The Official Needles and Grooves 1001 Album Generator Project (aka Preachin’ about the Preachers if today’s selection sucks)

Lee Newman said:
They had both given in to the extremes of their… well… everything by Under Pressure. It’s very interesting to me that Metal Queen was still somehow linked to Bowie and touring with Mott the Hoople.
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It’s a small country. Rock and indie, particularly in the early touring slog, is often lumped together on concert tours.

I once saw an NME rising tour with Amen and very fey indie band co headlining. That was quite the contrast…
 
Joe Mac said:
It’s a small country. Rock and indie, particularly in the early touring slog, is often lumped together on concert tours.

I once saw an NME rising tour with Amen and very fey indie band co headlining. That was quite the contrast…
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Little bit of a difference between being packaged together and actively working together, but I hear you.
 
Lee Newman said:
Little bit of a difference between being packaged together and actively working together, but I hear you.
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Yes but it does mean you’re meeting and hearing artists different to yourself and that kinda networking opens you to working with these people because you likely know them.

Even a city as big as London is more parochial than you’d be used to in the states given the size of the country and artists and musicians would tend to be hanging out and mixing in very similar places.
 
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Lee Newman said:
10/24/23
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Beyonce - Beyonce



www.allmusic.com

Beyoncé - Beyoncé | Album | AllMusic

Beyoncé by Beyoncé released in 2013. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic.
www.allmusic.com www.allmusic.com
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With the release of Lemonade and RENAISSANCE I believe she is one of the best working rn. This album definitely shows some inklings of that greatness but as is it’s just ok. I always admired that she got experimental here but it always felt like she was just dipping her toe in, Lemonade is where she truly dived in and embraced the art of the album. On an individual song level there are some that are amoung her best (“Drunk in Love”, “Partition” and “Flawless” being the main examples) but as a whole it’s a bit too hit or miss for me
 
Fleetwood-Matt said:
With the release of Lemonade and RENAISSANCE I believe she is one of the best working rn. This album definitely shows some inklings of that greatness but as is it’s just ok. I always admired that she got experimental here but it always felt like she was just dipping her toe in, Lemonade is where she truly dived in and embraced the art of the album. On an individual song level there are some that are amoung her best (“Drunk in Love”, “Partition” and “Flawless” being the main examples) but as a whole it’s a bit too hit or miss for me
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I don't think we can be friends anymore.
 
Fleetwood-Matt said:
Of all my takes I didn’t think this is the one that would cause strife but Beyoncé is a divisive topic so I fully understand
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I mean, I've well talked about my feelings on her most recent here. Lemonade and this are GREAT albums, bar none. This one approaches some experimentation, but more importantly brings hefty topics to popular RnB. I think it was @bluejay who said that Ill Communication was when the Beasties stopped being boys and became Men. This is the same way I feel about this album. It is the moment she took all the clout she had gotten from being the biggest pop star on the planet and started doing something with her platform. It chronicles her heights but also her insecurities and struggles. It's also sexually explicit with out pandoring to the porn crowd (like so much rap). It's real as opposed to merely designed to get butts shaking on the dance floor (which it also does). It was released at the 11th hour and was my AOTY for 2013 by the end of its release week. It was stunning as a statement and stunning as an event (the midnight drop without notice).
 
Lee Newman said:
10/24/23
View attachment 185418
Beyonce - Beyonce



www.allmusic.com

Beyoncé - Beyoncé | Album | AllMusic

Beyoncé by Beyoncé released in 2013. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic.
www.allmusic.com www.allmusic.com
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I agree with Lee with how this is viewed as her first great album. But perhaps I don't view it as truly "great." But the first one that I at the very least liked throughout.

Some of her best career tracks can be found here ("Drunk in Love," "Superpower," and "Blue" among a few). Production slickly rolls. The life experiences she brings to these songs read more than just another group of singles, it comes off unabashed. No doubt Queen B's voice slays. Some songs can approach being overtly sexual ("Partition"), but that's a common contemporary R&B trope.

I can understand its place on this list.

Rating: 3/5 [Good]
 
Lee Newman said:
I mean, I've well talked about my feelings on her most recent here. Lemonade and this are GREAT albums, bar none. This one approaches some experimentation, but more importantly brings hefty topics to popular RnB. I think it was @bluejay who said that Ill Communication was when the Beasties stopped being boys and became Men. This is the same way I feel about this album. It is the moment she took all the clout she had gotten from being the biggest pop star on the planet and started doing something with her platform. It chronicles her heights but also her insecurities and struggles. It's also sexually explicit with out pandoring to the porn crowd (like so much rap). It's real as opposed to merely designed to get butts shaking on the dance floor (which it also does). It was released at the 11th hour and was my AOTY for 2013 by the end of its release week. It was stunning as a statement and stunning as an event (the midnight drop without notice).
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I never knew you were such a Beyonce fan
 
With few exceptions (Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus) I tend to like the super mega popstars. Madonna, Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, Taylor Swift are all very talented and I really like their music. Don't necessarily think much of some of them (MJ, JT and Swift are not people I want to hang out with.) There is a lot of genius involved in writing a song that appeals to the masses or with JT and sometime Beyonce in attaching yourself to writers/musicians/producers that can do that as well. There is a reason I am a huge Prince and Beatles fan.
 
Bohnjaggs said:
We saw her at Coachella and there's no denying that she's talented but I'd personally have a hard time calling any of her albums great. Just not my cup of tea.
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She was one of the main reasons I bought tickets to Coachella 2017 (along with Kendrick, FJM and Lorde) and I knew I wouldn’t get to see her once she announced her pregnancy. She is still high priority on my bucket list
 
Fleetwood-Matt said:
She was one of the main reasons I bought tickets to Coachella 2017 (along with Kendrick, FJM and Lorde) and I knew I wouldn’t get to see her once she announced her pregnancy. She is still high priority on my bucket list
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I am of an age and temperament where I have no desire to go to a festival of that size and absolutely no desire to go to the types of venues that Beyonce plays. So, I will not be seeing her or most mega pop stars live. People talk about being worried about the heights at the Sphere for U2. It's the stupid amount of people and Vegas that deter me.
 
Laugh all you want, U2 was the last and only Stadium show I ever saw... it was the 360 tour. That shit is absolutely not for me. Last arena show I went to was Paul McCartney precovid... that is probably the last time I do that for a concert. Will probably end up at the arena for new kid for Bluey on ice or some shit, does the circus even exist anymore? Hell, Nickel Creek is playing DPAC in February and I haven't gone to a show there since Isbell. I may be a strictly ampitheater dude moving forward. I also refuse to purchase tickets from Ticket Master, because fuck them.
 
10/25/23
1698204706706.jpeg
Ladysmith Black Mambazo - Shaka Zulu

So… the original album is not available streaming… YouTube link:


What is streaming is Shaka Zulu Revisited: 30th Anniversary Celebration


This is the album re-recorded by the 2017 line up.

I will try to listen to both.

www.allmusic.com

Ladysmith Black Mambazo - Shaka Zulu Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic

Discover Shaka Zulu by Ladysmith Black Mambazo released in 1987. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic.
www.allmusic.com www.allmusic.com
 
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