#373: R.E.M. - Automatic for the People (1992)

Zack: This is the second R.E.M. album we’ve listened to. The first – Document – was just the 15^th album that we reviewed back in November of 2010. To give you a sense of how long ago that was, neither Emily nor I could legally drink, and I had yet to master my dorm room bathroom mead recipe to circumvent that particular conundrum. We were sophomores in college and as such had so little actual work to do that we were able to review 20 albums that month which…damn. That’s literally 10 times the pace we currently work at. Using that as a proxy, our lives are 10 times busier now. That actually sounds about right. Also, I don’t think women could vote yet, although I may need to double check the dates on that one. It looks like Emily and I were both underwhelmed by that album (I relistened to it a few months ago and came away thinking the same thing), and honestly things didn’t really change for me on Automatic for the People. It still was a combination of alternative rock with a softer, jinglier side. It still was generally pleasant, but it was still kind of unexciting. I can see how a bunch of different alternative artists from the 90s drew on them, but I think I’d be much happier checking out a band that was influenced by R.E.M. than just listening to R.E.M.

Favorite Tracks: Man on the Moon; Everybody Hurts; Drive

Emily: R.E.M. was super prolific and super critically acclaimed in the '80s and early '90s. That has since slowed down considerably, but the band is still regarded as one of the pioneers of alternative rock and their numerous singles are still in heavy rotation on alt-rock radio. In another few years (and perhaps even already), those songs will migrate to classic rock stations, but I'm sure R.E.M.'s ubiquity will remain. Automatic for the People, R.E.M.'s eighth album, arrived in 1992, as alternative rock was shifting and morphing into grunge. It's definitely not a grunge album, though, but rather more of R.E.M.'s signature mumbly-dude-with-a-guitar sound. I prefer when the band picks up the tempo and goes a bit more tongue-in-cheek (a la It's the End of the World as We Know It), but R.E.M.'s influence on the indie and alt-rock music of the last 20 years is undeniable.

Favorite Tracks: Everybody Hurts; Nightswimming; The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite

#372: The Beau Brummels - Triangle (1967)

Zack: And now it’s time for a recurring segment here at our little blog: Why Are We Listening to This? This bit doesn’t necessarily imply an album is unredeemable, but that there is absolutely no way that it is in the top 1000 (and one) essential albums. Triangle is a good album. It’s a pleasant mix of country, folk, rock, and psychedelic music. But it doesn’t do any of those genres particularly well and I find it hard to believe that there aren’t albums who serve as better examples of genre blending. Some random guy from the Internet doesn’t even think it’s a top 40 album in its fucking year. The clearly credible besteveralbums.com has Triangle at a robust 238^th best album of 1967, and that’s the nicest number from that page I could mention. Looking at the lists of albums from that year, I am very, very willing to accept those as legitimate. The first album chronologically for the list came out in 1955, which means 60 years of music for an average of 17-ish albums per year. And yet somehow this one makes the cut? Sorry for invoking so much #data and #math, but this is pretty ridiculous. Once again, Triangle is a fine album. But it peaks at good, which quite frankly is not good enough.

Favorite Tracks: Magic Hollow; The Wolf of Velvet Fortune; Only Dreaming Now

Emily: I really don't have much to say about this album. Like Zack, I'm not sure why we were even listening to it. It's not a bad way to spend 28 minutes, but it's an aggressively mediocre album. 1967 was a great year for music - Sgt. Pepper, Are You Experienced?, and The Velvet Undergroun & Nico all came out that year, just to name a few. I'd rather spend my time with one of those classics than the Beau Brummels any day.

Favorite Tracks: Nine Pound Hammer; Triangle; And I've Seen Her

#371: The Crickets - The "Chirping" Crickets (1957)

Zack: It’s been a while since I’ve written one of these at this point, so please forgive me if I don’t quite remember what I’m supposed to do. If memory serves, I believe I normally say some random fact I looked up on Wikipedia, give a #hotmusictake, then make some terrible pun and call it a day. Starting with phase one, I think it’s relatively common knowledge that The Crickets were essentially just a Buddy Holly vehicle. But it’s actually a bit more ridiculous than that. By the time he was 19, Holly was already a blossoming rock star stemming from his tours opening for Elvis Freaking Presley (actual name, check the birth certificate). The Crickets were created because Holly’s manager figured that radio stations would be willing to play more Buddy Holly music if they got to say a different name each time. So, basically, The Crickets were a vehicle for the public to overdose of a guy who was just exiting his teenage years. Chirping Crickets has a lot of virtues, but I think my favorite was (we’re now in phase 2) that it was only 28 minutes long. As a culture, we need more 30-minute albums. Thirty-minute albums are never disappointing. It’s just too easy to produce 30 minutes of quality music. And the Crickets really nailed the 30-minute album formula here. Chirping Crickets isn’t particularly incredible, instead hovering right in that solid formative rock and roll zone where the music is solid but not particularly adrenaline inducing. But it’s very well contained, and ends up being something you can hop around to (conclude phase 3).

Favorite Tracks: That’ll Be the Day; Last Night; Oh, Boy!

Emily: How appropriate that we're reviewing this review on October 26, 2015 - Back to the Future Day! Today officially marks the day where all of the Back to the Future trilogy takes place in the "past." Though we don't have hoverboards yet, the Cubs could go to the World Series, so at least part of their predictions came true. I don't actually prefer the "future" part of Back to the Future 2 - the far superior movie is the first one, where Marty McFly goes back to the '50s to make sure that his parents get together so the timeline to his life stays intact. Along the way, he "introduces" rock and roll to the world (aka a high school dance) in 1955. The '50s were a simpler time, where a time-traveler from 1985 could show the musical world what they were missing. Never mind that, by that time, Buddy Holly was already opening for Elvis and was just a couple years away from becoming a rock and roll star in his own right. The Crickets were essentially a Buddy Holly star vehicle, and their debut album here showcases the new style of rock and roll he brought to soda shops and sock hops around the country. The songs are short and simple, switching between up-tempo dance songs and slower ballads with accompanying harmonies. This album may seem out of place in today's hoverboardless world, but it's definitely worth a listen for going Back in Time.

Favorite Tracks: Oh, Boy!; That'll Be the Day; It's Too Late

#370: MC5 - Kick Out the Jams (1969)

Zack: Now this is what I’m fucking talking about! Right away, this album called me a motherfucker, and I knew I was in good hands. MC5 had the balls to introduce themselves to the world with a live album, and I can’t imagine them doing it any other way. Multiple takes and editing are for suckers. Kick out the Jams is explosive from the very start to the very end. MC5 pack so much into 40 minutes that I wouldn’t be surprised if vinyl copies of this album count as a renewable energy source. You can hear everything that would happen in the punk movement over the next 10 years right hear: From Iggy and the Stooges debut only one year later up to The Sex Pistols. Kick out the James is a must-listen for sure for anyone who wants to understand that part of American and British music. On a final note, though, I want to call out Lester Bangs, a person I just learned existed, who was dubbed “America’s Greatest Rock Critic” by someone who is cited on Wikipedia. Apparently, Kick out the James was Bangs first ever review for Rolling Stone, and he called it a “ridiculous, overbearing, pretentious album.” I…but…that doesn’t even make sense. For starters, I honestly don’t think I could come up with a less pretentious album if you paid and/or threatened me. Second, who says ridiculous has to be a bad thing? And third, overbearing? Now who’s pretentious? In summation (yes, this is now a thesis), don’t listen to Lester Bangs. Listen to me. Listen to this album.

Favorite Tracks: Motor City Is Burning; Kick out the Jams; I Want You Right Now

Emily: Occasionally, I find myself wishing that we decided to listen to the albums in chronological order. Now, of course I realize that we probably would've quit partway through the '50s if that were the case, but in some instances it would have been interesting to chart the course of a band or a genre as it evolved over the years and decades instead of piecing it all together like a puzzle. Kick Out the Jams is definitely one of the more important puzzle pieces in the patchwork of punk we've gone through so far, and I wish we could have listened to it sooner. It's from 1969, which is a bit too early to truly be considered punk, and it does have songs that stretch longer than 3 minutes, which the genre all but abandoned by the late '70s. However, every punk album for the rest of the decade seems to hearken back to what MC5 did here. The music is fast and powerful, the lyrics are controversial, and the attitude is sneering and ass-kicking. While these hallmarks of the genre evolved over the following years, MC5 seemed to be starting it all.

Favorite Tracks: Kick Out the Jams; Borderline; Motor City is Burning

#369: Ghostface Killah - Fishscale (2006)

Zack: I’ve thought a lot about who my favorite member of Wu-Tang is. I’ve gone through and given senior superlatives to pretty much all of them. And I’m sure I’ll delve more into some of them when we listen to albums by Raekwon, Method Man, and GZA, all of whom I have hot rap takes on. But Ghostface Killah takes the crown for me, and I don’t even think it’s particularly close. Tony Starks is the only one who can drop an album in 2015 and people’s ears perk up, for one thing. Seriously, I love Cuban Linx as much as the next guy, but I didn’t bother giving F.I.L.A. a chance because I can’t take any more disappointment from Raekwon. But Ghostface is still churning out concept albums about supervillains that are solid at worst. Hell, he’s already dropped two good albums this year and may still have a collaboration with MF Doom coming before 2015 is up. Even within Ghostface’s stellar catalogue, though, Fishscale is something special. Not many artists hit their stride on album five, but I firmly believe Starks did exactly that here. Iron Man is great, as is Supreme Clientele and The Pretty Toney Album. But Fishscale combines Ghostface’s incredible storytelling and unique (until Action Bronson anyway) delivery with some top-of-the-line, not-just-RZA-or-RZA-knockoff beats. The list of producers behind Fishscale reads like an All-Star team. J Dilla, Just Blaze, and Pete Rock pop as the big 3, but Doom’s work here can’t be overlooked. The result is polished, but not commercial. And Ghostface sounds like he’s out to get the most from each and every song. It’s funny to think about how different a place Starks was in here than when he was recording his verses for 36 Chambers, which just makes it even more impressive that he was able to come just as hard.

Favorite Tracks: Kilo; 9 Milli Bros.; Momma

Emily: Unlike Zack, I haven't put much (read: any) thought into my favorite member of the Wu-Tang Clan. Most of my interaction with Wu-Tang is through Zack's excitement about them or Buzzfeed articles filled with pictures of children wearing Wu-Tang shirts. Appropriately, though, I'm pretty sure I know the most about Ghostface Killah. Not about his music, of course, but about his reality "performance" on Vh1's Couples Therapy. Appearing alongside such distinguished figures as Jon Gosselin and Teen Mom (and porn star) Farrah Abraham, Ghostface and his girlfriend Kelsey (whose hair can only be described as a horse mohawk) participated on the show in order to work on their relationship (/get on TV). Among the fun facts revealed during the show were that Kelsey used to be a stripper (which Ghostface didn't like) and that Ghostface had another girlfriend who also ended up on the show in a group therapy session with Ghostface, Kelsey, and Dr. Jen. Really classy stuff. And I also don't really understand why Ghostface was on the show in the first place. Unlike the washed-up reality "stars" seeking to extend their 15 minutes of fame, Ghostface is a bona fide rapper and musician, and a prolific one to boot. Fishscale is his fifth studio album, and according to Wikipedia he's released seven since then. He's an acclaimed storyteller working with high-profile producers, and as much as I enjoy reality shows, I think Ghostface is much better served staying off TV and getting in the studio some more. And if that includes a Vh1 diss track, so much the better

Favorite Tracks: Momma; Kilo; Be Easy