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1991 redux - reviews

I recently found that I had run out of years I hadn't covered already that didn't feel too recent to revisit, which was probably a natural consequence of allowing myself to "throw one back" into the bag if I didn't like the result the first time - but rather than give up the project entirely, I decided to start over again but revamp how I did things a bit - rather than just go for a massive quantity of albums, I'll start being a little more selective, hitting maybe a few releases a week, and writing reviews. Thus, late December 2025 until late January 2025, I took another look at 1991:  Nirvana - Nevermind A while ago, I saw a post in a 90s alternative rock group asking where you were when you first heard “Smells Like Teen Spirit” - hilariously, I realized my answer would be “watching some pre-teen targeted music video countdown show on Nickelodeon at 10 or 11 years old, being annoyed and confused by it, and waiting for ‘I Can’t Dance’ by Genesis to come on”. ...
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Recent posts

1975 and "superlatives"

Black Sabbath - Sabotage (English heavy metal) Kiss - Alive! (American had rock, live album) Rainbow - Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow (English-American heavy metal, debut for supergroup featuring former Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore and members of Elf) Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention - One Size Fits All (American progressive rock / jazz fusion) Wings - Venus and Mars (English pop rock) Brian Eno - Another Green World (English art rock / ambient)  Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here (English progressive rock)  Queen - A Night at the Opera (English rock)  Jethro Tull - A Minstrel at the Gallery (English progressive rock / folk rock) Tangerine Dream - Rubycon (German electronic / ambient)  David Bowie - Young Americans (English blue eyed-soul/ funk)  Heart - Dreamboat Annie (American hard rock / folk rock, debut) Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti (English hard rock, double album)  Bulgarian State Radio & Television Female Vocal Choir - Le Mystè...
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2016 with writeups

David Bowie - ★ (Blackstar) This was David Bowie’s final album in his lifetime, and he was definitely aware that it could be when he was writing it: The lyrics are generally pretty abstract, but there’s definite recurring themes of mortality, fleeting time, and leaving a creative legacy, so they can be quite haunting. Other than that, what stands out on this album is that it has a unique sound while still being recognizably Bowie: there’s nothing completely new, but styles he’s used in the past are sort of combined in a fresh way: For example, the title track might have the overall feel of “Station to Station”, but the rhythm track is sort of drum n bass Earthling style but played by a live drummer, and there’s elements of funk and jazz in the same track. I’ve only given this a few listens so far and feel like I’m still digesting it in some ways, but it’s a really intriguing listen and probably the best album he’d made since the nineties.   They Might Be Giants - Phone Power ...
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