I have always tried to listen to as much music as I can in my lifetime. As I write this, I’m listening to a new DJ set by Ackerlady with a Radiohead rework I've never heard of. But, there is one big problem I believe I have: I don't listen to albums. I rarely listen to an album in full while knocking stuff off my to-do list. I may listen to a full album when I need to get work done, but it's always some album from an artist I've never heard of with under 100k views in my YouTube recommendations. It’s never an album I purposely save to have its music grace my ears on a later date. I’ve saved plenty of albums that I have never looked twice at to genuinely listen to. This has nothing to do with how much I love the artist's work, but how much I am a serial re-listener. I will hear one song and play it until I can’t anymore. Recently I’ve done it with "In Your Fantasy" by Ateez, "Vanity" by Isabella Lovestory, "ingaouhou antinomy" by GNJB and more. All of these songs are included on albums. But have I listened to the albums? No.
With this phenomenon, I have taken the initiative to listen to more albums. Get ready for a short list of albums I finally listened to and my random thoughts surrounding them:
Negotiations EP by Kilo Kish
I listened to the song "reprogram" with a lady just vibing in a chair in formal wear, and I was beyond excited for the project this artist had. When I found out I had to wait for the full album, I was a little sad, having just come off the high Eusexua (an album I had listened to in full) had given me. Long story short: the wait was worth it.
Top to bottom, the album was an amazing listen that took you on a journey. I wish I had found this artist sooner, but I like to think this artist’s music came to me at the right time with the headspace and perspective I have acquired over the years. My favorite thing to do with the songs of this album is to freestyle to them and allow myself to feel what the music provides instead of focusing on the next move.
My only critique of this album is that it's too short. I needed a full-length experience, which is kind of ironic. I’m happy that the project we got was able to be heard by many people.
LETHAL by Rico Nasty
Rico Nasty is someone that I have listened to for years, but I had never listened to any of her full albums. I was honestly shocked when I realized this. LETHAL has really showcased just how versatile this artist is, yet again. This was only further reinforced for me post-album listening when she did her Tiny Desk concert. It was honestly such an amazing performance, and it reminded me why I like live music performances so much. From hip-hop to pop to electronic or rock, this artist knows no bounds, and I love to see it.
When it came to figuring out my favorites of this album, it was interesting that the two songs I liked the most would be right next to each other. The songs that I listened to the most would be "SON OF A GUN: and "SMOKE BREAK," respectively. I am always going to be a sucker for the more aggressive when it comes to music. I picked these two just felt like a no-brainer, but I definitely need to give the other songs some more love.
The Tower by Urban Heat
I learned about this group after watching a vlog by Cemetery Confessions. If it were any other time, I probably would have saved the album and left it to dust in my virtual collection of music. But I gave the album a listen when my power went out, and my phone battery was still good. Lucky for me, the power came on not too long after, but it didn’t stop me from listening to the rest of the album.
I don’t know if all darkwave is like this group, but after listening, it makes me feel like I’m missing out on some good music. I even bought a shirt soon after. I was getting too excited by this new discovery. The shirt is also just cool.
My favorite song on this album is probably "Sanitizer." It makes me so hype every time I put this song on. I don’t know what they put in it, but I am hooked. Don’t let my love for this song fool you. This whole album has no skips. It is definitely one of those albums you can put on and know you don’t have to worry about if you’re in the mood for a particular song.
End of Time by TSS
I’m not one to get into French music often, but I have recently been getting into more French artists, and this group is no exception. All it took was one post to pique my interest, and I’ve been obsessed with their sound since. It feels like some of my current tastes have blended together with influences of emo rock and electronic music. For context, they are a metal band according to their record company, Fearless Records. To be honest, I am so bad at differentiating genres. I am not your genre guy. I will forever be vague with them because of this. While it is interesting to learn where more niche genres come from, my love of listening without paying much attention to the specifics will render me genre deaf supreme, and that's just a reality we have to live with.
I did enjoy listening to the album, but it’s probably my least favorite of this list. That does not mean it is not good. It’s a banger and a half, do not get it twisted. I just preferred the unified listening experience of the other albums to this one. I would 100% give it another listen, though. That being said, my favorite song to listen to in my day-to-day is Killing Me. I probably just had too much time with it since it was released before the full album. Maybe I just need more time to get acquainted with the rest of the album
Since writing about these albums, I have gone on to listen to more in full. There are still plenty of albums I have not touched a song of, but maybe in the future I’ll gain a habit of being a more active music listener. Too bad I still haven't listened to Isabella Lovestory, Ateez, and GNJB’s new albums. Having a long way to go is an understatement.
All images courtesy of Spotify.
Hello! On my show Sporadic Symmetry, I just rant about random topics I find interesting that week. It can be from current events to a deep dive into topics like the effect of algorithms on the web to ranting about musicals like Epic. I'm constantly learning new things so I'll never run out of topics to talk about. I'll bring something different to your ears every Tuesday from 11:00am to 12:00pm.