I went into this album knowing a single song from it (You can call me Al) which really is a catchy pop tune that you find yourself humming in quiet moments during the day after you’ve heard it. I did some research into what the album is about and saw that Paul Simon purposefully injected traditional African beats, instruments, and melodies into the music (Specifically an African accordion band)

Overall the music really has a mid-80’s vibe to it with lots of synthesizer tracks typical to the time period. This really works with Simon’s dense lyrical prose which is filled with allegories and references. I’ve always enjoyed Simon and Garfunkel and pop-folk is one of my favorite musical genres (to play as well as listen to) and he continues this folk mentality with songs that tell entire stories

What this album reminds me of: I didn’t really hear this album until this challenge – which is a shame because it falls into the wheelhouse of the kind of eclectic music I enjoy. When it came out I was 12 years old and wouldn’t have gotten the same experience from it that I have now with age and well, a life lived. Honestly, I would have bailed after a few songs because at that age I was REALLY into top-40 and Hip-Hop so folk music would have been a hard sell.

Rating: 3/5 – While I enjoyed the album for it’s lyrics and progressive melodies sometimes it can get repetitive and while I prefer lyrically dense songs some of the tracks were a bit repetitive – after a while the tracks started blending together. Some of the lyrics are too obtuse to really infer what he was trying to say. I don’t mind lyrical allegory but I don’t want to work too hard deciphering lyrics!

Old School Punk! Classic album from 1976 filled with angry punk songs (Bonus, they were from my hometown of Queens NY!) 

Just an album full of angry punk rock – simple chords, screaming lyrics, and a standard drumbeat but each song slaps – the most iconic probably is the Blitzkrieg bop just a fun bouncy song that really encapsulates what the album is about.  Each song is under 3 minutes and while there’s only 14 song on the album they go by pretty quick. 

Some songs don’t age well (beat the brat, about well.. Beating kids who are bad is one example) but the songs all have distinct melodies that elevate the punk genre and like most good Punk they don’t take themselves too seriously with songs like ‘Now I want to sniff some glue’

Then there’s the mosh pit classic ‘lets dance’ – blast this in a punk club and watch everyone just go a bit crazy. The few times I dared the most pit (decked out in my black NIN shirt and bolstered with a few drinks) it was exhilarating even if I woke up with various bruises the next morning.

What this song reminds me of: Listening to punk rock with my cyber/chat friends who really introduced me to the genre.  Before I met up with them, I was mostly hip hop, metal, and pop.. But they introduced me to Punk, Industrial and Grunge and changed my musical tastes forever.

4/5 – Just a great album to crank when you’ve had a bad day at work and want to vent the anger by scream singing in the car on the way home!

I was only familiar with OutKast from their super popular songs (shake it like a polaroid piiiiiicture) so I was pretty unaware of this albums existence.  Filled with 16 lyrically dense songs this was an album I had to listen to a few times to really get a bead on what it was all about.

It harkens back to the origins of hip-hop  – where they rap about societal issues to bring awareness to the situations they came from. (in this case, Atlanta).  Each song is packed with bars the beats are all different and drive the songs appropriately and the guest rappers all bring some fire to the tracks.

What this album reminds me of: Old school Hip-Hop – listening to K-Tel records with my brother on my plastic record player in my room in the house in Jackson – an adolescent kid who loved hip-hop surrounded by people who really didn’t ‘get’ it. 

3/5 – There’s a few tracks that drag down the album (and the fact there’s 16 songs really dilutes the overall product). Still a solid album and I’m glad I got to experience it.

The OG of pop Reggae – I’m a pretty big fan (in fact one of my art projects in college was a drawing of him) three little birds is one of my favorite ‘happy jams’ that I’ll sing on warm spring mornings.  The music is consistently good and the themes through the songs are all relevant. I enjoyed listening to this and will add it to my summer rotation.  The title track is amazing and ‘Jammin’ is the quintessential drinking on the beach song!

Of course I need to mention ‘One Love’ probably one of his most popular songs – just a great song with an inspiring message of unity to help society.  Also a bit of an earworm that I found myself humming frequently after listening to it.

What the album reminds me of:  My late teenage years, walking on the boardwalk with my friends on a hot summer night with no cares or responsibility. Eating two slices and a coke at Sawmill pizza for $2.50 and just being a kid wearing a Baja hoodie, staying up late with my friends at the beach.

4/5 – There’s a few songs on here that don’t stand out (they tend to blend together a bit since they are musically similar)