My 200th Review Flashback!

Another year, another 100 new albums in the brain. You know what the worst part is? I'm not sure it has been worth the effort.

It's been a year since my last flash back. So far I'm reviewing at a pace of about 2 new albums per week. I typically listen to a new album on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, but don't follow a strict schedule. Sometimes I just can't bear the thought of listening to new music and concentrating on writing. My initial plan two years ago was to only write about my gut reactions to the music in a couple quick paragraphs. That idea has certainly gone out the window lately. Most of the reviews I write these days are song-by-song affairs, and coming up with new material can at times be daunting.

The last 100 albums included my foray into The Beatles music, which is something I thought about doing years ago, and I'm glad I finally did. I've added a bunch of their songs to my regular repertoire, but I stand by what I've always said- I'm not a huge fan. I think I'm most proud of what I wrote about “the white album”. I really should print out all my blog posts on The Beatles and keep a copy with me so that if I ever get into another argument with a fanboy I can pull out my best material.

In my review for Snivilization I hinted at a deeper loathing over my project. Aside from the stupid name, the album was released in the 1990s. You might have fond memories of the 90s, and I suppose I mostly do too. But in terms of music, there was very little for a guy like me to get excited about. The 1980s were similarly horrid, but at least that decade had several clear styles. Rock music had broken off into punk, alternative, and several eclectic styles of metal. The hip-hop revolution got its start later, and I know I've shit on hip-hop and rap, but it was still a revolution.

So what did the 90s accomplish? Rock music got either way wussier with the death of punk (and the birth of alt-lite fair like Green Day) or way too serious with the rise of grunge. Rap devolved from being corny but fun into a gangster pissing match over who could say “bitches” or “hoes” or “niggas” more and who you're not supposed to fuck with or else you get shot. And really in both genres there hasn't been much development beyond that.

I had this hypothesis a couple months ago that the older the album was the more I would be likely to like it. So I sorted my review scores by the decade the album was released and took the average of each. The results:

1950s: 2.00 (3 reviews)

1960s: 2.86 (36 reviews, almost 1/3 of them Beatles albums)

1970s: 2.64 (47 reviews, and no, Led Zeppelin is not being reviewed as part of this project)

1980s: 2.20 (46 reviews)

1990s: 2.03 (37 reviews)

2000s: 2.06 (28 reviews)

2010s: 2.33 (3 reviews)

So my hypothesis was largely right, though I'm a bit surprised how well the aughts did against the 90s. Might have something to do with the comparatively small sample size. But seriously, if the 90s featured the dregs of rock and rap, the aughts should logically be even worse due to the rise of dance and teeny-pop. Looking back at my list there's almost none of that crud in the albums I've listened to thus far. Maybe the authors of 1,001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die do have some idea what they are talking about. Their latest editions have excised albums by the likes of Britney Spears, though it's still troubling they were included in the first place.

Is there anything in this new group of 100 albums you really have to hear before you die? Meh, I could go either way. Certainly the middle three Beatles albums, RubberSoul, Revolver, and Sgt. Pepper are worth a listen, but in hindsight their grandeur makes way more sense if you listen to the first five albums. Beatles music is still kinda hard to easily listen to without buying, so don't worry about rushing out to hear it.

One album I wound up really liking and even buying for myself was Dust by Screaming Trees. Not only do I now own Dust, but it got me wondering if I had unfairly overlooked Screaming Trees when I lived through the 90s. Dust being their seventh album I went back and listened to the rest of their catalog and determined... nope. Dust was by far their best, and really represented the band punching above their weight. That may be unfair, as the band broke up before releasing another album, but Dust was definitely their most consistently solid effort. I like it, but it's not really Earth-shattering.

I also acquired a copy of Jean Michel Jarre's Oxygene. For an album composed entirely on a synthesizer I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. Another purchase I made was The Pretty Things' S.F. Sorrow. It's an eclectic mix of a bunch of 60s rock styles that mostly holds together, but might be a bit jumbled for a casual listener. I've also become a huge fan of Traffic's John Barleycorn Must Die. Those are probably the best albums I heard during this run. Sadly, they all happened very early on. I feel like it's been a dry few months.

On the downside... where to start? I remember The Infotainment Scan was the first time I considered calling bullshit over the list. Nick Cave tried his best to get me to kill myself with Murder Ballads. Missy Elliott... fuck Supa Dupa Fly. That should have been my entire review. Just... ick. Then there was the double-meta-joke Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division, the plodding amateur (half) hour Fun House by The Stooges, and At Fillmore East... holy christ on a cracker.

I certainly feel angrier right now than I did a year ago and just about ready to give the whole thing up. But I really can't discount the possibility that I haven't heard the very best my big list has to offer. Surely if I can find American Gothic in the first nine albums I listened to, somewhere in the next 800+ there will be something approaching that level of greatness.

Time for some stats. The last 100 albums included:

14 1-star albums

42 2-star albums

30 3-star albums

11 4-star albums

0 5-star albums

My average review was a 2.41, which is a tick higher than my first 100 at 2.37. I'm a bit surprised by that. That might have something to do with the current trend of albums I'm on. I keep track of my "last 10 average" meaning the average number of stars for the last 10 albums I've reviewed. Check out this graph of my average reviews from my first 100 albums. I clearly ended that run on a hot streak.

Now look at a graph of the averages from my most recent 100. Not so hot right now.

And with that I prepare to plunge into the next 100. Ugh.

-Dave