Bad - Michael Jackson
I still remember when the video for
Bad was released and it was this major moment in pop culture - pretty sure everyone in the world gathered around their television to watch the premiere. This is one of those albums that I'm like 'oh yeah, that's a good one' and then I listen to it and I end up having the best time. This may well be Michael Jackson's most perfect album. I especially like the way in
Bad that he's singing all this tough rap, then the end verse is MJ saying 'let's make the world a better place!' but in a tough way, like he's going to dance on your face if you don't do it. I am a rather large fan of Steve Stevens, so him appearing to make some lazer noises is always a highlight.
Highlights: Bad, Speed Demon, Man in the Mirror, Smooth Criminal
9/10
Bad Girl II - One Two [Feat. Seo In Young]
One Two are a rap duo from South Korea. Seo In Young has a nice voice. And this song is a good groove.
7/10
Bad Meets Evil - Bad Meets Evil (Eminem & Royce da 5'9)
This had me confused because I forgot everything going on, but basically this is just the song Scary Movies. It is classic Eminem rapping about killing people and doing all the noises to go with it. Royce da 5'9 completely outshines him, though.
7.5/10
Bad News - Bad News
I have some 80s re-release that features a whoooole lot of skits. And they are actually hilarious. Because it's Bad News and these guys are hilarious. There's even a comment about Brian not being there, so they should drink - the Brian they are referring to is Brian May, who produced this album. And plays a bit of lead guitar here and there. His stuff is quite obvious, because he's the only person on this album that can actually play guitar well. Who would have thought "La-ger" would be a good vocal warm-up? I definitely prefer the original 'faster' version of Warriors of Ghengis Khan. I can only imagine how much Brian May must have been laughing when they recorded that guitar solo in Bohemian Rhapsody. Bah gawd this makes me want to watch The Young Ones.
Highlights: Bohemian Rhapsody, Cashing in on Christmas
6/10
Bad Reputation - Joan Jett
Joan Jett comes storming through the wall with a leather jacket and a genuine 'outta my way' attitude. This is another case where the bonus tracks are a detriment to the album; they are fine, I guess, but just not on the level of anything on the original album, and just serve to make things longer. Otherwise, this album is pure kickass fun.
Highlights: Bad Reputation, Make Believe, Too Bad On Your Birthday
7.5/10
A Ballads - Ayumi Hamasaki
Now, iTunes do alphabetical properly by ignoring anything that starts with "A" or "The". However, that probably shouldn't apply to this album - Ayu does tend to use that "A" as genuine naming. Which would have made half of her discography start my whole marathon. So I'm very happy that didn't happen (I like having the good stuff spread out - I couldn't imagine not getting any Ayu for like 6 months). This is more of a compilation of remixes, plus two new songs. RAINBOW is magical. The alt. rock version of A Song for xx is also very cool.
Highlights: RAINBOW, HANABI, Dearest, A Song for xx "030213 Session #2"
8/10
Bananarama - The Very Best Of Bananarama - Bananarama
Well, that album title is stupid and needs to be changed. But for now, I guess this is what I get! And what I get is a collection of fun UK pop songs from the 80s. So I'm going to accept this gift very happily. Although I'm pretty sure I could cut this album down to ten tracks and it still be plenty more than "essential".
Highlights: Venus, Love in the First Degree, I Want You Back, Only Your Love
6/10
Band of Dynamic Duo - Dynamic Duo
I ended up with a bunch of songs by Dynamic Duo, somehow. And I have a sneaking suspicion that they may not all be labelled correctly; I mean, these songs, for one, have song names like "ºÒ¸éÁõ". Now, I'm not expert in Korean linguistics, but that doesn't seem correct. Thank Prime for Shazam so I can sort these out...
Highlights: Guilty (my copy of this at least has the English title in brackets, so am at least a little more confident in the labelling on that one)
7/10
Bangerz - Miley Cyrus
This album is peak Gen Z or Millenial or whatever that generation is that were born in the 90s. The people that were like 15-22 when this album came out. Because Miley was everywhere then. Sticking her tongue out and twerking her non-existent butt. I was in my 30s and have the personality of a grumpy old man, so I just found her annoying. It all kinda distracted from her singing... which is dumb, because she is effortlessly awesome at singing. Twelve years on, I can remove all that and just reflect on the music. And this album is pretty darn good. Sure, there are a few duds, but most pop albums have those. Otherwise, the album is pretty much what it claims to be: Bangerz. Writing a song in TXT speak is about as peak whatevergeneration as it gets.
Highlights: Adore You, Wrecking Ball, FU, On My Own
7.5/10
Barbra Streisand [Single] - Duck Sauce
Get down with your funky self! Or even Barbra Streisand. This song definitely wins awards for being so random. I need to get to that auto-biography soon...
8/10
"Albums" listened to so far: 124
