The Chronic

~ Pete Cox ~ Leave a comment

I also hit this album up the other day as well.

This had some inspired sections that I really enjoyed, there was humour too.

But…

It’s a very violent album, and I wasn’t a fan of that.

That is just my opinion though. The album, musically was good, it was a great introduction for both Dr Dre (as a solo artist) and others like Snoop Dogg. There was a nice mix of heavy beats and bass led melodies. Topped off with the distintive voices of Dre and Snoop.

I know that this album was meant as an attack on Eazy E following the split of NWA, and it continues with the gangsta rap genre, which explains the violence in it. It worked for me as a gym album, but it’s not something that I think I would listen to in the car or anything like that.

Psalm 69

~ Pete Cox ~ Leave a comment

This was a new album for me. I’d heard of Ministry before, and I think at some point I had an album, but not this one.

Proper industrial metal feel to this album, chunky guitar riffs over pounding drum beats, good use of samples and an edgier vocal style. Tracks of note obviously include Jesus Built My Hotrod, but also N.W.O. which as an opening track set the tone for the whole album.

I really liked this album, it does sit more within my usual musical taste, but it is different too, with a much faster and grittier sound, with a raw edge to it as well.

The Clash

~ Pete Cox ~ Leave a comment

Back to the classic punk again with the eponymously titled debut from The Clash.

On the whole it’s a good album, filled with mostly short, anthemic punk songs that you can learn the chorus for quite quickly, and be singing along to in no time. Some more political songs on this album compared to 90’s punk and certainly the more modern punk/pop bands, but nothing overly contraversial or contentious. I do think some of the sentiment behind the songs still rings true, such as “I’m So Bored With The USA” and “Career Opportunities”.

Musically, it does what a punk album should; shouty singing, stop/start guitars and driving drums.

Parsley, Sage Rosemary and Thyme

~ Pete Cox ~ Leave a comment

The title of the album instantly makes you think of Simon and Garfunkel and Scarborough Fair (or herbs). And that’s the opening track on this album.

It has a very relaxed and folky feel in this album. It’s a really mellow sound and something that the vocal harmonies really work in. It isn’t a lovey dovey album though, there are some really hard hitting topics that are hinted at in the song. Particularly in the final track which uses the 7 O’Clock News headlines in the background to really counter the soft feel of the song.

I was really surprised at how much this album really hit home for me, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is a short album, at 28 minutes long, but that was perfect for me today.

The Atomic Mr. Basie

~ Pete Cox ~ Leave a comment

Heading back in to the 50s with this jazz album by Count Basie. The name rang a bell, but I’d not heard anything by him.

It’s a big band, jazz album, that says it all really. Lots of great tunes, no lyrics, so no chance to sing-a-long, but it was all toe tapping and finger clicking from my side, as I got into the tunes. It was a nice change, both to what I’ve been listening to from the book and in general. It was jazz, but at the same time, it wasn’t that generic background jazz. It had a big band feel to it, but the different instruments didn’t overpower each other, it was completely harmonious and added to the overall feel of the album.

Definitely worth a listen and a follow up on.

Autobahn

~ Pete Cox ~ Leave a comment

Sliding into the 1970s electronica era with this truly classic album.

I’ve heard of Kraftwerk, I’ve heard of Autobahn, I am pretty sure I’ve heard the title song as well.

It is a classic album, it is repetative though, but that actually doesn’t detract too much if you’re listening to it in the car or while working. And besides, most electronica as an element of repetition in it.

The title track is a journey, right from the get go, with getting in the car. It does sound a little dated and like a 70s/80s sci-fi movie soundtrack, but that is part of the cult status for this album.

I genuinely liked it! I dont know why I was shocked by this, but I was. It’s just one of those background albums that you can put on let wash over you without thinking about it.

Welcome To The Afterfuture

~ Pete Cox ~ Leave a comment

Another night in the gym, another new album. Yesterday I picked Mike Ladd and Welcome To The Afterfuture. Never heard of them, or heard anything by them. From what I read he’s a poet who got into rap, so given my ambivalence for the Jay-Z album, I tried to go into this with an open mind.

It was much more poetic that I was expecting, soem tracks were more like a street poet than a rapper. And other tracks did fall into the rap style more, but it was a little bit more melodic than the other albums I have listened to recently. It didn’t have the aggressive edge that you sometimes get with this genre, but at the same time, it wasn’t the melodic funky feel that I got listening to A Tribe Called Quest.

Being more poetic than rap meant that some of the lyrics were surprising, there was a line about Ramadan omelettes in the Himalayas in one of the tracks which felt more like it was reminiscing about the past. And in another there are a load of references to Bladerunner (not surprisingly the track is called Bladerunners).

There were a good couple of tracks at the start which I used for my treadmill warm-up, they had a good pace and meant I could plod along a lot better.

Generally, it was a good album, and I was pleasantly surprised. I must learn not to judge albums based on my experience of other albums that might be in the same genre.

(GI)

~ Pete Cox ~ Leave a comment

So I’ve switched to some classic America punk from the late 70’s today. And to me this is what punk is all about; short, fast songs, with catchy guitar and bass riffs, semi political lyrics that you can’t always make out, and a rhythym that makes you want to bounce around. Crammed with short, catchy songs, this album in under 40 minutes, but has 16 tracks worth of proper punk.

I’d heard of The Germs, but only because the guitarist joined the Foo Fighters later on, I’d never heard anything by them. This was their only album, but you can feel the influence they had on other later bands. There was a bit at the end of the track Media Blitz that even reminded me of White Zombie.

Good to listen to, made me want to get back into punk a little as well.

The Blueprint

~ Pete Cox ~ Leave a comment

Hit the gym last night and thought that this album might be a good one to help me get through the session. And I was right…

Now I know of Jay-Z, but I’d not particularly followed his music, and have only heard a few things by him. So this was good introduction for me into more of his stuff.

I’ll be honest, it was good, but I’m not going to go out and snap up all his work. I liked it, but it didn’t wow me like some of the ablums I’ve listened to already did. And I’m ok with that, I knew that not everything in the book would be amazing in my eyes.

The tracks were decent, the songs covered a wide variety of topics, including some more emotional based tracks, which I wouldn’t normally associate with rap. There were a couple of nice little surprises, including Eminem popping up in one track.

It was good to work out to, the bass heavy rhythm keep me going, both on the cardio and the resistence equipment, so I enjoyed that motivational aspect of the album as well.

Melody A.M.

~ Pete Cox ~ Leave a comment

This is a beautiful album.

Another one that definitely sits in the chill out section as well.

I thought I didn’t know any Röyksopp, but I was really surprised when I realised that I knew at least 3 tracks on here. It’s a mix of instrumental tracks and songs, and it all has the great chilled vibe that I needed on a Friday afternoon at work.

The flow of tracks was great, and when the album finished, I found myself surprised that 45 minutes had gone by already and that it was over. This is an album I could stick on repeat and have on in the background all the time.

Norway isn’t one of the countries that I would associate with having a big music industry, but this has changed my mind.