the sentiment is there. Like a laser light show, it’s high-concept, over-the-top, and just short of ridiculous. There’s even a mini-opus in the middle called Concerto for a Rainy Day that’s about (you guessed it!) a rainy day. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed Out of the Blue. Yes, it’s cheesy, but isn’t most pop music? The songs are melodic and hummable, much more pop-oriented than I expected them to be. It’s not the greatest album ever by any stretch, but it’s fun – definitely deserving at least one listen (just like that laser light show).

Favorite Tracks: Turn to Stone; Mr. Blue Sky; Wild West Hero