Nice to find another Missing Persons fan. I had a buddy play me this song when I was in high school (because of Terry Bozzio's amazing playing) and I've been hooked ever since. Only later in life did I find out why they were so weirdly awesome - it was because they're all Zappa alum.
I am going to go a couple of more days with the punk/post-punk stuff but sometime next week, I am going to pivot to folk rock, singer songwriter, jazz, and reggae music.
Review time: (Because someone had to on the album dominating the music and pop culture world) This morning in the car with my daughter I listened to the vast majority of the new Taylor Swift album Tortured Poets... so you don't have to. I really wasn't overly impressed because it sounds more of the same from her last B-side releases on the "Taylor's Version" albums from her recent stuff. It's objectively still good, and she's really quite the lyricist from a free flowing stream of consciousness sense. Just the sheer density of lyrics comes off as someone who is a natural writer or poet first and foremost. It is just like Stephen King level stuffed full of words. Taylor's singing to me is still very, very airy, and pleasant enough to listen to, but I always felt like it was a little too airy, and would appreciate a change of pace vocally at some point. The writing/lyricism/poetry style though I think is a strength of hers that is really becoming a weakness to me as a music nerd. To me, I wanted to see her lean in more on the music and instrumentation on future projects. Especially working with talented producers like Antonoff, and the guys from the National, etc. Like for instance there is the title track that i listened to where the song opens with a really solid 80's drum machine snare that is gives a "ohhh... hell yeah" vibe and then within 15 seconds of the song her vocals are brought so far up on the track mixing that you just cannot hear any instrumentation at all because it's pushed so far back behind her vocals. I get it... it's Taylor Swift.... it's pop music, but I just wish that someone who has rubbed shoulders with the producers and musicians she has would start to produce her albums a bit more like Prince did where the production was just so good. So yeah, the POET in Tortured Poets Department really does stand out. There is some cool stuff happening here with the synths, and beats, but it often gets pushed back WAAAAYYY too far back in the mix, and like her other albums there isn't much here in the way of interesting chord progression. If you came looking for alot of Taylor Swift going on and on about her love life you will get what you pay for. Stand out tracks for me: -The Alchemy -Boy who Breaks His Toys -Fortnite Soft 6.5 out of 10.
That will be acceptable because I should be able to recognize some of the performers/groups. How far back in time are you going to start with the Folk Rock?
