Reviews Supplemental

01 Apr 2013: "Beatles for Sale No. 2" by The Beatles
HEY
LET'S RELEASE ANOTHER EP FROM THIS ALBUM
AND INCLUDE WORDS OF LOVE, ONE OF THEIR MOST BORING SONGS
THE MONEY WILL ROLL RIGHT IN

01 May 2013: "The Beatles' Million-Sellers" by The Beatles
There really isn't much to criticise here, since the criteria for the EP override any complaints I might have. She Loves You and Can't Buy Me Love are still great, though.

01 Jun 2013: "Yesterday" by The Beatles
Other than Yesterday, this EP takes mediocre songs from Help!. It's disappointing, because Help! has the best opening three-song stretch I've heard.

01 Jul 2013: "Nowhere Man" by The Beatles
Nowhere Man is The Beatles' second-to-last EP, with Magical Mystery Tour being the last. Since Magical Mystery Tour is redundant, this is the last EP of theirs I can review. JOIN US NEXT MONTH WHEN WE START ON THEIR GREATEST HITS ALBUMS

Nowhere Man is taken entirely from Rubber Soul. Michelle and Drive My Car are highlights, while Nowhere Man and You Won't See Me trick buyers into not buying Rubber Soul. If they wanted people to buy the album, the track listing should have been:
Drive My Car
Girl
Michelle
I'm Looking Through You
This way, when they buy the album, they're surprised with great songs like In My Life and Norwegian Wood, and feel like Rubber Soul is fucking amazing. It totally is amazing, by the way.

1 Aug 2013: "A Collection of Beatles Oldies" by The Beatles
Normally, I hate greatest hits compilations. They never seem to have the band's best songs. However, as far as these things go, this album is pretty good.
Maybe it's because it's The Beatles, but there isn't a bad song on here. I guess it's REALLY FUCKING EASY to make a good compilation of their songs, especially when you have four whole years to work with.

There are the obvious tracks, like I Want to Hold Your Hand, She Loves You, A Hard Day's Night, Help!, etc., but there are also great not-obvious choices like Michelle and... uh... Michelle. But Michelle's the best song on Rubber Soul anyway, so whatever.

01 Sep 2013: "Rock 'n' Roll Music" by The Beatles
FUCK YOU
USING THE SHIT-ASS VERSION OF GET BACK
I MEAN SHIT
THE SINGLE VERSION WAS FUCKING GREAT
THEN THEY RUIN IT FOR THE ALBUM VERSION
AND THAT'S THE ONLY VERSION ANYONE HEARS
FUCK
YOU

01 Oct 2013: "Love Songs" by The Beatles
YO DOG
This album includes, like, half of Help!. Not even The Night Before or I've Just Seen a Face, either. And, seriously, no Can't Buy Me Love? Fucking retarded, yo

01 Nov 2013: "Rarities 1978" by The Beatles
The Beatles have two albums called Rarities, one released in 1978, and one released in 1980. Next month, we'll tackle the 1980 version.

1978's Rarities is mostly early B-sides and pretentious late-career drivel. Basically, it's Past Masters without most of the best songs. The only real stand-outs are Long Tall Sally, I'm Down, She's a Woman, and Rain.

24 Nov 2013: "Rust Never Sleeps" by Neil Young
No, the reviews aren't back for good. I really felt like listening to an album today, and I chose this one.

Rust Never Sleeps is best known for the two tracks that bookend the album: My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue), and Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black). The album itself exists because Young was feeling obsolete with the rising popularity of punk. In both tracks, he states that "it's better to burn out than to fade away".
I really love the duality of these two tracks. They basically say the same thing, but in different ways. For example, Out of the Blue says "my my, hey hey; rock and roll is here to stay", while Into the Black says "hey hey, my my; rock and roll will never die". They're two separate statements that mean the same thing.

Of course, there are other songs on the album. The first six tracks are acoustic and very Neil Young-y, while the last three are electric. It's kind of odd how dirty the guitar sounds on the tracks, because it doesn't really fit with Young's voice. Odd in a good way, of course.
I didn't really like Young's voice at first, but it's really grown on me.

I don't have much else to say. Reviewing became kind of a chore for a while, since I kept getting mediocre-to-bad albums, and I'd only be able to do good ones every so often because of my own stupid rules. Maybe I'll do reviews infrequently from now on. OR MAYBE I CAN REVIEW THE ENTIRE PANIC! AT THE DISCOGRAPHY OVER THE COURSE OF EIGHT MONTHS FUCK YEAH

01 Dec 2013: "Rarities 1980" by The Beatles
A SECOND ALBUM OF RARITIES OH WOW
This basically combines the pretentious late career songs from 1978's Rarities, and adds some nice album tracks. The run-out groove after A Day in the Life is also present.
I'm Only Sleeping and Help! are the highlights. Notably, Helter Skelter was ruined by removing Ringo's "blisters" line.

01 Jan 2014: "The Beatles' Ballads" by The Beatles
I'm honestly impressed. Aside from Across the Universe, this is a great compilation. It's got it all; Hey Jude, You've Got to Hide Your Love Away, Norwegian Wood for some reason, The Fool on the Hill, Michelle, All My Loving, and pretty much everything that could fit the description.
This is probably the best compilation of theirs I've reviewed.

19 Jan 2014: "Mystery Skulls EP" by Mystery Skulls
Imagine discovering music through /v/. I really don't know how to describe this, so I'll just post a nice video.

01 Feb 2014: "The Beatles Box" by The Beatles
This boxset commits the greatest sin any compilation can commit: IT ONLY HAS HALF OF THE ABBEY ROAD MEDLEY
IT'S ALL OR NOTHING YOU FUCK
ALL
OR
NOTHING
Also, it uses the shitty version of Get Back from Let it Be.
YOU ARE THE WORST
AND I HATE YOU

01 Mar 2014: "Reel Music" by The Beatles
As the title suggests, this album is just songs from their movies. It was released alongside a remaster of A Hard Day's Night.
Honestly, the selection is pretty good, despite omitting The Night Before. It has the four best songs from A Hard Day's Night, even.

01 Apr 2014: "20 Greatest Hits U.K." by The Beatles
There were four different versions of this released; one for the U.K., one for America, one for the rest of Europe, and one for Australia. I, naturally, will doing all four to pad out this section as much as possible.

As far as compilations go, this one is very good. The worst song on it is Eleanor Rigby, which isn't bad at all. It's also got great shit like Hey Jude, Can't Buy Me Love, From Me to You, and The Ballad of John and Yoko. If you're planning on traveling to the U.K. in 1982, I'd recommend picking this one up.

01 May 2014: "20 Greatest Hits US" by The Beatles
Just like in real life, the US version is far inferior. I mean, they shortened Hey Jude. That alone is grounds for divorce.

The original reason I stopped doing reviews was because my computer died, and I didn't want to compromise the shitty one.
So, last month, I finally got a new harddrive for the good computer, and I didn't even want to review.

This has everything to do with my horrible approach to it. "One album per artist per month, and reviews every day" is a HORRIBLE way to do it. I really got burnt out on it.

So here's my new thing:
I do reviews whenever. It doesn't matter if I review ten Bee Gees albums in a row. I can do whatever I want.
I'll do a write-up here, a track-by-track list of superlatives on the blog, and give a rating on RYM.
Preferably, I'll find a full album upload on YouTube and just watch that. I don't want all those viruses again.
On the blog, they'll be in the slots after the "final" review, Dio's Magica. This means that every review I post in the morning will star Julio.

The focus of these will be on three categories:
1: Albums by my favourite artists
2: Albums by artists I want to check out
3: Albums from 2013/2014/future

I've made a big list of albums I'd like to get to, filling these categories.
I may also give another chance to mediocre artists if I feel like it. I still have two more Incubus albums to review, after all.

So let's start with an album I'd wanted to review for a while, but couldn't find:


14 May 2014: Van Morrison/"Tupelo Honey" (1971)
http://musiccouldbebetter.blogspot.com/2013/02/computer-stop-being-horrible-by-fuck.html
This is Van Morrison's fifth album, and apparently one of his better-regarded albums.

The album starts with Wild Night, which I guess is the obvious song here. The vocals and the brass section here go really well together. It starts the album off very strongly.
The second track, Like a Cannonball is very notable for its use of female backing vocalists. I know you think you know what I'm going to say next, and you're wrong. Like a Cannonball's use of female backing vocalists manages to improve the song, against all odds. The song gets better as it goes on, and the women get more prevalent as it goes on. Mr. Morrison has already impressed me.

Next is Old Woodstock, which didn't impress me at first, but as it went on and built, I really got into it.
After that is Starting a New Life. It sounds awfully stripped down compared to the rest of the songs so far, with far less going on. It's a neat song, and the harmonica is nice when it comes in.

Track five, You're My Woman, is over six minutes long. It's great, actually. It starts slow, then builds, then cuts off and starts over again a few times. It should be repetitive and boring, but it's not. I really have to hand it to the guy, the first side of this album is great.

Side two opens with the title track, which is almost seven minutes long. It's soft, but it's really good. It's got a saxophone solo. It's really good, the best song so far. The build at the end is just brilliant.

After two very good tracks (one which I like a lot more than I probably should), the album closes with Moonshine Whiskey, which is... nearly seven minutes long. I was worried when the song started, because it didn't seem like it could work for seven minutes. Boy, I was wrong. I'm VERY impressed.

The most important thing to know about this album is that I was smiling the whole way through. I really loved this album. There's really only one rating I can give it, all things considered. It's Van Morrison's best album, far and away.

What other Van Morrison albums have you listened to? I've only listened to Moondance and Astral Weeks, they were both just okay I thought. I'll give this one a try.

I've listened to the first five. Moondance was definitely the worst of them, but I really liked Astral Weeks.

I'm not entirely sure you'd like this album, but it's worth a shot. It's not lyrically-focussed or anything.


Now, since that first one went so well, here's a second review:

14 May 2014: Arctic Monkeys/"AM" (2013)
http://musiccouldbebetter.blogspot.com/2013/09/used-to-run-by-now-i-job.html
I decided to use the review from the day the album came out as a prank.
As a note, I have given every proper Arctic Monkeys album a 4.5/5, and I have a lot of their songs on my iPod, the track listing of which hasn't changed in over a year, and which I listen to every night before I go to bed.

The album opens very... oddly. Kind of subdued, really. I'm really digging this opener, though. The backing vocals are really neat, as is the guitar part.
The second track is a single from 2012, Are You Mine? (stylised as "R U Mine?"). I really like the track. I think the opening of the album version is a bit different, and I can hear the instruments much more clearly. That guitar riff behind the chorus is fucking sweet, dog. I also think that guitar solo is new.

In track three, One for the Road, the vocal phrasing reminds me of boy bands. Like, put Nick Carter on vocals, and I'd totally believe it. Maybe it's the harmonies that are throwing me off. Honestly, I think it's a neat thing they did, even if it wasn't intentional. I'm glad the song isn't longer than four minutes, though.
Track four, Arabella, reminds me of JET or someone. Mostly the way the guitar comes in. It's not really going it for me. Kind of neat guitar solo, though.
I don't like their cover of Queen's "I Want it All". It's completely unrecognisable.

Number One Party Anthem is FUCKING HILARIOUS BECAUSE IT'S A PIANO BALLAD
WHAT AN ORIGINAL JOKE
It's actually kind of annoying, honestly. Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on
I can't tell if it's trying to be clever or meaningful, probably because it fails at both.

So, let's recap the first half of the album. From Are You Mine onward, the album just steadily declines in quality, and every song seems to be slower than the last.
The second half roars out of the gate with Mad Sounds. By which I mean the song is maybe the slowest yet. The difference between this and the track before it is that this track isn't horrible. OH WAIT DISREGARD THAT I'M WRONG
ARCTIC MONKEYS, CONSTANTLY PROVING ME WRONG HERE

You'd think a song called "Fireside" would be an uptempo rock-ass roller, right? Wrong. It's much faster than the last few songs, but it's barely midtempo. The backing vocals are really annoying, as a bonus.

Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High? returns to Arctic Monkeys' boy band roots. It has that feel again (because of the harmonies), and I honestly welcome it back.
Snap Out of It reminds me of... something. Despite not knowing what that "something" is, I can definitely tell that this song is a pale imitation of it.

With a title like "Knee Socks", track eleven has to be a winner, right? I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, because knee socks are the sexiest of the sock family. Unfortunately, the song itself doesn't live up to the lofty expectations the titular footwear give us when name-dropped. Like, it may actually be the worst song on the album, which is an achievement in itself.

The closer to this gem of an album is I Wanna be Yours, which goes well with Are You Mine?, in terms of titles. In terms of music, however, I Wanna be Yours isn't making a very good case. I really don't want to make it mine.

In spite of everything, AM is my album of the year for 2013. By default. Shame that most of it is bad, and I am genuinely very disappointed by this album.

I want to strike while the iron's hot, so to speak. I saw this next EP existed and just had to go for it.

15 May 2014: Stone Temple Pilots/"High Rise" (2013)
http://musiccouldbebetter.blogspot.com/2013/10/set-down-gun-by-guys-who-want-your-gun.html

This is a five-song EP, released last year. Scott Stapp was kicked out of the band and replaced by Linkin Park's CH3ZD4R B3NN1NGT0N.
Something to note about this album is that it sounds like STP wrote these songs for Scott, and then CH3ZD4R just came in and sang over them. I'm honestly really surprised I'm saying this, but I like it. CH3ZD4R is much better here than he ever was in Linkin Park. His voice gives these tracks a very unique sound. These songs would be very good for STP proper, but CH3ZD4R really makes them stand out.
The only thing to note is that the closer is definitely the worst song on the EP.

Regardless of whether or not you like LP or STP, I'd recommend giving this a listen because it's so different from both. I feel really weird about liking this so much. Now if only Velvet Revolver would reform with the guy from Disturbed.

"Four reviews in two days", you say? Crazy? Well, I've found that reviews are best done when in the right mood, and I am very much in that mood. I mean, I used to do two reviews a day, right in a row. The main difference between then and now is that I don't feel obligated to do it any more. I wouldn't be surprised if I did a fifth later tonight.

15 May 2014: Billy Idol/"Billy Idol" (1982)
http://musiccouldbebetter.blogspot.com/2013/02/being-able-to-use-my-computer-by-not.html

Also known as "the one with White Wedding and Dancing with Myself". Mony Mony, however, never made it off the Don't Stop EP. A shame because it's my favourite. R.I.P.
When I compiled the list of albums to do, a few "new" artists stuck out. I find it odd that I never did a Billy Idol album, seeing as I like the four songs of his I've heard (unless I've heard more and can't remember them?).

The album opens with Come On, Come On, which is an odd choice, since it's kind of a fillery thing. It really doesn't have any impact, and is a poor choice for the opener.
The second track is White Wedding, which definitely should have opened the album. From note one, the song is very striking and recognisable. Despite having heard this song a million times (thanks in no small part to Rock Band 2 and San Andreas), I still enjoy it. I still don't get this "part one/part two" business. I guess I've only heard one of the parts? The album only seems to have part one.

Hot in the City follows White Wedding and... changes the tone so much that it's kind of funny. I really don't know what to make of this track. It has a cool sound, but it feels like such a joke after White Wedding. I actually think that helps the song.
Dead on Arrival starts off like it's going to be some huge-ass rock-ass roll-ass thing, but it ended up reminding me of Bruce Springsteen. This album is so all over the place that it's kind of endearing.

Nobody's Business opens up like a Coldplay song. As for the rest of the song, put Chris Martin on vocals and I don't think I'd be able to tell anything was off, at least until the guitar solo. The solo and accompanying scream snap me back to Earth. The verse after that sounds more like the Billy Idol I'd expected.
Love Calling has this chanting at the beginning that goes with the percussion very well. The vocals are very different, almost like Billy was on the verge of losing his voice. It makes for a cool effect, honestly. If a Yellow were to listen to anything from this, I'd recommend this track. It's a unique experience. is that a goddamn saxophone

Hole in the Wall opens with a pretty sweet riff. Other than that, it's a really good song, but it doesn't have any real notable features.
Shooting Stars opens like a A Flock of Seagulls song, and continues like that with the only non-new wave thing being Billy's voice. It's a bit odd, but I really like it.

It's so Cruel reminds me of Billy Joel. This fucking guy. All this album needs is a Jim Morrison not-song and it will be complete.
The album ends on Dancing with Myself, one of the songs I came for. It's kind of jarring after It's so Cruel, probably because it's a bonus track that wasn't on the original album. Either way, I still really like it.


This album sounds like something you'd send to a record label to show them that you can do anything. Like I said before, it's kind of endearing.

Checked out Love Calling. Pretty great, except i couldn't get into the "rub a dub rub a dub dub" stuff
but the verses with only percussion and no chords is pretty nice. It takes an awful lot to let me like most 80s songs, but I really enjoyed that one. The echo effect on the sax wowowowowowow

I didn't get the "rub a dub dub" bits either, but the song completely caught me by surprise. Now for an album you won't like much at all:

As long as I'm willing, let's keep this pace up.

15 May 2014: Franz Ferdinand/"Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action" (2013)
http://musiccouldbebetter.blogspot.com/2013/08/help-my-infirmed-son-by-guys-who-are.html

Franz Ferdinand haven't changed a bit in their ten-year career. It's very comforting after yesterday's Arctic Monkeys fiasco.
Let me start by commenting on the album cover. It's simple, and I really like it.

The album opens with the title track, which is nice and catchy. It's a strong opener, honestly.
Evil Eye captures the band at their best tempo and gait, their sweet spot, if you will. The majority of their best songs are like Evil Eye, and it's nice to have another here.

Love Illumination is very riffy. It's got a neat instrument that I don't know what it is, and it's a very nice song.
Stand on the Horizon slows things down a bit, to decent enough results. Pretty weak song comparatively, honestly. This song is a lyrical marvel, really. "All that we know to make us see the point of living is to live". Just, wow. Only time will tell if that lyric stands the test of time.

Then we have the next single, Fresh Strawberries. I... don't get it. The guitar part's nice, but the lyrics are kind of confusing. There's nothing wrong with the song, but, like... it's very off-putting.
Bullet has Mr. Franz singing a lot higher than usual, and I don't think it's working out very well. If he were singing at his normal tone of voice, the song would be fine probably.
The "doing weird things with his voice" thing continues on Treason Animals, but that song probably wouldn't be good no matter how he sang it. I think it might be a social commentary.

The Universe Expanded is a Coldplay song. You can't convince me otherwise. Actually, it would be better if Chris Martin were singing. His voice has a very comforting quality to it, which Mr. Franz's voice lacks.
Brief Encounters is plagued by lethargy and torpor.

The album ends on Goodbye Lovers and Friends. It tries to break out of the sterility of the previous tracks, to little avail. I'm so bored that I'm trying to sound smart.

After three great albums, Franz Ferdinand have gone creatively bankrupt. What a shame.

16 May 2014: Bee Gees/"Bee Gees' First" (1967)
http://musiccouldbebetter.blogspot.com/2013/02/fuck-my-life-by-no-computer-ever.html

So, when I wrote that "ten Bee Gees albums in a row" comment, I had forgotten that Yellow had recommended me a Bee Gees album. Not wanting to seem like an asshole, here we are.
I have no idea if he was talking about this album, which is literally called "Bee Gees' First", or their actual first album. Very confusing. Maybe I'll do both.
My experience with The Oh Gees is limited to Stayin' Alive, and maybe some other songs I don't remember. To be fair, Stayin' Alive is pretty sweet.

The album opens with Turn of the Century, which is pretty annoying, to be honest.
When your third track is called "Red Chair, Fade Away", you know you've hit the jackpot. Mr. Gibb's voice on this sounds halfway between McCartney and Lennon, and it's kind of odd.

In My Own Time sounds like Taxman. Probably because the vocal rhythm is exactly the same. It's probably the best song yet because of it.
Taxman is followed by chanting, which leads into an amalgamation of Rain and Strawberry Fields Forever.
Craise Finton Kirk Royal Academy of Arts is Penny Lane with a filter over it to make it sound like it was recorded in a 1940s toilet. Very, very nice.
Cucumber Castle? Is that in Strawberry Fields? I'll be here all week. Mail my correspondence to:
Cucumber Castle
67 Penny Lane
Strawberry Fields, NH 01969

I Can't See Nobody is just bad. Like, awful. Horrible.
Please Read Me is Penny Lane again. Maybe they live there.
The album ends on Close Another Door, which I really don't get. Why does it open like that? What the fuck even is this?

Nearly every song on this album reminds me of The Beatles, and not in a good way. The ones that don't are just bad. I'd probably love this if I'd never heard of The Beatles before. Unfortunately, it's really just a pale imitation.

I really want to get that last album out of my head, so here's another one:

16 May 2014: Genesis/"Invisible Touch" (1986)
http://musiccouldbebetter.blogspot.com/2013/02/not-reviewing-is-hard-by-guys_19.html

As a summary of my Genesis findings: I loved their self-titled, with Phil Collins on vocals. I hated Selling England by the Pound, which has Peter Gabriel.
This album is mainly known for the title track and Land of Confusion.

The album opens with the title track, which is just great. It's an attention-grabber.
Tonight, Tonight, Tonight could do with being a bit louder and a lot shorter. It's got a middle section that just won't end, and the ending just kind of goes on. It's far too long for its own good. It's nearly nine minutes long, for fuck's sake.
Then there's Land of Confusion, which is just amazing, even if it's a politics thing.

In Too Deep is a ballad. There's nothing very special about it, I guess, but Collins's delivery nearly sells it. Shame it's two minutes too long.
Anything She Does goes back to what this album's been doing well; up-tempo. It's cleverly-written, really. It's sung so fast that you can't really tell it's about a pin-up.

Domino is an impressive eleven minutes long. Those keyboard bits toward the beginning are just brilliant. The song has enough variance to support its eleven minutes, which is always good. The "blood on the windows" section is just amazing, both vocally and instrumentally. I was very worried when I saw the length of this track, but I'm glad my fears were unfounded.

Throwing it All Away makes In Too Deep seem unnecessary. It may convey the opposite sentiment (I think), but it's a much better song, lyrically and instrumentally. That last verse is very well-written.

The album ends on a song about DAC. It's an instrumental. It's got a very neat sound to it, but it's not a very good closer. I has a lot of build to it, but it never really goes anywhere. It just fades out. I would have ended on Domino or Throwing it All Away.

I already don't remember anything about that Bee Gees album.