Learning To Listen

🧃and 👻listen to the 500 greatest albums of all time (as decided by Rolling Stone in 2020)

[listening-practice]

480: Miranda Lambert, The Weight of These Wings

2016

🧃: This was challenging!! I did not love listening to it. We listened to it only once. I think country music is not for me. I started reading Lambert's wikipedia article and it mentioned gypsy-rose blanchard got free backstage passes to her shows, who I had never heard of before so then read THAT whole wikipedia article. Which was shocking. But nothing to do with Ms Lambert. We also watched an early 2000s interview with Miranda, and it is amazing that Texas is real

👻: I did not like it at all, I guess I'm not really a fan of country music generally speaking, so I guess I just didn't really enjoy it. And her being conservative is not helpful. There's no redeeming qualities, not like Dolly Parton, I don't like her music but she seems like a nice lady.

[listening-practice]

481: Belle and Sebastian, If You’re Feeling Sinister

1996

🧃: This is the second in-my-wheelhouse album of the list so far (the other being Arcade Fire which came in at 500). I hadn't listened to this album and none of the songs were familiar, but I absolutely downloaded Piazza New York Catcher from Limewire and played it on my iPod on the bus home from school after watching Juno in 2007. I really enjoyed the album! And it was cool to learn that Stuart Murdoch is a ME/CFS guy and has campaigned for more research into it and funding for treatment. And I just listened to Piazza New York Catcher and Expectations for the first time in over a decade and I was immediately rocketed back to being a depressed teenager.

👻: It's good, I liked it. Interesting band, I guess. Pretty good stuff. And the lead person has ME/CFS, so that's also interesting, interesting to hear what he had to say about it.

[listening-practice]

482: The Pharcyde, Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde

1992

🧃: Fun to listen to. Two songs I do not love (the scary one with a person yelling on the phone, and the transphobic moment in 'Oh Shit'). Again we listened to this a few times a year ago and didn't write a review so now relistened. What did I like about it? The beat, the humour of the lyrics, the different voices of the four Pharcyde members and how they play off each other.

👻: Surprised this isn't higher up on the list. it's a pretty good album, I like it. There's a lot of bangers on there. That's it.

[listening-practice]

483: Muddy Waters, Anthology

2001

🧃: Apple music, where we listen to albums, does not have Anthology, so instead we listened to the Apple music Muddy Waters essentials playlist, two times. I kinda enjoyed it, I'm not familiar with Blues music, though some parts (melodies? rhythms?) were very familiar which probably speaks to how influential Waters was. Also cool to hear the song Rollin' Stone which The Rolling Stones are named after. Much to learn about the blues...

👻: this album had a lot of classic stuff, it sounds kind of familiar - I'm not a huge fan, it felt very... they all had the same kind of vibe and I wasn't a huge fan of that vibe, but interesting. Interesting life story, at a terrible point in history. And I don't know that much about blues so a good thing to start with, learn some more about the blues.

[listening-practice]

484: Lady Gaga, Born This Way

2011

🧃: an icon but truly a terrible lyricist. listening to Hair was incredible. to be honest we listened to this album three times a year ago but didn't write a review and don't really want to listen to it again so we're just listening to a couple of songs while writing this to bring it back to mind. and i feel like i don't have much to say. "sometimes I want some racoon or red highlights / just so my friends think I'm dynamite". we can't deny her impact on and importance to the Queer Community. Here's a fun fact: six songs from this album were banned in China, according to Wikipedia.

👻: coming into this album I thought "oh! Born This Way, Judas, these are classic songs, classic Gaga songs, the people love them". But it was kind of disappointing, it didn't hold up to where I had it in my head. [listening to Judas] Okay maybe Judas holds up... but its just so bad still. [3:48 into Judas] god damn this song sucks, it's so disappointing.

[listening-practice]

488: The Stooges, The Stooges

1969

🧃: i wanna be your dog is a great song. i don't think i'd be reaching out to listen to this regularly but it was fun to listen to, which we did multiple times over the past two years because we kept listening to it but not making a post about it

👻: 'well this song [I Wanna Be Your Dog] is grerat, very fun, very great, nice melody, very fun song. i guess this is a recognisable song from somewhere, the melody is very recognisable. yeah, fun song. there was another fun song where they're chanting [We Will Fall], i kinda like that as well'.

[listening-practice]

485: Richard and Linda Thompson, I want to see the bright lights

1974

🧃don't like it. so close to liking it. the first 5 songs or so i thought, 'oh yeah, i'll like this'. and by song 8 i thought 'when will this end?'

👻 it feels like some songs i've heard before, it feels like i heard it on the television - sounds like songs that would be considered classic songs but i'm not sure if that's the case. turns out this is folk rock, news to me. the songs seem very different, i thought they were completely different people singing. there was this song at the end, can't remember what it was called, but it wasn't too bad. overall: its kinda whatever i guess, wouldn't listen again.

[listening-practice]

486: John Mayer, Continuum

2006

🧃Well right now it is 18 December 2024, and we first listened to this on the way to my mum's for Christmas 2023 - almost exactly one year ago!! But never wrote up the review, so we listened to it again recently. Powered through it. I am not really a fan and I am happy to not listen to John anymore. Dad was in the car when we listened to it last year and he thought he liked John Mayer, and I think he was a bit embarrassed when he realised that all his songs sound the same. We definitely read his wikipedia article on that car trip and it is really half remembered now but I think had good vibes. Good for you John.

👻 it's not so bad, it's not my cup of tea. Apparently we looked up John before and maybe he seemed like an okay guy, kinda nice background music, it is all kind of a samey, chill vibe - recognised one song, 'Gravity', kind of a classic. Not terrible, probably would never listen to it again.

[listening-practice]

487: Black Flag, Damaged

1981

🧃well they have a very interesting Wikipedia entry!! I kinda like it, maybe because I read an interview with Henry Rollins ages ago and liked the cut of his jib. I also found some of the songs funny when I paid attention to the lyrics, like TV Party. Sardonic humour…

👻 it’s very weird. Weird album. That’s it, weird.

🥷 yeah, very weird. Even for this genre. How did it manage to make the 500?

[listening-practice]

489: Phil Spector, Back to Mono (1958 - 1969)

1991

🧃 look Phil Spector is a shit dude, and I get that this is absolutely the sounds of the 60s, but I can’t get past the abuse of women. fine songs, not interested. Death of the artist? I dunno.

👻 well well well… a lotta classics on there, songs I recognise, songs we heard before thru listening to this list. But it is Phil Spector, kinda sucks. Wouldn’t listen to again, not my vibe. But a bunch of classic songs on there you hear every now and then.

[listening-practice]

490: Linda Ronstadt, Heart Like a Wheel

1975

🧃Good album, very much Eva Cassidy vibes, what my father would complain about as ‘wailing women’, what I love to sing at karaoke. I do like it. Good album!

👻 You’re not good sounds familiar, sounds like a famous song, that’s good. All the songs sound somewhat similar. Linda has a good voice. Good album, not bad. Seems to be a good political person also, gay rights, environmental, something about immigration laws. Called George Bush an idiot. Nice

[listening-practice]

491: Harry Styles, Fine Line

2019

🧃 I vibed this album hard. Memories of doing Mad Fit ab workout videos to Watermelon Sugar during the 2020 lockdown. Fun fun fun, I particularly got into ‘To be so lonely’.

👻 good album, watermelon sugar and adore you are two classic songs. I didn’t like the songs where he was doing something different to his normal style. I didn’t like him branching out. Reminded me of someone boring like Ed Sheeran.

[listening-practice]

492: Bonnie Raitt, Nick of Time

1989, US

We listened to this album a while ago but have been slow to write a review, in the words of 👻 ‘I don’t remember much of it, but I remember not liking it whenever it was playing’. A bit too country for both of our tastes, and we just couldn’t get into it despite giving it at least 3 or 4 listens. Maybe more. A few of the songs were okay but we don’t remember what they’re called anymore. Not one to relisten to, sorry Bonnie.

[listening-practice]

493: Marvin Gaye, ‘Here, My Dear’

1978

🧃 honestly? Iconic. Marvin was obligated to write this this album as part of the divorce settlement with his (ex)wife and give her half of the proceeds. After 17 years of marriage. They met when she was 37 and he was 20. And she was the music industry lady. And learning this and then listening to the album makes it so… catty and dramatic and funny and tragic. She threatened to sue him for breach of privacy after its release but didn’t. Also I had no idea Marvin Gaye was murdered by his father when he was only 45 years old. And he added the e onto the end of his name to distance himself from his father + was inspired in the move by Sam Cooke.

The album itself I love, funky, gossipy songs that are dishing some drama. Maybe my favourite album from the list so far. I love the saxophone.

👻 I can’t really remember any songs in particular, but after learning about the context of why he made this album (as a way to fund alimony payments…. it was not at all subtle in referencing his ex-wife, their marriage and the fact that he was forced into making these albums. So I enjoyed that, and think it’s a good album overall!

[listening-practice]

494: The Ronettes, ‘Presenting the fabulous Ronettes’

1964

🧃 some classics on here such as Chapel of Love and Be my Baby. All the songs are about being in love with boys and it was really something seeing the writing credits come up after each song and there’s Phil Spector and some other men. Sometimes Ellie Greenwich was there too. Also this feels like such another era to Suicide, ‘Suicide’ and it is odd to think it was released only 13 years earlier. Also listening to this album thru our TV with the lyrics on the screen while we foam rolled our muscles was.. funny. Incongruous.

A few songs were added to our library!

👻 interesting that they failed so much until they signed to Phil Spector’s record, there’s something about singer songwriters… who else doesn’t write their songs? And is that a bad thing if they don’t? Feels like it is, feels like it’s cooler if they write their songs. A couple of good songs on here, Walking in the Rain. Be my baby is fine. There’s too many love songs - it’s too relationship focused. It’s fine I guess.

[listening-practice]

495: Boyz II Men, II

1991

🧃tunes, soulful RnB boy group. Honestly feels hard to take this album seriously, maybe because soulful boybands were the but of many jokes as I grew up. Kinda fun to listen to, not really my jam.

👻 it’s okay. I recognised a lot of the songs, I didn’t know they were Boyz II Men. I only thought I knew Boyz II Men from listening to Motown Philly on it’s always sunny in Philadelphia. That is a funny episode. It’s a good album but not something I’d listen to regularly.

[listening-practice]

496: Shakira, ‘Dónde están los ladrones?’

1998

🧃 absolute banger of an album. Faves for me were ciega, sordomuda, no creo and ojos así. I was not at all familiar with this album, tho I did grow up with Shakira’s English hits on the radio non-stop. Formative. An early Shakira memory of mine was after seeing my mum in a play at our local theatre company, everyone was having a dance and hips don’t lie played. I must have been 8. And I knew a lyric referenced breasts. ‘Lucky that my breasts are small and humble, so you don’t confuse them with mountains’. And I felt this was scandalous secret knowledge which i gleefully shared with other children. I digress, that song was not a part of this album.

A great joy of listening to this album with 👻 was listening to Ojos Asi together, which is in Spanish and Arabic, two languages we speak. It was fun translating the song for each other.

Definitely wanna listen to this again.

👻 Ojos Asi was the only song I could recognise, probably because of the Arabic chorus in there which likely made it popular in Arab world. Tried to figure out what they were saying in Arabic, which was a bit difficult 😅 Pretty fun album overall, with Ojos Asi as the standout one as expected!