926. Music

Music
Madonna
2000

Tracks
1. Music
2. Impressive Instant
3. Runaway Lover
4. I Deserve It
5. Amazing
6. Nobody's Perfect
7. Don't Tell Me
8. What It Feels Like For A Girl
9. Paradise (Not For Me)
10. Gone

Madonna tried to do something really different with Ray of Light, but it seems like she is less interested in experimenting with trip hop this time. I am not the biggest trip hop fan, so that was okay with me.

She's still integrating electronica into her music (which by the way, might be the laziest title of an album I've ever seen). But I don't really like it, or the electronic voice she adopts for some of these songs.

I think the only song I had heard off of this album was "What It Feels Like For A Girl" which might speak to how forgettable this album can be at parts. Not the quintessential Madonna album by any means.

RATING: 2/5

648. Raw Like Sushi

Raw Like Sushi

Neneh Cherry

1989

Tracks

1. Buffalo Stance
2. Manchild
3. Kisses On The Wind
4. Inna City Mamma
5. Next Generation
6. Love Ghetto
7. Heart
8. Phoney Ladies
9. Outre Risque Locomotive
10. So Here I Come

It's nice to see the List branching out to include some other nationalities other than English/American. We've been stuck in Manchester too long. That being said, can we all agree that Swedish music is rough?

I think it is pretty essential that a rapper be good at dishing out burns. Neneh Cherry is not. I thought Heart was incredibly cringey. "Chocolates, bananas, doughnuts, and salami/ Ain't gonna fit 'cause you're full of bologna." Weirdly enough, I'd rather listen to Queen Latifah's self-aggrandizing than Cherry tearing down other women for "stealing her man." Oh, honey.

Tomorrow, we travel to Senegal!

RATING: 2/5

608. Actually

Actually
The Pet Shop Boys
1987

Tracks
1. One More Chance
2. What Have I Done to Deserve This?
3. Shopping
4. Rent
5. Hit Music
6. It Couldn't Happen Here
7. It's a Sin
8. I Want to Wake Up
9. Heart
10. King's Cross

Interesting fact, when I was in middle school, I briefly acquired the nickname "Actually" for being a Hermione Granger-esque nightmare. Anyway, let's see if the Pet Shop Boys can out-annoy eleven-year-old Amanda.

They can! Okay, maybe this wasn't so bad, but it was a lot of forgettable dance pop tracks. There were a couple of good songs hidden here, including "Rent" and "It's a Sin." I was surprised by the lyrical quality of the tracks; it almost felt out of place with the music. 

Overall, a disposable album but pretty harmless.

RATING: 3/5

489. Dare!

Dare!
The Human League
1981

Tracks
1. Things That Dreams Are Made Of
2. Open Your Heart
3. Sound Of The Crowd
4. Darkness
5. Do Or Die 
6. Get Carter
7. I Am The Law
8. Seconds
9. Love Action (I Believe In Love)
10. Don't You Want Me

Hello everyone!  I just got back from a beach vacation!  I am not even going to apologize for my absence.  I think I have reached the point where my apologizes don't mean anything anymore.  I have officially taken on the role of the douchebag boyfriend.  Oh well, let's talk about Dare!

Everybody on Earth knows the song "Don't You Want Me."  That is a damn good song; it is catchy as hell and even carries a message of female empowerment (oh Human League, you do know the way to my heart).  I was worried the rest of the album would just be generic 80s pop music, but I was pleasantly surprised (I particularly enjoyed "I Am The Law").

It was nice to get a break from some of the more serious music and listen to some quintessential 80s tunes.  Recommended.

RATING: 5/5