Trollheart takes on "1001 Albums you must hear before you die"

**Goofle** · 01-14-2015, 06:37 PM

Unexpecter turn of events.

Just occurred.

**Frownland** · 01-14-2015, 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

991

Album title: The college dropout
Artiste: Kanye West
Year: 2004
Nationality: American
Genre: Hip-hop
Chronology: Debut album
Previous experience of this artiste, if any: Zero
Am I glad I heard this album before I died? You know, I am. It's changed my mind, slightly, about rap and hip-hop. (Creaking sound as Trollheart's rusty mind screeches open...)
Tracklisting: Intro/We don't care/Graduation Day/ All falls down/ I'll fly away/Spaceship/Jesus walks/Never let me down/ Get 'em high/ Workout plan/ The new workout plan/ Slow jamz/ Breathe in breathe out/ School spirit (skit 1)/ School spirit/ School spirit (skit 2), Lil' Jimmy, Two words/ Through the wire/ Family business/ Last call
Introduction: One of the high-profile rappers, it'll come as no surprise to anyone that I have never even heard one of his songs.
Comments: Nice soul vibe to the album, good backing vocals and it's not the “hard” hip-hop that I keep expecting. So far, though it's never really music I'd expect or intend to be into, my adventures in hip-hop (MIA excepted) have not been as harrowing as I had expected. The music here is pretty good but with 21 tracks there's a lot to get through. Thankfully many of these are short spoken intros or bridging tracks. It's actually not too bad surprisingly. I like his sense of humour, though whether he's serious about encouraging people not to go to college, or is just taking a swipe at people who avoid getting into the real world by over-attendance at same, is unclear. The music is pretty good and there's no questioning his skill as a rapper. Pretty enjoyable, although some tracks didn't do it for me. Still, with so many, I'm surprised it went as fast and as painlessly as it did.
Favourite track(s): We don't care, I'll fly away, Spaceship, Never let me down, School Spirit, Through the wire, Last call, Family business
Least favourite track(s): Workout plan, The new workout plan, Slow jamz
My impression: A lot better than I had expected. I quite enjoyed it. Someone help that man up off the floor!

Rating:

Headexplodes.gif

WWWP · 01-14-2015, 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

I understand, but imagine me going deep into over one thousand albums, trying to find out all about them and struggling to get into them. I'd be here till I really did die. I'm not sure you realise how much work this is, even just listening to the albums (don't forget, I've tons of other work I'm doing as well) without making it my life's work. I imagine as I get into albums I know better it'll go better, but really come on: you think I'm going to appreciate every album on this list? I've only done what, ten? Not even a hundredth of the list and already you're giving up on me?

There are a few here I liked that I didn't think I would, but a lot of them have been albums I have no interest in getting to know better. Why should I be disingenuous about it? If I don't like albums, I say so. It just so happens that a lot of the selection so far has not been to my taste. But I'm a little surprised that you would take this line. After all, it's not like it's a paying job or anything: I'm just doing this for fun, entertainment and education. I think I've done okay so far.

Sorry if you haven't enjoyed it, but it is what it is. I'm not particularly interested in why this guy thinks I should hear these albums, no. It's all about opinion, and I don't have unlimited time so I do what I can. Sorry if it's not enough for you.

It's not that you're doing a bad job, nor does my opinion ultimately count for anything. I don't expect you to like every album or even give each album a fair shot - you know what you like and you know what you don't. I'm not disappointed in the ratings or the commentary, I guess I just expected this to be more of a "learn new things" endeavor. If I had taken on this same project that would have been one of the benefits, as far as I'm concerned. You just don't seem to be very excited about it, and that's a bummer.

The only reason I said anything was because I had been looking forward to, actively following and commenting, so I felt somehow that I should let you know why I may not anymore. Everyone's a critic.

The Batlord · 01-14-2015, 07:04 PM

Someone play him some Necro to get things back the way they should be!

Trollheart · 01-14-2015, 07:32 PM

While I have nothing but respect for Steph, and bear her no ill-will for her comments, it does concern me slightly. Is this what everyone expects of me, because if so, you will be disappointed. Although my workload is self-imposed and I love every bit of it, it is huge and there is no way I could possibly do in-depth reviews of these albums, nor would I want to. I think I said at the beginning my main intention was to listen to all the albums, give my opinions on them and rate them. That's all. I have and had no intention of delving into why they are on the list or why people think they're so popular: if this were my only journal then maybe I could do that, but with my limited time and my workload it's never going to happen.

This is why I realised that the idea of asking why albums were on the list was not going to work: as Urban pointed out, I could look into them, but then, why should I? It's not my list and there's nothing to say research would turn up the reasons why a certain album was chosen over another, or one artiste made it when the other did not. So now I've changed that to reflect my own personal feeling as to whether or not I was glad to have heard the album, and I think that will work better. But other than that, I intend to keep the format as it is. I wouldn't like to think I'm losing readers because of it, but if it's not what you were expecting you have the right to say so, just don't expect me to change it because it doesn't suit you, or live up to your idea of what you thought this was going to be.

However, if everyone feels the same way and just hasn't said it, I can shut this down now. I may not seem to be enjoying it but I am, however unlike a lot of you I'm not that open to new music/experiences. If I hear something that really changes my mind about a band or genre or subgenre I will of course give it a fair chance, but when I hear nothing that grabs me in an album I won't push to like it or understand it. That may not sit well with some people but that's how I am, and I really am too busy to be the second Goofle of the forum.

Again, I don't bear anyone any ill-will and if this comes across as a bit snippy or snarky it's just because I feel that, unintentionally, WWWP has made out that perhaps I'm not doing the best job I can here. As I say, I know she didn't mean that but it's how it comes across on one level. I could of course do a more in-depth analysis --- people know how anal I can get

--- but it would take too long and would not be genuine anyway if I tried to get something out of music I know will not and does not appeal to me. This is like the jazz journal to a degree: my heart was not in that so I stopped forcing myself. This I am enjoying, whether it comes over in my writing or not, and I'm looking forward to discovering some really decent music I had not thought of listening to. To quote William Shatner, it hasn't happened yet.

But as ever, all comments are welcomed and if you think I'm wasting your time do tell me, as there are better ways I could spend mine.

And to close, two words: Kanye West.

Pet_Sounds · 01-14-2015, 07:55 PM

Trollheart rates Kanye West 4/5?!

Shocking. Positively shocking.

WWWP · 01-14-2015, 08:27 PM

Honestly, ignore me, this is just one of those instances of everyone on the internet being allowed to speak their mind. It's not always beneficial or necessary.

Machine · 01-14-2015, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pet_Sounds

Trollheart rates Kanye West 4/5?!

Shocking. Positively shocking.

Exactly my friend, exactly!

The Batlord · 01-14-2015, 08:53 PM

Pet Sounds knows who Kanye West is?

Shocking. Positively shocking.

Josef K · 01-15-2015, 05:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Batlord

Pet Sounds knows who Kanye West is?

Shocking. Positively shocking.

Exactly my friend, exactly!

01-14-2015, 07:32 PM	#85 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,970	While I have nothing but respect for Steph, and bear her no ill-will for her comments, it does concern me slightly. Is this what everyone expects of me, because if so, you will be disappointed. Although my workload is self-imposed and I love every bit of it, it is huge and there is no way I could possibly do in-depth reviews of these albums, nor would I want to. I think I said at the beginning my main intention was to listen to all the albums, give my opinions on them and rate them. That's all. I have and had no intention of delving into why they are on the list or why people think they're so popular: if this were my only journal then maybe I could do that, but with my limited time and my workload it's never going to happen. This is why I realised that the idea of asking why albums were on the list was not going to work: as Urban pointed out, I could look into them, but then, why should I? It's not my list and there's nothing to say research would turn up the reasons why a certain album was chosen over another, or one artiste made it when the other did not. So now I've changed that to reflect my own personal feeling as to whether or not I was glad to have heard the album, and I think that will work better. But other than that, I intend to keep the format as it is. I wouldn't like to think I'm losing readers because of it, but if it's not what you were expecting you have the right to say so, just don't expect me to change it because it doesn't suit you, or live up to your idea of what you thought this was going to be. However, if everyone feels the same way and just hasn't said it, I can shut this down now. I may not seem to be enjoying it but I am, however unlike a lot of you I'm not that open to new music/experiences. If I hear something that really changes my mind about a band or genre or subgenre I will of course give it a fair chance, but when I hear nothing that grabs me in an album I won't push to like it or understand it. That may not sit well with some people but that's how I am, and I really am too busy to be the second Goofle of the forum. Again, I don't bear anyone any ill-will and if this comes across as a bit snippy or snarky it's just because I feel that, unintentionally, WWWP has made out that perhaps I'm not doing the best job I can here. As I say, I know she didn't mean that but it's how it comes across on one level. I could of course do a more in-depth analysis --- people know how anal I can get --- but it would take too long and would not be genuine anyway if I tried to get something out of music I know will not and does not appeal to me. This is like the jazz journal to a degree: my heart was not in that so I stopped forcing myself. This I am enjoying, whether it comes over in my writing or not, and I'm looking forward to discovering some really decent music I had not thought of listening to. To quote William Shatner, it hasn't happened yet. But as ever, all comments are welcomed and if you think I'm wasting your time do tell me, as there are better ways I could spend mine. And to close, two words: Kanye West. __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

01-14-2015, 07:55 PM	#86 (permalink)
Pet_Sounds Remember the underscore Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: The other side Posts: 2,489	Trollheart rates Kanye West 4/5?! Shocking. Positively shocking. __________________ Everybody's dying just to get the disease

01-14-2015, 08:27 PM	#87 (permalink)
WWWP county fair energy Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 4,775	Honestly, ignore me, this is just one of those instances of everyone on the internet being allowed to speak their mind. It's not always beneficial or necessary.