2025 in 2025: Day 180

Ultraviolence - Lana Del Rey

I recall being utterly disappointed in this album on release, but after revisiting it a few years later, I was actually quite drawn to it. And I think it has aged better than Born to Die, perhaps? There is a slightly different vibe, without being as boring and vapid as Honeymoon, and without making me actually listen to the album by choice on any given day...

Highlights: West Coast, Cruel World, Money Power Glory, Black Beauty

6.5/10

Under Construction - Missy Elliott

All the talking explaining the tracks is such a... choice. Sometimes pretty hilarious, but also breaks up the flow at times. But the bounce! Timbaland brought DA BOUNCE! And Missy's rhymes are all sorts of clever and engaging. 

Highlights: Gossip Folks, Work It, Bring the Pain, Can You Hear Me

7.5/10

Under Pressure - The Used & My Chemical Romance

There was a live version of this that was quite fun... in 2005, when I was mid-20s emo LOGMAN. Now I am mid-40s cool as a cucumber LOGMAN and I can still appreciate it somewhat, while also acknowledging that it is hilariously inferior to the original and should be deleted from existence.

4/10

Under Rug Swept - Alanis Morissette

I do wonder how this album could have ended up if Alanis had continued to collaborate with Glen Ballard; would he have helped to force more hooks? Or would he have upped the energy somewhat? Because this album is more relaxed than even MTV Unplugged and is more focused on what she wants to say than making hit songs.

Highlights: Surrendering, Narcissus, Hands Clean, Precious Illusions

7/10

Under the Iron Sea - Keane

Classic example of a band getting famous making sad music, but the follow-up music is suddenly much happier. So clearly being rich and famous suddenly improved their life. Fair enough! 

Highlights: Is It Any Wonder?, A Bad Dream

6/10

The Understanding - Memphis Bleek

I only have the song Is That Your Chick (The Lost Verses), because it features Jay-Z and Missy and when they performed it at Jay-Z's "retirement" shows, I thought it was pretty killer. Still do!

8/10

Undertow - Tool

There are so many cool riffs on this album - I wonder if I can remember how to play them? I might have to test that some day. Nineties Tool is the best Tool.

Highlights: 4 Degrees, Crawl Away, Bottom, Flood

8/10

Undiscovered - James Morrison

This album is surpisingly enjoyable; I was expecting something along the lines of Jamie Cullum, but instead Morrison's voice is very soulful and his lyrics decent. Adult jazz pop, but not so... white?

Highlights: Undiscovered, Better Man, One Last Chance

7/10

Unfinished Business - Jay-Z & R. Kelly

Outtakes from their misjudged collaboration. The funniest part is R. Kelly singing about their "world tour", like he was not expecting it to get cancelled halfway through. There is nothing here that is even close to being as offensive as found on their first album, so this may actually be better!

Highlights: We Got Em Goin', Mo' Money, Don't Let Me Die

5.5/10

The Unforgettables E.P. - MONOEYES

No lie - I was both excited and disappointed when this was released. Dude said he was writing The End of Yesterday like it would be his last album, and then five years later he was like 'Oh, I guess maybe I just meant with my best band - I will still make music with these inferior ones!'. And the whole EP rocks hard, so in my face, I guess...

Highlights: Ladybird, Atmosphere, The Unforgettables, Adrenaline

9/10

Unmasked - Kiss

Kiss turn into a cheesy 80s pop rock band and I love it for them. And then they needed Bryan Adams to come and make them rock harder. Make it make sense.

Highlights: Shandi, Tomorrow, Talk to Me, Two Sides of the Coin

8/10

Up All Night - Razorlight

This is the sound of a hungry, young indie band putting it all out there and capturing a sound and vibe they will never be able to repeat.

Highlights: Don't Go Back to Dalston, To the Sea, Rock'n Roll Lies, Rip It Up

7.5/10

Up the Bracket - The Libertines

Peter Doherty delivers his vocals likes he been up all night on coke and chugging a bottle of whiskey between takes. Electric guitars so raw and sloppy it sounds like he is on the verge of passing out. Acoustic guitar sounds like he is using some half broken piece of junk from a local secondhand store. Super solid drumming that somehow holds them all together. This album really captures that early-00s UK indie punk rock perfectly!

Highlights: Death on the Stairs, I Get Along, Up the Bracket, The Boy Looked at Johnny

8/10

UP to ME - BiSH

Just another average heavy idol single from the BiSH is OVER run. Genuinely nothing to write home about... so I will just keep it in the BLog.

Highlights: YOUTH, UP to ME

6.5/10

"Albums" listened to so far: 1770

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2025 in 2025: Day 138

One of the Boys - Katy Perry

Before she became so incredibly insufferable, Katy Perry was making bubblegum pop-rock with Alanis Morissette's main collaborator. And boy does it show! This stuff is way more guitar-based than anything she has done since and sounds like Alanis doing a pop album or something. Luckily, most of the songs are actually VERY good, even if the lyrics are a bit immature. 

Highlights: Waking Up in Vegas, Thinking of You, I Kissed a Girl, Hot N Cold

7/10

One Sweet Day - Rumble Fish

Random K-Pop ballad. And not a boy band? This one is called You Really Are. It is good.

7.5/10

One Way Ticket to Hell...And Back - The Darkness

I generally like this album as a follow up to Permission to Land. It still rocks really hard, but is a little less 'old school' in its approach. But they changed bassist for this one, and their original guy (who has since returned) is awesome, so that loses points. 

Highlights: One Way Ticket, Is I Just Me?, Hazel Eyes, Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time

8/10

One World - PASSPO☆

This album rocks. I wrote lots about it before, so I will instead use my brain power to do other things... like listen to this without writing. 

Highlights: Next Flight, WING, 2DAYS, Tap My Toe

8/10

The Open Door - Evanescence

I was going to be all 'how did I end up with this album?', but then Call Me When You're Sober hit and I was like 'oh yeah, this song is really good'. The rest? Not my bag at all.

Highlights: Call Me When You're Sober

6/10

Open Up And Say... Ahh! - Poison

Peak hair metal! There really is nothng metal about this music, but boy we sure thought it was heavy metal when I was a kid. Who cares? It is as fun as a banana split. Especially this album; it is mostly super cheesy and upbeat and a total party.

Highlights: Nothing But a Good Time, Fallen Angel, Your Mama Don't Dance, Back to the Rocking Horse

7.5/10

Opiate - Tool

This is the most normal alt. rock recordings Tool ever did. And, susequently, is probably the only work of theirs that I still think is fun. Fun like a Limp Bizkit album. I like fun.

Highlights: Hush, Jerk-Off (Live), Opiate, Cold and Ugly (Live)

7.5/10

Oracular Spectacular - MGMT

This is just Electric Feel. I do not know anything else by these guys. I do not even know how I ended up with this song in my library.

7/10

Orange Sunshine - JUDY AND MARY

A little less raw crazy punk, a little more polished crazy punk. All very fun, if not all that memorable, but probably the sort of thing that grows on you with more listens.

Highlights: Radio, Cheese Pizza

7/10

Orbital Period - BUMP OF CHICKEN

This album is kind of a bit more epic than their other works - a lot more big ballady-type things. A couple of songs that almost had me thinking I was listening to RADWIMPS. Overall, I actually really dig it.

Highlights: メーデー, supernova, 花の名, Believe

7/10

Orgazmo: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - Various Artists

This is only Now You're a Man by DVDA - the band of Matt Stone and Trey Parker. They should just put out an album of DVDA songs. Also, please note that Orgazmo is their best movie, outside of Baseketball.

8/10

Origins Vol. 1 - Ace Frehley

Ace and a whole bunch of his friends cover a lot of classic 60s and 70s rock. Including Kiss. Seems unnecassary, but it is Ace so I will take it gladly. Even if all of this is not that exciting. Mike McCready's guitar solo on Cold Gin sounds like he recorded it on his phone and emailed it to Ace in 128kps Mp3 form.

Highlights: White Room, Spanish Castle Magic, Rock and Roll Hell

6.5/10

Origins Vol. 2 - Ace Frehley

Ace is back with more special guests and cover songs from the 60s and 70s, but with less Kiss? Mostly the same guests and same artists being covered. I think he has mentioned he wants to do another Origins album. I hope he does not.

Highlights: Never in My Life, I'm Down, Jumpin' Jack Flash

6/10

"Albums" listened to so far: 1235

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2025 in 2025: Day 1

I'm still not convinced there are 2025, but hey - here we go!

ABBA - ABBA
Mamma Mia is a hell of a way to start this whole thing... ABBA's self-titled album is their third studio album and is just a barrel of good times like that opening song and SOS, which is probably one of all-time favourite ABBA songs. The deep cuts here are also pretty freaking great. Man in the Middle is so dang funky. Particularly the lyrics about a 50 year-old dude dating a 17 year-old... I disliked Rock Me when I was younger and first discovered ABBA. However, once I finally joined an ABBA tribute band and was required to do a bit more of a deep-dive on their catalogue, it really grew on. But, man, did I used to shred my voice screaming it! You know, I don't often miss performing live, but ABBA really do that for me. Genuinely one of the greatest pop bands of all-time. And this album at 4am just hits hard! First album in and already I wish I could stop and just listen to ABBA all day...
Highlights: Mamma Mia, SOS, Rock Me, So Long 
8.5/10

Abbey Road - The Beatles
From one brilliant pop act to another! And my favourite album, to boot! This is just perfection after perfection. Even Maxwell's Silver Hammer isn't actually that bad! I'll never understand why that song gets so much hate, yet Beatles fans are totally fine with the other trite Paul McCartney wrote. Anyways, I'm not going to get bogged down in hating, because it's followed by one of McCartney's shining moments and then Harrison hits us with some of his grooviest lead work ever. Then Lennon gets his prog going - I do kinda miss how much this song completely distorted on the old master. And I failed at picking the ending again - couldn't tell if that was the ending or if my headphones had cut out. And taking a bunch of half-finished songs and making that medley may well be one McCartney's finest moments. OK, yes, now I understand; if not for Maxwell and his silver hammer of silly, this would be the most perfect album in the history of history.
Highlights: George Harrison's lead guitar work, The awesome ending to She's So Heavy, The Medley
9.999/10

Ace Frehley - Ace Frehley
Ace's first solo album! I don't have much to add to my initial review, except that Anton Fig is an underappreciated drummer.
Highlights: Ace being Ace.
10/10

Acoustic EP - Charlton Hill
Well, here is something I haven't listened to in a VERY long time! I met Charlton Hill and his guitarist in probably my first week living in Melbourne, so thought I should do the supportive thing and buy his album - and this was a bonus disc that came with it. I'm pretty sure they're all just acoustic versions of songs on the album. I wonder what those dudes are doing now...
Highlights: Not a lot...
5/10

Acoustic Hits - The Cure
The acoustic version of The Cure's greatest hits. Man, I was having so much fun until all this acoustic stuff kicked in - too early in the morning for so much chilling out! Admittedly, I have not actually listened to this CD all that much. Turns out, this is kind of fun, too. I'm not crazy-tied to some of their random 80s singles, so hearing them in this fashion is at least interesting to me. And by the time In Between Days comes on, I'm thinking this may be a totally good vibe; no keyboard brass on Why Can't I Be You, fun acoustic percussion on everything, zero electronic noise on Wrong Number. It's The Cure's hit singles - there is nothing bad going on here.
Highlights: The use of Xylophone.
7.5/10

Active Duty - MC Hammer
It's Hammer! And he's bringing his crew of bad singers with super patriotic pro-USA, pro-war, SUPER pro-church lyrics . Watch out, terrorists!  Hammer's coming to getcha! USA! USA! On the whole, the album has great beats and the flow is tight; it's just the lyrics are mostly stupid. And it did not need to be 80 minutes long. Fun fact; one afternoon I was listening to this album (by choice, even) and decided to tweet MC Hammer to let him know. He replied with a fist bump. That was a great moment in life and I will give the album a pass for that reason.
Highlights: Hammer telling terrorists they gonna get some.
5/10

Actor - 緑黄色社会
Bah gawd this intro is phenomenal! There was no way the rest of the album could live up to it - and it does not. The thing about 緑黄色社会, is that their initial independent releases were so fantastic, they quickly became one of those bands that I just immediately buy anything from. Then they signed with a major label and with each subsequent release, their work just got less interesting. And this, their third album and second major label album, captures that completely. It isn't bad - I'm not sure they're capable of creating bad - but everything just sounds the same and provides me with no real emotional connection. And so this was the album where I tapped out. But hey, their popularity has only increased so hopefully they're making bank now. Good for them.
Highlights: Actor (Opening Track - not the whole album. Or even someone that goes by that for their occupation. Except maybe Tom Cruise. That would be a highlight, for sure!)
6/10

Ænima - Tool
Wow. Talk about a blast from the past... Tool were my favourite band in 1996/97 and this was probably one of those 'day one' albums for me. No doubt my friends and I listened to it a lot in 1997. And now, if not for this marathon, I would probably never choose to put on a Tool song under any circumstances. In fact, I just checked and not only do all my Tool tracks have 0 plays, they have 3 skips. All that said, listening to this does kinda make me want to pick up a guitar and jam along a little. Because Eulogy features a whole bunch of great riffs. Hooker With a Penis is more fun than I remember. But even 16 year-old LOGMAN had no interest in a bunch of transitions that range from windscreen wipers to a baby screaming and thunder. The German recipe still slaps, though.
Highlights: Stinkfist, Eulogy, The big meaty ending to Forty-Six & 2.
5/10

Albums Listened to So Far: 8