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alpocalypse - weird al (2011)june 14th
my second to last weird al album. getting there! preparing for seeing this show has been a lot of fun and al's discography is such a treat to explore. and im glad theres rarities left for me to check out as well. alpocalypse was unexpectedly great and i loved it a lot! as someone who was at least Conscious in this cultural timeframe, i understood it a lot and it was a lot more funnier as someone who was Around for the things this album references. i loved original country taylor swift when i was a kid, and you belong with me was my favorite song of hers ever. i hate taylor swift these days with a burning passion because shes evil and aiding in the heat death of the universe, but i still have a nostalgic place in my heart for her super early stuff. good thing these days i can just listen to weird al parody it instead! its better too cause its really funny!
a lot of lines in this made me chuckle. the line "you stand guilty of going outside While Fat!" in tmz made me laugh so hard. as a fat person its so real and accurate to tabloids. especially in that timeframe. also the line about saving leftover bathwater for your significant other in if that isnt love made me loooseee it laughing when i first heard it. 2010s humor was a lot of misses but it had its hits.
in regards to general Jamming, i loved a lot of songs from this timeframe as a kid and the ones i didnt love are still super nostalgic. i didnt realize how much i enjoyed nothin on you, and this parody of it is so charming and awesome. al gives me the chance to revisit songs from my childhood i didnt really feel interested in revisiting otherwise. and i know EVERY SINGLE SONG in polka face. which i think may be a first for his polkas and me. or not. but i do know every single song in it and that made the polka all the more fun to listen to. i love all of his polkas, including polkaface. i wish he did the pokerface "woah oh oh" more bcs its so cute when he does it.
party in the cia becomes more and more real by the day and i have to laugh but also frown. ringtone is a style parody of queen, a band ive loved since 2019. and i guessed it being queen first listen! i dont think it fully captures them but i do see the very clear influence. i think craigslist is the closest al has gotten to another artist in a pastiche since everything you know is wrong. i like the doors a lot as well and i hear a lot of them in it, particularly their debut album sound. and the lyrics are just so stupid and hilarious. "no tip for you!"
i have to say though that my favorite track on this entire album is SKIPPER DAN. im OBSESSED WITH IT. its a style parody of weezer, which i also guessed first listen! i dont listen to much weezer so im not sure how accurate it is, but it definitely has their dna in it. skipper dan is sooo upbeat and fun to listen to and jam to and has the funniest and cutest lyrics ever. i feel bad for skipper dan! he feels like such a real and tangible character i love him.
ALPOCALYPSE WAS AWESOME! i think i still like straight outta lynwood more, but it was still so awesome.
overall rating: 8/10 favorite tracks: skipper dan, perform this way, tmz, polkaface
my second to last weird al album. getting there! preparing for seeing this show has been a lot of fun and al's discography is such a treat to explore. and im glad theres rarities left for me to check out as well. alpocalypse was unexpectedly great and i loved it a lot! as someone who was at least Conscious in this cultural timeframe, i understood it a lot and it was a lot more funnier as someone who was Around for the things this album references. i loved original country taylor swift when i was a kid, and you belong with me was my favorite song of hers ever. i hate taylor swift these days with a burning passion because shes evil and aiding in the heat death of the universe, but i still have a nostalgic place in my heart for her super early stuff. good thing these days i can just listen to weird al parody it instead! its better too cause its really funny!
a lot of lines in this made me chuckle. the line "you stand guilty of going outside While Fat!" in tmz made me laugh so hard. as a fat person its so real and accurate to tabloids. especially in that timeframe. also the line about saving leftover bathwater for your significant other in if that isnt love made me loooseee it laughing when i first heard it. 2010s humor was a lot of misses but it had its hits.
in regards to general Jamming, i loved a lot of songs from this timeframe as a kid and the ones i didnt love are still super nostalgic. i didnt realize how much i enjoyed nothin on you, and this parody of it is so charming and awesome. al gives me the chance to revisit songs from my childhood i didnt really feel interested in revisiting otherwise. and i know EVERY SINGLE SONG in polka face. which i think may be a first for his polkas and me. or not. but i do know every single song in it and that made the polka all the more fun to listen to. i love all of his polkas, including polkaface. i wish he did the pokerface "woah oh oh" more bcs its so cute when he does it.
party in the cia becomes more and more real by the day and i have to laugh but also frown. ringtone is a style parody of queen, a band ive loved since 2019. and i guessed it being queen first listen! i dont think it fully captures them but i do see the very clear influence. i think craigslist is the closest al has gotten to another artist in a pastiche since everything you know is wrong. i like the doors a lot as well and i hear a lot of them in it, particularly their debut album sound. and the lyrics are just so stupid and hilarious. "no tip for you!"
i have to say though that my favorite track on this entire album is SKIPPER DAN. im OBSESSED WITH IT. its a style parody of weezer, which i also guessed first listen! i dont listen to much weezer so im not sure how accurate it is, but it definitely has their dna in it. skipper dan is sooo upbeat and fun to listen to and jam to and has the funniest and cutest lyrics ever. i feel bad for skipper dan! he feels like such a real and tangible character i love him.
ALPOCALYPSE WAS AWESOME! i think i still like straight outta lynwood more, but it was still so awesome.
overall rating: 8/10 favorite tracks: skipper dan, perform this way, tmz, polkaface
ochugen - yoeko kurahashi (2006) june 15th
this was a recommendation from neocities' very own goooby! thanks for the recommendation goob! can i call you that?
i would say this was a step out from my usual thing, but i really loved piano driven j-pop like this when i was younger. (i dont know if thats the best term for it though). i havent went out of my way to listen to a japanese album in awhile, but im glad i did with this EP. i liked it a lot and find more to like with each new listen. it was a really comforting breath of fresh air, especially after having a couple of weeks where i was anxious or ridiculously depressed. this EP was so comforting and new and fun. i really do love it!
in some tracks, i got significant kikuohana vibes. maybe im crazy, though...? but there was a lot of like...emotion, haunting, moving sounds in this EP that felt so similar to kikuohana sometimes. like if kikuohana wasnt so ominous, lol.
my favorite tracks were tsuiseki and tokyo. i LOVE how tokyo uses both yoeko's voice and a male voice. it sounds amazing and its very addicting. tsuiseki is very enchanting and jazzy, i think.
im really glad i listened to this ep and i cant wait to listen to it even more!!! thanks goooby!!!
overall rating: 8/10
favorite tracks: tsuiseki, tokyo, tate
this was a recommendation from neocities' very own goooby! thanks for the recommendation goob! can i call you that?
i would say this was a step out from my usual thing, but i really loved piano driven j-pop like this when i was younger. (i dont know if thats the best term for it though). i havent went out of my way to listen to a japanese album in awhile, but im glad i did with this EP. i liked it a lot and find more to like with each new listen. it was a really comforting breath of fresh air, especially after having a couple of weeks where i was anxious or ridiculously depressed. this EP was so comforting and new and fun. i really do love it!
in some tracks, i got significant kikuohana vibes. maybe im crazy, though...? but there was a lot of like...emotion, haunting, moving sounds in this EP that felt so similar to kikuohana sometimes. like if kikuohana wasnt so ominous, lol.
my favorite tracks were tsuiseki and tokyo. i LOVE how tokyo uses both yoeko's voice and a male voice. it sounds amazing and its very addicting. tsuiseki is very enchanting and jazzy, i think.
im really glad i listened to this ep and i cant wait to listen to it even more!!! thanks goooby!!!
overall rating: 8/10
favorite tracks: tsuiseki, tokyo, tate
straight outta lynwood - weird al (2006) june 10th
my weird al show is on the 3rd of july, so its coming up...! there was still 3 weird al albums i had yet to listen to. straight outta lynwood, alpocalypse, and mandatory fun. i was procrastinating major on it so i strapped down and turned on straight outta lynwood. because of my lukewarm feelings towards poodle hat, i was a little worried id feel similarly about it and maybe even like it less. but i ended up LOVING this. a lot. weird al was apart of my childhood and white & nerdy was me and my brothers favorite thing ever when we were kids. i have vivid memories of watching the music video on youtube in like 2009, us both barely fitting together on the computer chair. weird al has just always existed for me. there wasnt a moment of discovery, hes just a fact of life...
listening to white & nerdy for the first time since probably like 2010 was insane. i still knew all of it by heart and it was so familiar. and so good, btw. i think some people just dont regularly sit and listen to weird al butttt i do. i think he genuinely has really satisfying musical abilities and i love jamming out to him. this album definitely had some of my favorites on it. i loved pancreas a lot, and it was so bizarre having looked up what style parody it was of only to find out it was based off of brian wilsons style. and then the next day, i found out he passed. which was heartbreaking and odd timing.
virus alert was really exciting to listen to finally, because that one is a style parody of sparks, one of my favorite bands ever. im a little bitter about the brainless tiktok teenagers that popularized it, esp the ones that said virus alert was annoying or a bad song bcs first of all, thats fucking weird al youre talking about you bitch and second of all...not liking something that sounds like sparks immediately makes me hate you. but ill stop being negative. virus alert sounds a LOT like sparks and al did a great job. its very reminiscient of propaganda the most i think.
believe it or not this was my first time hearing trapped in the drive thru. which is crazy, i know. i love albuquerque a lot, but i think trapped in the drive thru was the most ive laughed at ANY weird al song other than when i was your age. this whole album is really funny, but trapped in the drive thru is the highlight when it comes to the comedy.
overall, i love straight outta lynwood!! and i hope alpocalypse and mandatory fun are just as good. mandatory fun and alpocalypse are like RIGHT into my childhood music so im really looking forward to it haha
overall rating: 8.5/10
favorite tracks: white & nerdy, pancreas, virus alert
my weird al show is on the 3rd of july, so its coming up...! there was still 3 weird al albums i had yet to listen to. straight outta lynwood, alpocalypse, and mandatory fun. i was procrastinating major on it so i strapped down and turned on straight outta lynwood. because of my lukewarm feelings towards poodle hat, i was a little worried id feel similarly about it and maybe even like it less. but i ended up LOVING this. a lot. weird al was apart of my childhood and white & nerdy was me and my brothers favorite thing ever when we were kids. i have vivid memories of watching the music video on youtube in like 2009, us both barely fitting together on the computer chair. weird al has just always existed for me. there wasnt a moment of discovery, hes just a fact of life...
listening to white & nerdy for the first time since probably like 2010 was insane. i still knew all of it by heart and it was so familiar. and so good, btw. i think some people just dont regularly sit and listen to weird al butttt i do. i think he genuinely has really satisfying musical abilities and i love jamming out to him. this album definitely had some of my favorites on it. i loved pancreas a lot, and it was so bizarre having looked up what style parody it was of only to find out it was based off of brian wilsons style. and then the next day, i found out he passed. which was heartbreaking and odd timing.
virus alert was really exciting to listen to finally, because that one is a style parody of sparks, one of my favorite bands ever. im a little bitter about the brainless tiktok teenagers that popularized it, esp the ones that said virus alert was annoying or a bad song bcs first of all, thats fucking weird al youre talking about you bitch and second of all...not liking something that sounds like sparks immediately makes me hate you. but ill stop being negative. virus alert sounds a LOT like sparks and al did a great job. its very reminiscient of propaganda the most i think.
believe it or not this was my first time hearing trapped in the drive thru. which is crazy, i know. i love albuquerque a lot, but i think trapped in the drive thru was the most ive laughed at ANY weird al song other than when i was your age. this whole album is really funny, but trapped in the drive thru is the highlight when it comes to the comedy.
overall, i love straight outta lynwood!! and i hope alpocalypse and mandatory fun are just as good. mandatory fun and alpocalypse are like RIGHT into my childhood music so im really looking forward to it haha
overall rating: 8.5/10
favorite tracks: white & nerdy, pancreas, virus alert
cosmic thing - the b-52's (1989) apr 26th
ive ALWAYS had the b-52s in the back of my mind ever since i got into new wave. i LOVE their big signature hits, and always appreciated their general aesthetic, vibe, and artistry. but i never gave them a real try until now. and im so glad i finally did!
i started with this one specifically bcs i really felt like listening to roam. that song makes me really emotional and i really love it, but i didnt want to listen to it too often until i gave the whole album a listen. i think all of the songs stand by themselves really well. i love the lyrics so much and the whole album just feels like a georgian summer in the late 80s. its truly perfect and so satisfying to listen to. i LOVE fred schneider's voice so much and his energy is addictive!!!
overall rating: 10/10
favorite tracks: junebug, roam, dry county
ive ALWAYS had the b-52s in the back of my mind ever since i got into new wave. i LOVE their big signature hits, and always appreciated their general aesthetic, vibe, and artistry. but i never gave them a real try until now. and im so glad i finally did!
i started with this one specifically bcs i really felt like listening to roam. that song makes me really emotional and i really love it, but i didnt want to listen to it too often until i gave the whole album a listen. i think all of the songs stand by themselves really well. i love the lyrics so much and the whole album just feels like a georgian summer in the late 80s. its truly perfect and so satisfying to listen to. i LOVE fred schneider's voice so much and his energy is addictive!!!
overall rating: 10/10
favorite tracks: junebug, roam, dry county
erotica - madonna (1992) mar 28nd
another recommendation from alex! or rather, alex's fiance whos a huge madonna fan.
this one is new for me. genre and all. it was a good listen, but i dont think its for me overall. i appreciate it as an album though, and some tracks were very moving. i dont think id revisit it any time soon.
overall rating: 4.5/10
favorite tracks: deeper and deeper, bye bye baby
another recommendation from alex! or rather, alex's fiance whos a huge madonna fan.
this one is new for me. genre and all. it was a good listen, but i dont think its for me overall. i appreciate it as an album though, and some tracks were very moving. i dont think id revisit it any time soon.
overall rating: 4.5/10
favorite tracks: deeper and deeper, bye bye baby
germ free adolescents - x-ray spex (1978) mar 22nd
another recommendation from alex! though, x-ray spex has been on my radar for awhile. my first exposure to them i think was watching wendell and wild back when it first came out and hearing "i am a poseur" which is a great song. it just took me awhile to actually listen to them beyond that. im glad i finally did though. this is peak early british new wave. its perfect. no notes. i really admire poly styrene and i feel a kind of kinship with her in a way. and her voice is very moving.
overall rating: 9/10
favorite tracks: obsessed with you, warrior in woolworths, age
another recommendation from alex! though, x-ray spex has been on my radar for awhile. my first exposure to them i think was watching wendell and wild back when it first came out and hearing "i am a poseur" which is a great song. it just took me awhile to actually listen to them beyond that. im glad i finally did though. this is peak early british new wave. its perfect. no notes. i really admire poly styrene and i feel a kind of kinship with her in a way. and her voice is very moving.
overall rating: 9/10
favorite tracks: obsessed with you, warrior in woolworths, age
imaginal disk - magdalena bay (2024) mar 21th
a good friend of mine (alex, who shows me a lot of what i listen to) recommended me this after their brother had recommended it to them. not only that, but i saw it mentioned on bluesky and randomly heard it on tiktok. i decided to take it as a sign and give it a listen. my hopes were high, but i came out of it not really caring for it very much. i couldnt really get behind the vocals or the lyrics, but the instrumentation was fairly impressive and nice. just not something id want to return to.
overall rating: 3/10
favorite tracks: death & romance
a good friend of mine (alex, who shows me a lot of what i listen to) recommended me this after their brother had recommended it to them. not only that, but i saw it mentioned on bluesky and randomly heard it on tiktok. i decided to take it as a sign and give it a listen. my hopes were high, but i came out of it not really caring for it very much. i couldnt really get behind the vocals or the lyrics, but the instrumentation was fairly impressive and nice. just not something id want to return to.
overall rating: 3/10
favorite tracks: death & romance
poodle hat - weird al (2003) feb 9th
so far ive listened to every weird al album up until this one. i ended 2024 with running with scissors, which was pretty good i think. poodle hat is a bit of an acquired taste, and i think some of that has to do with the era of music it encapsulates. some songs hit, some really dont. i grew up listening to eminem, so couch potato genuinely cracks me up. same with trash day, for similar reasons. but ebay, and ode to a superhero fall a bit short. and al's originals on this, like wanna b ur lovr or party at the leper colony, are hit or miss. it seems with genius in france al is trying to replicate albuquerque. i havent looked at the track listing for the next few albums so i have no idea how many times hes gonna do this, but i kinda like it to be honest...
overall i do think i like this the least out of all the albums ive heard so far, which i hate admitting! angry white boy polka might be one of my favorite polkas though, just because so many of the songs in it i grew up hearing as a little kid. plus, hardware store is obligatory. its just really good.
overall rating: 6/10
favorite tracks: hardware store, angry white boy polka, couch potato
so far ive listened to every weird al album up until this one. i ended 2024 with running with scissors, which was pretty good i think. poodle hat is a bit of an acquired taste, and i think some of that has to do with the era of music it encapsulates. some songs hit, some really dont. i grew up listening to eminem, so couch potato genuinely cracks me up. same with trash day, for similar reasons. but ebay, and ode to a superhero fall a bit short. and al's originals on this, like wanna b ur lovr or party at the leper colony, are hit or miss. it seems with genius in france al is trying to replicate albuquerque. i havent looked at the track listing for the next few albums so i have no idea how many times hes gonna do this, but i kinda like it to be honest...
overall i do think i like this the least out of all the albums ive heard so far, which i hate admitting! angry white boy polka might be one of my favorite polkas though, just because so many of the songs in it i grew up hearing as a little kid. plus, hardware store is obligatory. its just really good.
overall rating: 6/10
favorite tracks: hardware store, angry white boy polka, couch potato
do it yourself - ian dury & the blockheads (1979) march 18th
a good friend of mine sent this my way, which was precipitated by me hearing the song "hit me with your rhythm stick" by the same artist on my spotify discover weekly. (and soon after seeing vinny vinesauce play the song "sex & drugs & rock & roll" on stream) so for the past few weeks, ian dury has been beckoning me i suppose. im really glad my friend recommended me this, however, because its really fucking good. its right up my alley and appeals to me greatly. ian dury has a very eccentric and awesome personality that comes through this album really well. the album is so funky and dancey in a weird british late 70s way. i will probably have this on repeat all year. no notes!
overall rating: 10/10
favorite tracks: inbetweenies, hit me with your rhythm stick, waiting for your taxi
a good friend of mine sent this my way, which was precipitated by me hearing the song "hit me with your rhythm stick" by the same artist on my spotify discover weekly. (and soon after seeing vinny vinesauce play the song "sex & drugs & rock & roll" on stream) so for the past few weeks, ian dury has been beckoning me i suppose. im really glad my friend recommended me this, however, because its really fucking good. its right up my alley and appeals to me greatly. ian dury has a very eccentric and awesome personality that comes through this album really well. the album is so funky and dancey in a weird british late 70s way. i will probably have this on repeat all year. no notes!
overall rating: 10/10
favorite tracks: inbetweenies, hit me with your rhythm stick, waiting for your taxi