Check Your Head by the Beastie Boys

Stuckski:

Despite being a nineties kid, I never really paid too much attention to the Beastie Boys. I vaguely remember hearing Fight for Your Right (not on this record) as a kid and thinking it sounded kind of silly. Then I hit college age and I found out that a lot of my friends really liked them. I decided to give them another try, and discovered some tracks of theirs that I really liked. I still don't love them, but I do understand their appeal, and there are a few tracks that I do love.
Check Your Head seems to be a mixture of styles, and a lot chiller than Licence to Ill. There are a lot more instrumental segments, and the vocals are a lot less 'Beastie-Boyish'. So Watcha Want is the closest it gets to classic BB rapping. Another highlight is Time for Livin' which is takes me straight back to their hardcore punk roots.

kurtkurtkurt:

I've fallen behind on my Responsibilities.

Time for Livin' and Funky Boss are my two favorite tracks of the album. I don't know why but Funky Boss always made my head bob and put a smile on my face. Also Beastie Boys are actually not to bad at being a punk band (Here's their EP Polly Wog Stew).

RATINGS:

kurtkurtkurt: 6/10
Stuckski: 4/10 (Some decent tracks, but not a fan overall)

Tongue N' Cheek by Dizzee Rascal

Stuckski:

Wow..sorry Kurt.

As a rule I prefer UK Grime to most anything the U.S. hiphop scene produces (I say 'as a rule' because there are definitely exceptions). Dizzee Rascal has a great lyrical style, and I love his faster songs. There are not enough of them in this album for me to really enjoy it. The highlight is the Armand van Helden produced Bonkers, which is one of my favorite tracks ever. Aside from that it's a struggle to find something positive to say about this  album. I guess Dance Wiv Me has some nice little riffs..meh.

RATINGS:

Stuckski: 4/10 (Almost completely earned by Bonkers)

Aesop Rock - Float

kurtkurtkurt:
This is pretty mediocre. Definitely very okay. I'm not really big into rap or hip-hop so I'm probably not the best judge of it. There were beats I guess?

Stuckski:
Aesop Rock just doesn't work as a straight-up rapper, he needs to have a singer alongside him to complement his jumbled and somewhat incomprehensible vocals. His rapping style is simply not powerful enough to stand on it's own.
This is a pity because his music features great beats, and utilizes samples masterfully ( the jazzy overtones in Commencement at the Obedience Academy are delightful).
I get the feeling that the rapper really doesn't have anything particular to say, and that may be why the vocals fall so flat. Directionless verbosity works fine when it isn't the sole focal point of the music ...but it doesn't work here.

RATINGS:

kurtkurtkurt: 3/10
Stuckski: 4/10

Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five - The Message

kurtkurtkurt:
I want to like this album more than I do. I know they're important and all, but I'm pretty bored listening to it. Songs could have been cut waaaaay down. Props to  The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on The Wheels of Steel though, I liked hearing all the samples.

Stuckski:
I like it when the bass goes a little crazy in She's fresh . Other than that though the beats in these songs are a little simplistic for my tastes.

RATINGS:

kurtkurtkurt: 3/10
Stuckski: 4/10

Folly - Insanity Later

kurtkurtkurt:

Sorry Stuckski.

So these guys are straight up hardcore/slam dance punch you in the face breakdown music, with a touch of ska thrown in to confuse the ska kid in me trying to skank. This album is very loud and agressive. Overall definitely not my cup of tea. I did enjoy Discussion is for the Pigs, which will give you a general feel for what they do, but I'm not always super big into screaming. I respect what they're trying to do overall, meshing two genres that seem like complete opposites, but it's hard to fully enjoy the results  for me.

Stuckski:

Well, there's a lot of screaming, I'm pretty sure these guys are pissed about something or other. Don't know what, because -once again- they are screaming. I hate screaming in music. Wait, let me elaborate for a second here: I love shouting and chants in most of my music, it adds to the energy and creates a great mood. Screaming is completely different: you can barely understand what they're saying and it just sounds like a choir of petulant 14-year olds. The few moments when the singer isn't screaming actually sound quite good. Pity he couldn't do that for the entire fucking album.

RATINGS:

kurtkurtkurt: 4/10
Stuckski: 2/10

Monkeys for Nothin' and Chimps for Free by Reel Big Fish

kurtkurtkurt:

This album is very, very mediocre. I mean, I know Reel Big Fish have been pumping out records and surely you hit dry spells in creativity... But I think that's when you don't release anything.  Pretty much from start to end this is bland. UGH! Reel Big Fish why do you disappoint me!

Stuckski:

If this album were by any other band than Reel Big Fish, I would probably give it a seven or eight. But, c'mon RBF! You guys are responsible for Turn the Radio Off and Cheer Up! Is this really the best you could do? You disappoint me. You could at least have released this huge pile of average under a fake name, so I could go on blissfully pretending that everything you guys make is awesome.


RATINGS:
kurtkurtkurt: 3/10
Stuckski: 4/10

MTV Unplugged in New York by Nirvana

kurtkurtkurt:

It's definitely not the strongest Nirvana album but it's still alright. I guess this went out to prove that they could make not loud music or something (Or it was just MTV unplugged and you can only be so loud on an acoustic set). Anyways most of their songs that they make acoustic turned out very eh. Their covers, on the other hand, definitely stand out. Lake of Fire and Plateau I thought were both pretty good.

Stuckski:

Come nigh you heathens and listen to my holy words, for I am the ultimate HIPSTER! While everybody else worships this album, and claims it is the most awesome thing ever, I say...meh. Seriously though, I don't really see the point of this music. It doesn't affect my mood in any way, it's just some dude quietly moaning to himself about some Lake of Fire, a chick named Polly, and some more inanities. Quite frankly: it's boring.

RATINGS:

kurtkurtkurt: 6/10
Stuckski: 4/10

Statesboro Blues: The Early Years 1927 -1935 (Disc 3) by Blind Willie McTell

kurtkurtkurt:

I got into blues/country/bluegrass/folk a few years back and that's where I got this. It's really interesting this album kinda slaps every single recording he ever made together into one giant album. You end up getting several recording of the same song, just a different take, and where songs would be shelved as a b-side or just generally mediocrity they've been placed into this collection. His voice is okay, but just not quite there. Unfortunately he's no Leadbelly or Robert Johnson and it shows.


Stuckski:

My own pappy loves playing guitar, and has instilled a love in me for blues and bluegrass, so I enjoyed Willie's guitar. His voice isn't quite so entertaining, and as for the lady who regularly throws in vocals...well let's just say I really wish she hadn't. I really, really do.
All in all, the guitar doesn't really make up for a lot of the grating vocals, and the mediocre sound quality (yeah, I know it's how most of the thirties sounded...and I don't give a fuck).


RATINGS:

kurtrkurtkurt: 4/10
Stuckski: 5/10 (Nice guitar can only make up for so much)

Stripped by Christina Aguilera

kurtkurtkurt:

Well, well, well stuckski. Showing your true colors here eh? No matter; what has to happen has to happen!

I've actually never really listened to much of Christina's music so it was probably real good for me to sit down and have to do it. She has a beautiful voice, definitely more of a jazz/soul voice but she decides to put it against a traditional pop background. It's an interesting choice, not my favorite thing ever, but interesting none the less. I enjoyed the Latin flare of Make Over.

But as a whole the album just isn't my thing. Stripped all kinda seems remarkably unremarkable to me. I don't know I guess the beats are made to make you move in ways my body wasn't built for so I just don't feel it.

Christina. It's not you, it's me.

Stuckski:

I'm going to give you all a couple of seconds to laugh your asses off about how I actually own this album. All Done? Great, on with the review. Stripped is a pretty generic pop album, featuring a mix of soulful songs, club anthems, and songs tailor-made for the radio. There's a reason pop producers stick to this formula, and that is because it works. I'm not much of a fan of this kind of pop, but it's catchy and I could see somebody with different musical tastes digging it. Surprisingly it's the quieter, more soulful tracks that really stand out. Aguilera (or whoever sings for her when she's not lip-syncing) provides some strong vocals on Beautiful, and manages to inject some true feeling into Walk Away. The louder club-pop songs are insipid and -at best- forgettable. If I had to point fingers, Dirrty is probably the worst of the bunch in that respect. I mean look at the name...two r's in dirty? What the fuck does that even mean?


RATINGS:
kurtkurtkurt: 5/10
Stuckski: 4/10 (good pop album, but not my thing)

Past Due By Hor!zen

kurtkurtkurt:

This is actually the first time I've heard these guys (this was a Matt playlist item).They made sure to mention Sublime 20 times or so in the lyrics of this album, just in case you weren't sure that they were influenced by them.
Unfortunately, the album was boring and slow. I had a hard time concentrating through it. I'm sure if I was high I would change my opinion. Also I wonder if part of it was maybe this is a b-side.

Stuckski:

There are many (oh God, so many!) bands like this out there. I assume they were all conceived under the influence of a generous helping of spliffs and Sublime records. The resulting sound is almost indistinguishable from said band (although usually worse). This isn't necessarily a completely bad thing, as some of these band go on to put their own spin on the genre, or even embrace their fate and become a Sublime cover band (no shame in that!). Sadly enough Hor!zon is neither of these, choosing rather to bumble along in the shadow of Sublime, while still pretending that their sound is original.
Final verdict: The music is entertaining enough, but if I want this kind of thing, I might as well go and listen to 40oz to Freedom again.

RATINGS:

Stuckski: 4/10
Kurtkurtkurt: 3/10