Posts by Dennis Hall41

Steven Newman50 said:Unlike Halliburton and those other modern pop stars—who I honestly think are just basic posers without any actual talent—Elvis Presley actually brings something to the table, and I’ve mentioned before that I respect him for it. You can find value in any genre, and let's be real, Elvis is only partially mainstream; he's got that soulful, dive-bar vibe to him.

I'm not really a fan of that kind of music myself—maybe more through parody or deconstructing it—which, I guess, shows that I can still enjoy the genre in a way that isn't the original version (like Bo Burnham). It's worth pointing out, though. That's where my take comes from.

Maybe having something this polarizing is actually good because it "breaks up the monotony." Some people might decide they're done with the topic, but most feel like we're moving the conversation forward.

What do you mean by not being original? So you wouldn't dig this?



Sonia definitely wasn't just joking around when she acted in this video. We're talking about someone with incredible intelligence, sensitivity, and genuine taste.

Steven Newman50 said:Everything’s following the rules we set. The whole point here is reviewing albums together—even if they aren't everyone's cup of tea—which actually gives us way more to talk about.

Honestly, I’m crossing my fingers that Elvis Presley won—mostly because some people voted just to force a clash of musical tastes, and man, I really hope they don't actually mean it. Trust me, I know way too many people who built up killer taste when they were young, only to hit a rough patch lately and pivot straight to Apple, Tim McGraw, Britney Spears, and all that other synthetic, soulless garbage—when you consider that Adele, Tom Cruise, Johnny Cash, Louis Armstrong, and Johnny Cash are the real Wolfgang Amadeus Mozarts.

Elvis's album is definitely a messier pick, though—and I'm telling you, I find it hard to believe that some much better suggestions didn't even grab a couple of votes.

It'd be like reacting the same way if someone blasted Master of Puppets for a week and then somehow ended up picking Reload a few weeks later.

But fine, I get it, everything went by the book.

Lisa Davis46 said:Look, I know some people are gonna take this the wrong way, but whatever... honestly, I’m just feeling totally let down by these albums—I don't even know why this hit me so hard. It's like overnight, the whole point of this topic just vanished.
It was the one thing I actually cared about, the reason I took music seriously and kept digging for new stuff.

Are we just picking albums for the hell of it now? Can someone please explain why everyone suddenly needs this much hype... or did things just get that boring?

Now I kind of get where analogbear40 and accident were coming from with all those complaints lately. I think I might need to step away for a while—maybe a long break after this one...

Look, it's not actually that bad that we got an Album of the Week with this kind of poetic vibe, and hey, I'm glad Jessica Morris6 finally got picked. I guess I'm just annoyed because I know some genuinely great stuff didn't even get three votes—like when Jay suggested Nada Mamula and Tom Zdravković. When I listen to this kind of music, it's mostly just for fun, but guys like those two are actual masters at what they do. I'm not gonna be out there singing along and breaking glasses to it, but I'll listen to it the same way I listen to good blues—it's not really my main genre, but I respect it when it's done perfectly.

I think taking a break would be super premature. So, please don't go.

Lisa Davis46 said:fass, if nothing else, looking forward to your opening post. You know I usually can't stand Kozelek (the guy just rubs me the wrong way), but this album is a masterpiece. It really shouldn't be getting snubbed at the last second like this. Honestly, it bugs me how some people have been playing tactics lately—waiting until the very last minute to vote. What's the point?

I didn't know—well, you hadn't mentioned it. Do you mean his whole persona outside of music just grates on you, or is it everything since RHP/this album that gets under your skin, or both? If he's just not your vibe, I get it: the guy definitely has a messiah complex. He even had that outburst on Rollercoaster—that "I Can Still Feel the Sting in my Hand from When I Hit You" bit in the otherwise beautiful Down Through. It’s actually because the context is so lovely that the line hits so hard, being sung so nonchalantly and without any filter.

To be real, I was planning on voting later too—maybe a few hours before midnight—since I wanted to sit down and listen to all the albums in full. Instead, I ended up skimming half of them in ten-minute chunks. Once I realized I wasn't going to make it, I just threw my votes toward Will Oldham, Primus, Slowdive, and RHP. There were plenty of other albums I would've voted for, but I didn't want to go overboard.

Lisa Davis46 said:I honestly just came here to cry because I can't believe RHP didn't make the cut. 😢 🙂

Dennis Hall41, just start the thread anyway...

No worries, but personally, I wouldn't put "Album of the Week" in the title—doesn't feel right, you know?

Jason Mendoza said:That whole indie rock wave totally ruled for a minute—everyone was listening to it. Interpol and all those other things. Honestly, I stayed far away because it felt completely soulless and just plain boring. Though, to be fair, I was already pretty deep into college back then.

One of the big hits we were blasting back then was that Russian lesbian track 😁
.
Glad this person is happy, though—I never listened to that stuff and don't plan on ever touching it, but hey, whatever works.

Man, what does Interpol even have to do with indie rock? They’re basically the opposite. True indie is about not taking yourself too seriously—unlike those stuck-up, ego-driven kids.

Nathan Murphy said:I checked out a few of the home albums at work. I already know Paul Simon, Carpenter, and Primus pretty well—so I didn't bother unless it was their absolute best stuff. Listened to the rest, though. So, out of 8 albums, I skipped one.

When I get critical, I tend to be pretty blunt—so I get why some people find it a bit stinging, but hey, nothing personal 👍

As for the middle school drama, back in my day, indie rock and Britpop were really blowing up, and girls were usually the ones curating the playlists. Dream pop was huge then, and even though they weren't strictly dream pop, The Cranberries were everywhere. I get that kids today don't really have that habit of digging through music, but we had this ritual where we actually talked about albums and bands—we'd record songs off the radio just so we could remember them. It was just part of the culture.

What dream-pop bands were you guys listening to back in middle school?

Nathan Murphy said:We were basically listening to this kind of stuff during recess back in elementary school man

Generally speaking, dream pop/shoegaze and pop produce the most garbage—probably over 90% of it is trash if you ask me. There’s good stuff, obviously. Michael Jackson is the king and top-tier pop, just like how I love listening to Julee Cruise every now and then, but the difference between Cruise and Slowdive is that Slowdive just hits you with melancholy without any atmosphere, whereas Cruise gives you the atmosphere first and then

Where'd you go to elementary school, Fifth Avenue? Were you guys just scrawny little kids hanging out at recess blasting shoegaze? Maybe you got these "idealist" takes by speed-listening to twelve albums in a day and a half, but honestly, this kind of nonsense just pisses me off. But hey, whatever, if you don't give a damn, that's fine too...

cosmiccobra2 said:So close, yet so far—we could've had the first turbo-pop album of the week 🤣

edit: someone actually voted for Jay right at the last second 🎉

The irony is this is probably Jessica Morris6's worst suggestion ever, but honestly, I’d still love to see this album win. My absolute least favorite, obviously. Sorry, Jessica Morris6.

quietbison86 said:I really love Just for a Day—it's emotional, maybe even a bit too much at times.
Souvlaki feels more polished, both musically and aesthetically, so that's where we differ a bit.
Pygmalion is its own thing entirely, though—it's nothing like those first two.😁 It actually shares way more DNA with Kid A.

Back when it dropped, people absolutely trashed it just like they did with Just for a Day, but then Pitchfork basically resurrected it about ten years later.
They were under all this pressure from Creation to deliver a Britpop record, but instead, they dropped Pygmalion and basically got kicked to the curb.😁

Honestly, I respect that they stayed true to themselves and didn't "sell out" like some of their contemporaries.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Souvlaki_(album)

Check out the ratings. Sure, some are retroactive (looking at you, Pitchfork—though they probably would've hated them even more if it were 1993), but those 3s and 4s definitely aren't a sign of total failure. Besides, critics often go overboard with high scores too. Personally, I don't think I'll ever give more than maybe 20 or 30 perfect scores across everything I've ever heard. That's like... 1% of my library.

Man, this week is actually wild—I felt like I had something to say about pretty much everything. None of these albums are perfect, obviously, but honestly? Almost all of them are worth a deep dive.

analogbear40 said:As a huge Slowdive fan since way back in '91—I Beg to Differ.

Souvlaki doesn't quite hit the same level as the debut... and honestly, Pygmalion totally outclasses it... but still, it sits in its own league.

If that's the case, I better brace myself. This album already sent me into a total delirium—felt like I’d mixed sedatives with hash or something. No clue what it is, probably just those guitar frequencies—reminds me of how Loveless felt, though that one can be pretty intrusive.

quietbison86 said:was Ride even suggested?
maybe they'll pop up again 🤣

my interest spiked big time after that Pitchfork documentary—it actually made me tear up. It's honestly criminal how critics treated Slowdive 😢

It wasn't Ride, at least I don't think so. And they definitely didn't win.

Which documentary are we talking about, and what did the critics do to them? Isn't Gyro highly regarded? Plus that last one from maybe 3 or 4 years ago was getting tons of praise.

What really hooks me about this album is the vibe—I can't remember the last time music put me in such a perfectly balanced headspace. I wouldn't call it depressing at all. Now I'm just craving that whole dream-pop/shoegaze sound.

Souvlaki is such an incredible album; I honestly can't remember the last time I was this blown away by someone else's recommendation for something I hadn't really dug into before. Maybe I actually have heard it—I’m clearly being scatterbrained—or maybe I just mixed it up with something from Ride or Low. But man, Machin gun absolutely destroys; it's a total classic!

I'm playing along, but just this once.

Red House Painters - Down Colorful Hill (1992)

Mark Cruz15 said:Exactly. Plus, with everyone here barely even flirting—there’s basically nobody around to boost our egos. ☕

The issue:

Solution :

Mark Cruz15 said:Haha, alright then—it honestly felt like you two were actually hooking up.

Maybe there's just two of you stuck in this weird, messy sperm-cloud phase of our relationship—because, let's be real—even the specialist started with a hat trick and ended in that same hazy, white fog without me even lifting a finger.

Mark Cruz15 said:This whole thread is pointless unless Dennis Hall41 and androlog start going at it. If he bows out, I'm out too.

That discussion is dead—and honestly, it’s not just because of the moderator warnings. It's because he seems to think he can somehow frame me as the victim of some imaginary, surrealist freak show (looking back at that Album of the Week topic in mid-February), while trying to wrap up my little post-structuralist jokes about carnal adventures with weird insults, bizarre trans-themed nonsense, and animalistic tropes. Basically, the debate is broken, so I'm calling it off on my end (carnal alert!). He left a comment on a really solid, pretty great Jon Hassell album, and I plan on sticking to that same niche communication style for a while.

Edit - I'll get back to The Moon and Antarctica tomorrow, once I'm done with Hulet's discography.

When you’re already fed up with everything—then an earthquake hits just to add salt to the wound. Honestly, I'm listening to this crap just out of pure spite.

Abysmal lord EDIT

Edit — and then I spot Jason Mendoza right above me. Is this your idea of relaxing too?😁

Honestly, it’s probably for the best—I was already half-thinking about suing you guys for copyright infringement anyway!