#469: Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet (1986)

Zack: As a New Jerseyian, I am supposed to like Bon Jovi. I do not. Bon Jovi is trash. Slippery When Wet is the most famous bag of trash this trash band has ever dumped out. It has trash songs like Livin’ on a Prayer and You Give Love a Bad Name. These trash songs are almost all the same type of trash: loud and cheesy, like moldy Stilton. Occasionally, there is a slower, still cheesy, ballad piece of trash, more like fresh mozzarella that’s sat in the fridge a little too long and has dried out, but isn’t necessarily poisonous. I am losing the thread of this metaphor. Point is, this band and this album are trash, I do not like it, and that is it.

Favorite Tracks: Wanted Dead or Alive; Never Say Goodbye; Livin’ on a Prayer

Emily: There is definitely a time and place for Bon Jovi. Karaoke? Bust out that Wanted Dead or Alive. Last song at a wedding/bar mitzvah/prom? Perfect time for Livin' on a Prayer. Small children doing a lip-sync dance wearing denim jackets and bandannas? Gotta do It's My Life (Note: this is a thing that actually happened. My brother, age 7, was one of those adorable children wearing a bandanna in a summer camp performance many years ago.). In any of those scenarios, I'm on board with a small dose of Bon Jovi - I'll sing off-key and jump/dance around with the best of them. But a whole album of Bon Jovi at 10 AM on a Sunday? Eh, not quite the right vibe. The cheese and sleaze is amplified when it's all you hear for 45 minutes, and the fun of the singles gets drained out by the filler surrounding them. So I think I'll stick with small doses of Bon Jovi from here on out - but, based on Zack's comments above, almost definitely not at my own wedding.
Favorite Tracks: Livin' on a Prayer; Wanted Dead or Alive; You Give Love a Bad Name

#468: Supergrass - I Should Coco (1995)

Zack: As we’ve said many times before, there are way too many Britpop albums on this damn list. I Should Coco is yet another one, but it is one that I actually enjoyed. It actually bounced around in terms of tempo and sound. Some songs were almost punkish while others were all jingly and kind of modernized Kinks-esque. Many of the other Britpop bands just kind of made the same song over and over again, so it was great to get something that took the best parts of that genre and incorporated them into a broader array of sounds.

Favorite Tracks: Strange Ones; I’d Like to Know; Sofa (Of My Lethargy)

Emily: As I was listening to this album, I figured it would be another Britpop album that never made its way over the States. Perfectly pleasant, an opening act you'd be happy to see but not a band you'd ever go out of your way to hear. But then, a few songs in, a familiar tune started playing - the song Alright, which I instantly recognized from a commercial (though I couldn't remember which one - turns out it was for Frosted Mini-Wheats). It's a bouncy track, seemingly tailor-made for selling cereal. So it turns out that Supergrass is a fairly anonymous, pretty good '90s Britpop band getting that Kellogg's money. Good for them.
Favorite Tracks: I'd Like to Know; Strange Ones; Sofa (Of My Lethargy)