2024 Album-A-Day: Week 18

Playlist link

April 29th: Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches by the Happy Mondays

More Madchester after loving the Stone Roses and Primal Scream. I don't know if I like this one if this album has aged as well as either of those. It's fun and upbeat and randomly interpolates famous songs, but there's less meat on these bones. If I was paying less attention, I'd be having more fun. I also don't know if I can fully get on board with Shaun Ryder's delivery on this album. I much prefer whatever he was doing on Gorillaz' "DARE." My favorite song that I hadn't heard before this week was "Loose Fit."

April 30th: Look Sharp! by Joe Jackson

I'd heard two of these songs hundreds of times: "Fools in Love" and "Is She Really Going Out With Him?" and I'm so glad I listened to this album. It's sort of similar to Elvis Costello, but it also reminds me of the then-nascent early punk scene, specifically the Damned (which I listened to last week), specifically on "Sunday Papers" and "Got The Time" (which reminds me that I need to add Anthrax to the list). My favorite song on this album that I hadn't already heard is probably "Happy Loving Couples."

May 1st (First of May, First of May, outdoor fuckin' starts today): Neu! by Neu!

My first time sitting in with some classic krautrock. I was surprised to learn that this band was formed by two guys from an original lineup of Kraftwerk (before they ever made an album). The music alternates between driving improv rock and atonal sound collage. The former is fun. The latter doesn't do much for me. I see why this was innovative, and why so many artists were influenced by them, but I don't exactly love it. My favorite song on the album was "Weissensee."

May 2nd: The Fragile by Nine Inch Nails

After loving The Downward Spiral for some time, here's more of that. This album leans more into atmosphere than anger and fear and pain, but this is still a Nine Inch Nails album so there's still plenty of that. There's also more long instrumentals, which I like more than I expected to. This definitely feels like a good follow-up to The Downward Spiral, in that it feels like it's about trying to pull yourself together after horrible things happening. My favorite track is "Into the Void." Also, "Starfuckers Inc." is great fun.

May 3rd: Tago Mago by Can

More Krautrock, this time with vocals. These songs are more, y'know, songs, than those of Neu! but still have those open structures and moments of sound collage. It's got this janky-funky-offbeat style that I find infectious, like on "Oh Yeah" and "Halleluwah." I don't love every moment, especially not "Peking O," where Damo Suzuki screeches atonally while the keyboardist noodles atonally. But even then, there's clearly artistic intent behind it. My favorite song is "Oh Yeah."

May 4th: Doggystyle by Snoop Dogg (also known as Snop Dogg, founder of Snopple brand beverages and Snopple Brand Fun-Facts. Listen to the Why I Hate This Album podcast if you want to know what I'm talking about):

Taking it back to when Snoop was perceived as dangerous, this album goes way harder than I expected it to. Dr. Dre produces a number of slick, funky beats, and Snoop's delivery is infectious. "Gin and Juice" and "Murder Was the Case" and "Pump Pump" are all amazing. The only issue with this album is the skits. I don't like 80's and 90's rap skits. It was a little annoying with De La Soul, slightly more annoying with the Wu-Tang Clan, and truly horrific with the Pharcyde, and they're not great here. My favorite track is "Who Am I (What's My Name)"

May 5th: Everything Goes Numb by Streetlight Manifesto

Pickitup! I love ska punk, and this is some amazing ska punk. Not only does it have syncopated guitars and horns, it also has group chants, power chords, and lyrics about broken people coming together to celebrate life. I can absolutely see myself getting into this band more. (They're from my homeland, so that's another point in their column.) Choosing a favorite song is difficult, but for now I'm choosing "A Moment of Silence."