via//chicago

the big project: the beginning

So I got this tremendously stupid idea a couple weeks ago to pour through my ever-expanding CD collection and listen to the whole damn thing from A-Z. Not the most original idea on the planet but nonetheless, this is not a light undertaking. I've decided, as part of that project, to occasionally post here an update with a listing of the albums I've listened to and maybe some brief thoughts. Before we get into the albums, a few of the finer points about this project.

- I'm using the database of my collection over at rateyourmusic to determine the alphabetical order, so if things seem weird or like they are coming out of order - blame them. This just makes it easier for me to keep tabs on where I am in the list.

- This isn't meant to be a joyless experience (although I may feel different when I hit that "Matthews, Dave" section), this is supposed to be fun! With that in mind, this isn't a strict back-to-back-to-back listen at the exclusion of all other music. I'll still keep tabs on current releases and delve into interesting things as I see fit, taking breaks from this project as needed. It'll definitely take longer that way, but it won't feel so much like a chore.

- I'm assigning ratings to the albums as I go along, but don't take them too seriously. They are meant to capture my feelings on the album in question at the time (because I'm a numbers geek), but they aren't meant as some grand statement. If one album gets an 8.3 and another an 8.0, that doesn't necessarily mean I think the former is that much better than the latter. Just a number, just for fun.

With those caveats out of the way, here we go...

!!! - Me and Giuliani Down by the Schoolyard (A True Story)
I think we only need 15 minutes to best summarize the early 00's "discopunk" thing - this track and The Rapture's "House of Jealous Lovers". The lyrics are stupid, but easy to ignore and its even easier to get lost in the rhythm of this thing. By the time you hit those "dooodoodoo do dodo do"s at the end, this track has pwned you. The B-side is notable mostly for the disorienting channel-panning tricks if you turn it up loud enough, but doesn't come close to reaching the heights of the title track.
Rating: 8.7

!!! - Louden Up Now
Considering how hard I fell for "Giuliani", I really really wanted to love this album when it dropped, but no matter how many chances I gave it - I could never fully embrace the album as a whole. Sure, "Pardon My Freedom" and "Dear Can" and "Hello? Is This Thing On?" hit the spot, but I felt like too many of the other tracks flounder around looking for a groove and trying to be all "omfg he's singing about Bush lol wtf shocking". Listening to it now, in full for the first time in years, I feel about the same. Some high points, but too spotty to really make for an enjoyable listen from start to finish.
Rating: 7.0

!!! = Take Ecstasy with Me/Get Up
Another fantastic 12" from !!!, taking on a great Magnetic Fields track and an underrated Nate Dogg jam. The A-side is a funky take on the Merritt joint, but I think the flipside is the better of the two... only just barely though. The first half of "Get Up" is pretty lazy, but once things shift away from the original a little more in the second half it really gets exciting. This release had me believing that !!! should stick to the 12" format, and that's how I felt up until the release of the next full-length, but more on that soon...
Rating: 8.2

!!! - Myth Takes
I think this is when !!! finally pulled their shit together to release a solidly enjoyable album from start to finish. "Must Be the Moon", "Heart of Hearts", and "Yadnus" are the obvious standouts (for good reason) but that's just the tip of the iceberg on this release. "All My Heroes Are Weirdos" is one of my favorite Nic Offer vocal turns ever and the bass work all over this album is wonderful. "Break in Case of Anything" and "Bend Over Beethoven" are also not to be missed. The weakest link is closer "Infinifold", but hell... they needed something to ease us bank to reality gently.
Rating: 8.5

120 Days - 120 Days
Look everybody! It's another mid-oughts 80's post-punk revival act! This time, however, they throw a little krautrock into the mix. I remember really loving this album on first listen but cooling on it really quickly, now I know why. This is pure atmosphere and very little substance. Sure, it sounds cool enough... as long as you don't try to dig too deeply. The lyrics are atrocious. But, you know, I'll give them a little credit for being Norwegian and not having English as a first language and all, but still. I think this record could be approximately 62.4% better if they'd have sung in their native language and I couldn't understand a word of it. I actually think these guys come close to hitting on something good when they stick to the poppier side of things, like they do on "Be Mine" and "Sleepwalking", but when they start to meander... things get boring quick.
Rating: 6.1

The 1900s - Cold & Kind
I'm sure this won't be the first I'll encounter on this endeavor, but this is one of those albums I need to remind myself to pull out more often. I often run hot and cold on this sort of twee-leaning chamber pop, but these Chicago kids tackle the genre really well. This album is chock full of gorgeous harmonies and really well-placed string arrangements. But there are enough inspired guitar solos and post-punk flourishes to keep this from going completely down the too-twee route. Highly recommended for any fan of indie, chamber, or just plain ol' pop.
Rating: 8.3

1990s - Cookies
If this were a just world, these guys would have received all of the buzz and praise that was instead heaped upon less deserving bands like The Fratellis and The Kooks. You may have heard of them thanks to the thin Franz Ferdinand connection (two of these guys were in Yummy Fur with that band's drummer), but not enough of you checked them out. How do I know this? Because "Arcade Precinct" didn't become the worldwide smash hit that it should have been. Fueled with loads of attitude and cheekiness, this is a debut that belongs up there with the first Supergrass full-length in terms of snotty fun. Well worth a listen.
Rating: 8.4

2Pac - All Eyez On Me
I remember thinking when this came out that it was a bloated mess, chock full of ho-hum tracks and obvious filler. In retrospect, when compared with the really bloated hip-hop double albums of recent years (Lil Flip, I'm looking at you), this thing seems like a front-to-back winner. Which it kind of is. And kind of isn't. It's definitely Pac's magnum opus, catching him as it does at the height of his talents and noteriety, but it isn't the consistent stunner that some rap revisionists will have you believe. The second disc is a whole lot less engaging than the first, and "What'z Ya Phone Number" is, hands down, the worst track Pac ever released (while still alive anyway, I ain't gettin' into those posthumous releases). But on pulling this out after a pretty long break, I am liking a lot more of the tracks I used to skip over - "Got My Mind Made Up", "Tradin War Stories", and "When We Ride" to name a few. This will probably always be the go to album for Pac newbies, and I can't say I would disagree with that, but this really isn't a five-mic classic either.
Rating: 8.7

2Pac - Greatest Hits
It's not exactly a novel idea considering this is a greatest hits comp, but if you think you only need one Pac album in your collection - this should be it. In addition to the mandatory hits ("I Get Around", "California Love", "Dear Mama", "I Ain't Mad at Cha", "Changes", "2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted", etc, etc) this has two Pac tunes that have grown to be my favorites. "To Live & Die in L.A." is a breezy summer song of the highest order with an undeniable hook, while "God Bless the Dead" is a great tribute to Biggie Smalls. Ironically enough, this comp also includes "Hit Em Up" - a b-side that is one of the most notorious beef tracks ever - aimed squarely at BIG, Puffy, and the Junior MAFIA clique. Nas may have had better flow on "Ether", but this is certainly more noxious. Anyway, great collection by one of the most essential artists of the '90s.
Rating: 9.0

311 - Music
311 isn't totally indefensible. Mostly because I knew a lot of really cute 311 fans back in college. So I thank them for at least existing. But they are also defensible for having a surprisingly talented drummer with good range in Chad Sexton, and a bass played named P-Nut that can be pretty decent when he's not trying to be Flea. Beyond that, though, they are a free and open target. What was it about college and the mid-90s that made me think I needed to hear a mix of vanilla-lite reggae rhythms "spiced" with clumsy, lazy metal riffs and some of the most embarrassing "rapping" this side of Rico Suave with some half-assed jam-band noodling tossed in for good measure? Hell, what made the world think we needed to hear that? Anyway, even for 311 this album is awful. It's like all the bad shit about their music without the half-decent hooks and melodies they'd find on later albums. I'm really, really not looking forward to the next five albums of this stuff. Christ, why did I not get rid of these before now? Why did I buy them in the first place? BUT. I was heartened to see a sticker in the jewel case indicating I only paid $4 for this back in '96. I'm glad for that, I guess.
Rating: 2.1

311 - Grassroots
Well, this is certainly an improvement over the debut. The riffs have improved and they actually catch on to a half-decent groove or rhythm or two throughout the disc. Just don't pay too close attention to the lyrics. In fact, there's a track near the end of the album, "Lose", that grafts a pretty swanky, meandering guitar solo to one of their most effective reggae grooves. Ultimately though, this still lacks the hooks that pushed them into the mainstream with their next album. The production doesn't help either, robbing the rhythm section of its punch. Their sound has progressed into a more distinctive mix, but it still sounds like they are taking the easiest, laziest elements of several different kinds of music to show how "diverse" they are.
Rating: 4.5

311 - 311
This album was my introduction to 311. I picked it up after a late-night viewing of the "Don't Stay Home" video that made me think it was the bee's knees. That song kinda still is the bee's knees, it remains my favorite tune of theirs. This is when the band discovered real hooks! "Down" and "All Mixed Up" will probably be spun eternally on retro alt-rock radio stations. The lyrics, well, they still suck but they things really seemed to fall into place on this album, allowing them to put together their most solid release. Still not even close to essential, download the three singles and skip the rest.
Rating: 6.1

311 - Transistor
Now that the self-titled album turned them into bonafide alt-rock stars, how do they follow it up? With a bloated 21-track, 74-minute opus of course! It's mostly a wreck, but there are a couple gems that emerge unscathed. Particularly "Beautiful Disaster", which is a pretty damn good pop tune in anybody's book. This is a little more jammy, a little more dubby, and a little more groove-oriented; which made for a decent change of pace but not enough of one to make this an easy 74 minutes to sit through. They still fall back on too many vanilla rhythms and too many gradeschool rhymes.
Rating: 5.7

311 - Live
This live document is even more unnecessary than you might think. I ended up seeing 311 in concert twice and they were slightly more fun and a lot more energetic than this album might lead you to believe. This document reveals a limp, lifeless band that churns out an uninspired setlist that lacks any of the punch they were capable of. Only the back-too-back duo of "Hydroponic" and "Who's Got the Herb" find the band sounding like they were actually enjoying the music they were making. They were a lot better live band than this disc will lead you to believe.
Rating: 1.8

311 - Soundsystem
With Transistor out of their system, the band wisely decides to scale things back and focus on what made 311 such a successful release. The production is much more punchy, the meandering reggae jams are trimmed back, and a focus on actual pop hooks help make this one of the band's better releases. The lyrics, especially when they get all new age-y, are still a lot to swallow - but this is definitely a huge improvement over the previous release and takes them closer to the high point of the self-titled disc. But I do think its hilarious that a band that forged a career out of re-writing the same three songs released a single warning other bands to "Come Original".
Rating: 6.0

3 Inches of Blood - Fire Up the Blades
I merely liked this album on first listen, but with repeated listens I've really grown to love the damn thing. This is retro power metal in a 1980s Maiden/Priest vein, but with a touch of thrash, death, and even (subtle) black influences. The lyrics are awesome, with subjects ranging from wicked battles to emperor slaying gladiators to Valhalla and back to more wicked battles. The dual vocalists make for an exciting listen, reaching from a guttural growl to the kind of falsetto that would make Halford proud. A must hear for fans of the classic '80s sound.
Rating: 8.4

50 Cent - Get Rich or Die Tryin
I once said that this was the most exciting and promising hip-hop debut in a long time (okay, this is arguably a real debut - but I think it counts as one). Hyperbolic? Perhaps. Looking back through the mediocre albums, singles, and side projects he's released in the intervening years; it certainly can seem so. But revisiting this album now reminds me just how exciting he used to be. Fiddy has never been the most technically gifted rapper on the mic, but this album proves that hunger and charisma can carry you a long way. Add that to some fantastic beats by Dr. Dre, Denaun Porter, and some of Marshall Mathers' most impressive work behind the boards; you've got a fantastic album that rightfully pushed 50 to the forefront of the mid-00's rap world. It's a shame what happened once he got there.
Rating: 8.7

50 Cent - The Massacre
What a disappointing and frustrating album. Disappointing because it was such a huge letdown and step backwards after an exciting and promising debut. Here 50 is already becoming a caricature of himself, lazily recycling the same themes and ideas from Get Rich. You've got the attempt to recreate "In Da Club", "Disco Inferno", which failed to capture even an eighth of the former's mainstream popularity. You've got "Candy Shop", one of the worst attempts at a sexy song ever. Why was Olivia ever allowed to show up in so many G-Unit songs? But this album is also frustrating because there are a few hints that it could have been a lot better. So many of these beats, I'm thinking immediately of "Inferno" and "Just A Lil Bit", come infuriatingly close to being really great, but seem to fall short. And his attempt at levity, "A Baltimore Love Thing", takes a pretty decent idea and falls a little short in execution. This was never going to top the heights, or the popularity, of his debut - but there was little reason for this to fall as flat as it did.
Rating: 6.3

5ive - Hesperus
No, not the crappy boy-band, the instrumental duo that kicks out guitar heavy instrumental metal jams. This is their first album in some time and the first exposure I've had to 'em. This really isn't anything that hasn't been done before, or even better, but still makes for a pretty intriguing listen. There are scads of effects pedals in use here, making for a thunderous guitar sound backed up by some pretty decent rhythms. This isn't breaking any new ground, but if you like your metal vocal-less and heavy - this may be up your alley.
Rating: 7.7

and that will get us through the albums leading up to the letter 'A', more to come...