Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned - The Prodigy
Wake up, LOGMAN! If I were a pro-wrestler, Spitfire would be an awesome entrance song. Oh snap, I forgot Juliette Lewis did vocals on this song - the whole 2 lines. This whole album is hard-hitting electronic punk badassery. Which is really what you should expect from The Prodigy. But there's just something about this album that feels extra cool. Maybe it's the use of rappers like Kool Keith and Twista? Otherwise, it's pretty well just a Liam Howlett solo album. He and Liam Gallagher must have been married to the All Saints sisters at the time, because that would have surely made it easier to get him and Noel to come help make Shoot Down one blast of awesome to end the album.
Highlights: Spitfire, Wake Up Call, Get Up Get Off, Action Radar, Shoot Down
8.5/10
ALXD - [Alexandros]
When the opening riff of ワトリドリ kicked in, I was like 'Oooh I know this song, but I am not sure what it is...' and then the band kicked and I was like 'Oh snap!' Awesome song, awesome way to open an album. I've generally been a bit harsh on the rest of this album, but I think it's more the next few songs after that are not so great, because the rest of the album is very good, too. Clearly I need to listen to this more.
Highlights: ワトリドリ, Dog 3, Coming Summer
7.5/10
AMARANTHUS - Momoiro Clover Z
Bahahahaha I'm hilarious. MCZ are fun. This is actually just two songs from the album, because spending that much on an MCZ album would be insane. The mix on WE ARE BORN is fantastic (and it's an awesome song I kind of want to listen to again right now). And ゴリラパンチ is just fun. There's a 'metal mix' that is kinda cool, but omits my fav part at 2:08. And is really unnecessary, because the intro & verses have plenty heavy guitars as it is. Shiizz, I ain't afraid of you mofos.
9/10
Ambitions - ONE OK ROCK
The volume just went UP! Massive guitar riffs, stadium drums, spacious keyboards, and bah gawd Taka's voice. Dude was at his absolute peak on this album. And that's saying something, because I still maintain that dude has the best voice in rock even today. We Are is the biggest and bestest anthem on the planet. The live version has a guitar solo and I kinda wish that was on this version, too. Argh I want to listen to that now. Luckily this album just keeps kicking ass, so I won't turn it off right now. Sure, it falls off a little in the middle. And I could certainly live without Avril Lavigne appearing. But at least her vocals have been super processed so she actually sounds like someone that can sing. I need more ONE OK ROCK.
Highlights: Bombs Away, Taking Off, We Are, Start Again, Take What You Want
8/10
America's Greatest Hero - Joey Scarbury
This is simply the theme from The Greatest American Hero, Believe It or Not. One of the greatest TV show themes of all-time. I should watch the show again, but I think I've been saying that for about 20 years.
8/10
American Beauty/American Psycho - Fall Out Boy
Wait - this album is now 10 years old?!? Time and life are going too quickly. It starts off kinda... meh. But then it gets kinda... sad. And then gets really... dark. Well, for FOB, anyways. Wait; I just read the title track samples Too Fast For Love by Mötley Crüe. How have I not noticed that before? Because that's the worst song on the album? Why am I asking all these questions of a 10 year-old? The 2nd half of the album is awesome when I'm in the right mood. I like some dark and angry emo pop punk, and this album provides that quite nicely. In part.
Highlights: Novocaine, Fourth of July, Favorite Record
7/10
American Gangster - Jay-Z
Oh my, what a change of pace. After a morning of head-crushing beats, amped-up anthems and edgy emo energy, Jay-Z hits me with the more relaxed grooves while he recounts life doing illegal things against a backdrop of 70s soul music. We even get Marvin Gaye and Beastie Boys sampled to great effect. Do people really think Lil Wayne is good? I keep seeing stuff online about him being the greatest ever, but I'm yet to find a single verse he's dropped that is actually good. Luckily Jay-Z is fire 90% of the time. And the tracks Diddy wrote/produced here are all killer - probably some of his best work, IMO.
Highlights: No Hook, Roc Boys (And the Winner Is...), American Gangster
7/10
American Idiot - Green Day
The last good album by Green Day? Which was such a bizarre return to form after Nimrod and Warning. As a teenager of the 90s, I never thought I'd see the day when these guys did a 9-minute song. Let alone 2 of them on one album. And they are actually the best songs on the album. This is the second punk song called Novocaine I've heard today. Solid album.
Highlights: Jesus of Suburbia, Homecoming, Whatsername
7.5/10
American Pie - Various Artists
I was never a fan of the movie, but this soundtrack is the most 1999 collection of 1999 music. 3EB, blink-182, Sugar Ray and even New Zealand singer Bic Runga somehow lucked her way into this. Twice! You Wanted More by Tonic was a classic busking jam for me. Still holds up remarkably well!
Highlights: New Girl - Third Eye Blind, You Wanted More - Tonic
7/10
Americana - The Offspring
I never listen to this, because I am have an immediate distaste for it due to the cheesy singles - Pretty Fly (For a White) is kinda lame, and Why Don't You Get a Job? is so incredibly awful I've already deleted it from my iTunes (thank Prime for that! I probably didn't even import it - I hate it that much). But I am trying to give it a fair re-evaluation, because there are some very typically good Offspring songs on here. Then they go and drop that parody of Feelings in the middle of the album and I go back to hating this nonsense.
Highlights: The Kids Aren't Alright, Not having to listen to Why Don't You Get a Job?
5/10
"Albums" listened to so far: 45
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