2025 in 2025: Day 136

O(+> - Prince and the New Power Generation

This is probably one of my favourite Prince albums; it is not perfect, but he just went so hard with the new jack swing on this. And the funk. And the power ballad stuff. It starts off with a sermon on a mountain and just never lets up. Epic stuff. Also, Tony M gets a bad rap - he really was great on this album.

Highlights: Love 2 the 9's, My Name is Prince, The Morning Papers, Sexy M.F., 7

8/10

Obsessed - Mariah Carey

Mariah sends Eminem to the burn ward! Or something... she sure does not really sing on this like she used to; very heavy autotune and no fancy stuff. Honestly, sounds more like Lady Gaga!

Highlights: Obsessed

7.5/10

ODDINARY - Stray Kids

Fairly straight-forward big beat hip-hop K-Pop styles from these guys. And I mean that is quite different for Stray Kids; usually their stuff can get unnecessarily complicated! 

Highlights: Waiting For Us, MANIAC, Lonely St., Charmer

7/10

Odelay - Beck

I think Beck is rap for white people that pretend to like hip-hop. 

Highlights: Lord Only Knows, Where It's At, Jack-Ass, High 6 (Rock the Catskills)

7/10

Odelay [Bonus Disc] - Beck

Well this was.. pointless. Like spending my money on Beck!

Highlights: I legit could have bought a few meals instead of these Beck albums

4.5/10

Odyssey Number Five - Powderfinger

I do not have the full album - just a couple of decent songs. Which is a gawdam relief right now.

Highlights: My Happiness, My Kind of Scene

8/10

OE: Brazil - Various Artists

NZ dub and similar musicians do Brazilian style dub? Something like that, I think. So it is terrible in two countries? Just kidding - it is not that bad. Good background music, particularly the more bossa nova tracks.

Highlights: 2 4 1 - Barbatuques & Maaka Phat & P. Digsss, Embrace This Place - Funk Como le & Recloose & Tyna

5.5/10

Off The Soundboard: Live In Donington 1996 - Kiss

Reunion tour Kiss! Like most reunion tour Kiss concerts, it rocks; Gene sings like he has eaten razors, Peter drums with inconsistent tempos, Paul continues being a rockstar frontman, and Ace is Ace. I especially love the way he misses his line in Shout it Out Loud, but then jumps in and tries to make it fit. Very badly. And the beauty of being a music festival is we are talking a 90 minutes concert here - so it is just hot fire Kiss slamming it down!

Highlights: Love Gun, Black Diamond, 100,000 Years, Rock and Roll All Nite

8/10

Off The Soundboard: Live in Tokyo 2001 - Kiss

The last Kiss concert! For all of a year. The last Kiss concert with the original lineup! Except one of them got fired before the last bunch of concerts. Regardless, Eric Singer was awesome on drums and this concert kicks the big butts. Why could they not have made this Alive IV?

Highlights: Detroit Rock City, Deuce, Firehouse, Let Me Go Rock & Roll

8/10

Off the Wall - Michael Jackson

MJ with the disco fire! Take away She's Out of My Life and this would be a perfect album of banger after banger. Still a hell of a disco jam as it it.

Highlights: Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough, Get on the Floor, Rock with You, Burn this Disco Out

8.5/10

OLest - Charisma.com

And speaking of bangers, it is everyone's favourite OL duo. Big beats, funky rhythms, catchy rapping and hooks. 

Highlights: 超絶に胸が痛んでいるあなたの上司, こんがらガール, アラサードリーミン, やれよ。

8/10

On a Day Like Today - Bryan Adams

For as much as I like Bryan Adams, this album is a bit of a weaker effort. There is a sequel of sorts to One Night Love Affair - or at least I like to think it is, because otherwise it just comes across as BA ripping himself off. And the man is way too self-aware to do that. I think maybe the whole thing is missing one of those big ballads he always seemed to pull out. Instead, outside of a few rocking tunes and that awesome duet with Melanie C, a lot of the songs are just kind of middle of the road. That duet with Melanie C sure is awesome, though.

Highlights: When You're Gone, Before the Night is Over, On a Day Like Today, Cloud Number Nine

7/10

On How Life Is - Macy Gray

I would not say no to hearing the rest of this album, but for now I will settle for only having Still in my library. Beautiful song. I still maintain that Macy Gray is the worst actor I have ever witnessed. I should watch Fuller House again...

9/10

"Albums" listened to so far: 1210

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2025 in 2025: Day 54

Devil's Playground - Billy Idol

Billy and Steve are back together making fun hard rock again! Man, Billy's voice on this is cranking! Did he just admit he drinks and drives all the time? The innuendoes in Yellin' at the Xmas Tree are quite funny. 

Highlights: Super Overdrive, Rat Race, Yellin' at the Xmas Tree, Cherie, Summer Running

7/10

Diamond Hoo Ha - Supergrass

This is one of those albums that gets going and a few tracks in you are thinking to yourself 'hotdamn this is a great album!' and then the rest of it is just okay and not nearly as awesome as it started. Supergrass were awesome, but this was not their most consistent album. The highlights, though, are seriously fab.

Highlights: Rebel In You, Diamond Hoo Ha Man, Bad Blood, 345, Butterfly

7/10

Diamonds and Pearls - Prince & The New Power Generation

Prince does New Jack - like MJ did! And just like MJ before him, Prince kills it. He also delivers some not so awesome songs, as well. Whenever I hear a song like Cream, I find it so confounding that I hated it so much when I was young. That song is pop-funk perfection. 

Highlights: Diamonds and Pearls, Cream, Jughead, Gett Off, Live 4 Love

8/10

Diamonds and Pearls (Super Deluxe Edition) - Prince

Prince opens the album admitting to date rape? Then he moves on to (hilarious) fat-shaming. Prince is going to get cancelled if he isn't careful. While there are some uncovered gems to be found here, a lot of these feel quite unfinished; we get a few songs that ended up being further refined and recorded for the album, some demos or songs that get demoed again later in the set, and also some random extended versions. I'm not overly complaining, because I will always take a big collection of Prince very happily. It's just that after how awesome the Sign O' The Times Super Deluxe Edition was, this first disc of Vault Tracks kind of felt like a step down. But then discs II & III are mostly great and full of Prince being Prince; there's a big extended funky jam, gorgeous ballads, and preachy songs about God's love. Can we get another Super Deluxe Edition of a Prince album in my lifetime, please?

Highlights: Diamonds and Pearls (Long Version), Something Funky (This House Comes), The Voice, The Last Dance (Bang Pow Zoom and the Whole Nine)

7/10

Diamonds and Pearls: Promo Mixes and B-Sides - Prince & The New Power Generation

Horny Pony sounds like Prince was having a big ol' barrel of fun. And I actually dig these dance remixes, as well. I genuinely do not get all the hate for Tony M's rapping - I think the dude was solid.

Highlights: Horny Pony, Do Your Dance, Diamonds and Pearls (Edit), Gett Off (Damn Near 10 Minutes)

8/10

It was a very diamond day!

"Albums" listened to so far: 418