Steel Pulse - Rage and Fury [liked]

:-) [4 listens] [For a bit there I was thinking 7 (B+), but in the final analysis, slightly MOR]

MC5 - Heavy Lifting [liked]

:-) [4 listens] [2024]

Karantamba - Galgi: 9.5 (high A)

Vinyl-only, but at this grade I'm going to buy the vinyl.

Brainiac - Hissing Prigs in Static Couture [liked]

:-) [4 listens]

Hinds - Viva Hinds: 7.5 (high B+)

#indiepop

Black Uhuru - Strongg Dubb [placeholder]

Would like to hear this, but it is very hard to find. I did find a place where I could stream snippets of all the tracks, and it was enough to convince me that I should not pay for this. But I will stream it if I ever find a place to do so. It goes up on YouTube from time to time, so maybe I'll luck out one day.

John Cale - Slow Dazzle: 8 (A-)

Sonic Youth - Hold That Tiger: 7.5 (high B+)

# [live] Although of course I bought a copy on CD in 1998. According to Wikipedia, this was still "pitch-corrected" or sped up so as to fit on original vinyl. I find it unbelievable anyone would do that. I would love to listen to this at the correct speed, and maybe I would like it better. I've made a note to stream it again when it's re-released in early 2025 at the correct speed. I'm going to commit a sacrilege and say that the Ramones encore set is not that great. [Update: I listened to "Kotton Krown" on the new "pitch-corrected" set, versus my old CD, and could not tell any difference in pitch.]

Generation X - Generation X: liked

Obviously a notable punk album. Four plays.

The Chills - Secret Box: The Chills' Rarities, 1980-2000: 7.5 (high B+)

I would buy this anyway, because of how much I love Martin Phillipps, but here's what happened. When it was released in 2001 (long before streaming was normalized) as a limited edition, odds-and-ends collection, and three discs of it at that, I wrote it off as something I would not enjoy and did not need. Having now finally gotten around to streaming it, four times, I wish I had shelled out for it as a keepsake. Now of course it sells for a small fortune. Oh well. I have the entire set in FLAC and could burn CDs for the shelves, but that's too much of a project with three discs. I have alerts up in case one ever comes on the market for a reasonable price (extremely unlikely). But for Chills aficionados, this is essential listening. I note that The BBC Sessions is contained entirely in this box set, and I have a separate post for that. This grade applies to the numerous remaining tracks. #miscarticles

The Spinners - A One of a Kind Love Affair: The Anthology: 9.5 (high A)

Body Count - Merciless: 7 (B+)

# [metal] Outstanding track: "Fuck What You Heard." Outstanding lyric, from the track "Lying Muthafucka": "Everybody got that one friend that every fucking word outta they mouth is bullshit."

The Pixies - The Night the Zombies Came: 7 (B+)

Fred Again - Ten Days: 8.5 (high A-)

Limited edition white vinyl only. Too bad. Might be a 9 (A), but I won't be burning any brain cells trying to make that distinction given the limited availability.

Wenge Musica Aile Paris - Nganga Nzambe: 9 (A)

Definitely one of the very top soukous albums I have ever heard. Always marred slightly from perfection in my opinion by ill-advised keybs and/or slight repetitiveness. But this one has that soaring lift that we soukous lovers crave. Splinter group from Wenge Musica. In the market for a decent used CD copy at a reasonable price.

The Cure - Songs of a Lost World [liked]

:-) [Four or five listens - one thing to be sad, another thing to make it beautiful. Not saying I can do it.]

A Place to Bury Strangers - Worship: 8 (A-)

Public Image Ltd. - End of World: liked

:-)

Franco - Franco Luambo Makiadi Presents Les Editions Populaires (1968-1970): X (X)

Limited edition vinyl only. I don't even try to rate early Congolese rumba.

A Place to Bury Strangers - Exploding Head: 8 (A-)

Ghostface Killah, Method Man, and Raekwon - Wu-Massacre: liked

:-)

Heems - Veena: 7 (B+)

Digital-only

Blind Willie Johnson - Dark Was the Night: X stars

# [blues/country blues] Not qualified to rate blues, especially country blues.

Four Tet - Pause [liked]

:-) [Had this a few decades ago but sold it back, which means I listened at least 3 times, plus 2 or 3 in present day]

This Heat - Deceit: 7 (B+)

# [experimental]