2025 in 2025: Day 176

Three Imaginary Boys - The Cure

The Cure are one of my favourite bands of all time. Easily in my top 10. They have some incredibly epic albums full of emotion, but also effortlessly switch between pop rock fun and nihilistic despair. This album is nothing of the sort.

Highlights: Grinding Halt, Another Day, 10:15 Saturday Night, Three Imaginary Boys

6/10

Thriller - Michael Jackson

Hot take: this is not MJ's best album. However, Beat It and Billie Jean are just such phenomenal songs that it meant this album sold a bajillion copies. Dangerous and Bad do not feature awful collaborations with Paul McCartney, so they are infinitely better. The worst part is that other song he did with McCartney is actually a good song!

Highlights: Beat It, Billie Jean, Human Nature, Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'

8/10

Throwing Copper - Live

Every song is either Quiet LOUD Quiet, or Quiet Quiet LOUD. Except for Waitress - which is LOUD Quiet LOUD, for some weird reason. It is all fine and dandy, but nothing overly exceptional that has made me go out of my way to listen to this in the last 30 years.

Highlights: Top, Pillar of Davidson, White Discussion, Iris

7/10

Tidal - Fiona Apple

Fiona Apple is the lyricist Swifties think their cult leader is. I may appreciate her angst and subsequent vocal performance on When the Pawn... more, but boy howdy this album has some pretty deep emotions. 

Highlights: Criminal, Sullen Girl, Never is a Promise, Pale September

8/10

Tiffany - Tiffany

Sadly, I do not have the full album - just I Think We're Alone Now. I am not sure why I do not have at least the other singles. Because I am lame, that is why!

8/10

Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper

This is only The Goonies 'R' Good Enough - for obvious reasons! I should watch that movie again one day.

8/10

Timeless: New Recordings Honoring The Music Of Hank Williams - Various Artists

This is just Ryan Adams' cover of Lovesick Blues. He puts on his most irritating fake country voice for this one...

5/10

Tiny Music...Songs From The Vatican Gift Shop - Stone Temple Pilots

I love Weiland's voice on this album - he has gone for a bit more of a raspy glam rock kind of vibe and it really suits the way everything comes together, because musically it has bit of a glam rock vibe as well. Like, total peak art school Led Zeppelin tribute act vibes. And I mean that in the most complimentary of ways.

Highlights: Lady Picture Show, Trippin' On a Hole in a Paper Heart, Seven Caged Tigers, Tumble in the Rough

8/10

To the 5 Boroughs - Beastie Boys

Oh snap the boys are back! Just straight-up NYC hip-hop. War is bad. George W. Bush is a clown. Racism and bigotry are bad. Sampling Sonic Reducer is the greatest idea ever and I will forgive them for using it to tell me how great New York is.

Highlights: An Open Letter to NYC, Right Right Now Now, Rhyme the Rhyme Well, Time to Build

8.5/10

TO THE DREAM - The Tomboys

As indie as ever, but even more catchy. And fun. 

Highlights: Tell Me Why, I GOTTA GO, SATURDAY NIGHT

7/10

The The Extreme - Vanilla Ice

V.I.P. in the house! I unironically love still enjoy the enjoy the bejeebus out of this album; sure, the rhymes are corny, but there are plenty of James Brown samples, fun old school grooves, and Vanilla's silly rapping is part of the charm. I still need to find that third version of Play That Funky Music...

Highlights: Ice Ice Baby, Ice is Workin' It, Dancin', Go Ill

8/10

To Whom It May Concern - Lisa Marie Presley

Lisa Marie's debut album, featuring some pretty standard pop country rock stylings - kind of like a modern take on where her Dad left off, I guess? Some surprisingly decent songs to be found. I need to remember to give this a closer listen again some time...

Highlights: Lights Out, S.O.B., Nobody Noticed It, So Lovely

7/10

Today - George Harrison

Another George Harrison bootleg of randomness. Mostly collaborations and whatnot. And I have most of them on other albums? And I am not 100% convinced he actually performs on some of them. 

Highlights: Power to the People, Your True Love (Live - Carl Perkins' Memorial Service), Horse to the Water

6.5/10

Today (Legacy Edition) - Elvis Presley

One of The King's final albums and highly underrated; still not too dissimilar to the rest of his 70s output, but it is mostly fun and Elvis feels like he put a bit of effort it. The opening track is such an old school rock'n roll kind of groove, I cannot help but love it. The undubbed versions are not too different - except you can hear Elvis getting the giggles during Susan When She Tried.

Highlights: T-R-O-U-B-L-E, Pieces of My Life, Fairytale, Shake a Hand

7.5/10

"Albums" listened to so far: 1714

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2025 in 2025: Day 135

Northern Star - Melanie C

My favourite Spice Girl goes solo and it is fairly mixed, but still very pop; a bit of dance-pop, a little bit of R&B, but also kind of alt. rock pop styles, if that makes sense? It all kind of under-delivers, but there are some really great moments. I still can not believe that this is the only album of hers that I actually have!

Highlights: Northern Star, Never Be the Same Again, Ga Ga, Go!

7/10

Not Fade Away: The Complete Studio Recordings and More - Buddy Holly

Things kick off with a home recording from 1949 that is more listenable than an MCR demo from 2019. Then it is on to his recordings with Bob and, again, it has been cleaned up so well it makes it an interesting listen. It is all very country and Buddy just sings harmony for the most part. Down the Line kicks off the real rock'n roll era. How is the 1955 recording of You And I Are Through actually worse than the recording in 1954? Once we get to 1956, it is non-stop rock'n roll awesomeness. It is actually quite amazing what Buddy Holly achieved in that year alone - he may have recorded more awesome songs that year than Elvis! And the year closes with the garage tapes? Bah gawd, those are the greatest home recordings in the history of music. 1957 may have been even better? And 1958 may be even better than that?!? After the apartment recordings close off everything recorded during his lifetime, it is on to the overdubbed versions and I will always find a lot of fun in some of the Fireballs recordings. Most of them, even - they kind of work for some, but others it just feels unnecessary. There are so many more of these songs than I remember; I always think it was like maybe 15 or 20 songs, but there is like 50 of them! It almost feels like every demo or home recording got The Fireballs treatment. This is quite possibly the best box set I have and will ever own.

Highlights: Rave On, Oh Boy!, Down the Line, I'm Gonna Set My Foot Down, Rock Around with Ollie Vee, It's So Easy, Not Fade Away, Crying Waiting Hoping [Fireballs Version], The Garage Tapes, The Apartment Tapes

9/10

Imagine if I had left these discs as separate albums - I could have deleted 5 other albums, like those NZ music compilations! Also, somewhere in all these Fireball versions was my 15,000th song. How am I only just reaching that now? How am I supposed to listen to another 10,000 in a third of the time?!?

Not Over You [Single] - Gavin DeGraw

Funnily enough, I heard this playing in the supermarket the other day. Dude has such a great voice. Why do I not that first album of his? Might be because he's a MAGA clown? Might be...

8/10

Not Shy - ITZY

Party time. Teen girls do not care what you think of them at all, so they are going to dance and since as much as they want, I guess?

Highlights: Don't Give a What, Not Shy, Be in Love, iD

8/10

NOTHING FROM NOTHING - Ayumi Hamasaki

Classic 90s hip-hop makes for a most lowkey debut for the Empress of J-Pop. She does sound like an annoying teenager here, but that kind of tracks considering she was only 17. I wonder what happened to the other dudes on this...

Highlights: Gut it-pez, NOTHING FROM NOTHING (Album Version), LIMIT, NOTHING FROM NOTHING (Single Version)

8/10

Now What - Lisa Marie Presley

The sophomore and final album from Elvis' daughter. The fact she collaborated with Linda Perry for most of it and a song features Pink should give an indication of the style of music here. Very radio pop rock. 

Highlights: I'll Figure it Out, Thanx, Now What, Turbulence

6.5/10

The Nylon Curtain - Billy Joel

A very political outing from Mr. Joel, covering things like the recession and the Vietnam war. Still channeling The Beatles pretty hard for the most part, too. 

Highlights: Goodnight Saigon, Allentown, She's Right on Time, Pressure

7.5/10

"Albums" listened to so far: 1197

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