680. Fear of a Black Planet

Fear of a Black Planet
Public Enemy
1990

Tracks
1. Contract On The World Love Jam
2. Brothers Gonna Work It Out
3. 911 Is A Joke
4. Incident At 66.6 FM
5. Welcome To The Terrordome
6. Meet The G That Killed Me
7. Pollywanacraka
8. Anti-Nigger Machine
9. Burn Hollywood Burn - Ice Cube, Public Enemy
10. Power To The People
11. Who Stole The Sole?
12. Fear Of A Black Planet
13. Revolutionary Generation
14. Can't Do Nuttin' For Ya Man
15. Reggie Jax
16. Leave This Off Your Fu*Kin Charts
17. B Side Wins Again
18. War At 33 1/3
19. Final Count Of The Collision Between Us And The Damned
20. Fight The Power

Ugh, I am getting so tired of these (can you tell?). More gangsta rap. Actually, this wasn't as bad as the last two entries on the List. I feel like they were more interested in making a black nationalism album here, rather than just boasting about all the women they bang and treat horribly (well, there is a little of that too of course).

So not nearly as bad as other gangsta rap albums on this List and I become more and more convinced that East Coast hiphop is much better than West Coast hiphop. 

Still, will never be a favorite genre.

RATING: 2/5

679. Mama Said Knock You Out

Mama Said Knock You Out
LL Cool J
1990

Tracks
1. The Boomin' System
2. Around The Way Girl
3. Eat Em Up L Chill
4. Mr. Good Bar
5. Murdergram
6. Cheesy Rat Blues
7. Farmers Blvd. (Our Anthem)
8. Mama Said Knock You Out
9. Milky Cereal
10. Jingling Baby (Remixed But Still Jingling)
11. To Da Break Of Dawn - LL Cool J, Marly Marl
12. 6 Minutes Of Pleasure
13. Illegal Search
14. The Power Of God
15. Mama Said Knock You Out

And we're back. Not quite as bad as Ice Cube's violent misogyny but still just more degrading comments about women and self aggrandizing. And a super annoying song about cereal.

I'm sick of wasting time on these guys, so I'll just cut to the chase.

RATING: 0/5

678. Ritual De Lo Habitual

Ritual De Lo Habitual
Jane's Addiction
1990

Tracks
1. Stop
2. No One's Leaving
3. Ain't No Right
4. Obvious
5. Been Caught Stealing
6. Three Days
7. Then She Did
8. Of Course
9. Classic Girl

This is a nice reprieve from the onslaught of hip hop we've been subjected to lately. 

It's interesting to Jane's Addiction lay the groundwork for 90s rock, and again, it's a nice reminder that other genres besides gangster rap exists. I enjoyed the first half more than the second half, since sprawling rock epics aren't exactly my thing, but it still was a consistently good album.

A nice change of pace, but unfortunately only a temporary respite.

RATING: 3/5

677. AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted

AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted
Ice Cube
1990

Tracks
1. Better Off Dead
2. Nigga Ya Love To Hate
3. Amerikkka's Most Wanted
4. What They Hittin Foe
5. You Can't Fade Me
6. Once Upon A Time In The Projects
7. Turn Off The Radio
8. Endangered Species
9. Gangsta's Fairytale
10. I'm Only Out For One Thang
11. Get Off My Dick And Tell Yo Bitch To Come Here
12. Drive By
13. Rollin' Wit' Tha Lench Mob
14. Who's The Mack
15. It's A Man's Man's Man's World
16. Bomb

I am a bit behind in writing about these albums, even though I just finished listening to 679. This is because I am finding this recent trend of hip hop albums very taxing, with the constant barrage of misogyny, homophobia, and/or anti semitism. I have really tried to approach each album with understanding about where these artists are coming from, but it is wearing being degraded everyday, as any person in a marginalized community knows.

So yeah, I don't want to listen to an album where someone gleefully raps about kicking a pregnant woman. I thought it was disgusting. I think it is really sad and scary that this is celebrated or tolerated in any way. 

RATING: 0/5

676. Ragged Glory

Ragged Glory
Neil Young and the Crazy Horse
1990

Tracks
1. Country Home
2. White Line
3. Fuckin' Up
4. Over And Over
5. Love To Burn
6. Farmer John
7. Mansion On The Hill
8. Days That Used To Be
9. Love And Only Love
10. Mother Earth (Natural Anthem)

"Past their prime" is such a mean phrase, and I am not saying it applies here, but I certainly didn't expect to see a Neil Young album show up in 1990. I am glad it did, though, even if it was not quite as impressive as his previous work.

This was fairly unpolished, and I got the feeling he was trying to develop more of an edge than he had previously. I particularly enjoyed "Over and Over" and "Love to Burn." 

So maybe not as offbeat or edgy as he was going for, but still an enjoyable album. 

RATING: 4/5

675. Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1

Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1
George Michael
1990

Tracks
1. Praying for Time
2. Freedom
3. They Won't Go When I Go
4. Something to Save
5. Cowboys & Angels
6. Waiting for That Day/You Can't Always Get What You Want
7. Mother's Pride
8. Heal the Pain
9. Soul Free
10. Waiting (Reprise)

I think we all weren't taking George Michael seriously enough for his liking, so he reacted with this album. Consequently, it is a little bit cringey as he strives to be seen as a respectable artist. Still, there are some good tracks hidden here as well. 

"Praying for Time" and "They Won't Go When I Go" were both stand out tracks, and "Freedom" was impressive as well. The second half of the album really dragged, making me miss Wham era George Michael.

So another fair to middling album, hoping for another entry that will knock my socks off soon. 

RATING: 3/5

674. Pills 'N' Thrills and Bellyaches

Pills 'N' Thrills and Bellyache
Happy Mondays
1990

Tracks
1. Kinky Afro
2. God's Cop
3. Donovan
4. Grandbag's Funeral
5. Dennis And Lois
6. Bob's Yer Uncle
7. Step On
8. Holiday
9. Harmony

I suppose the experience of listening to this album would be greatly enhanced with drugs, which is the case for about 70% of these entries. Fortunately, it's still pretty good without molly.

According to Shaun Ryder, the producer Paul Oakenfold instructed them to make Bob's Yer Uncle "sexy for the ladies." This is interesting to me, because very few of these musicians seem to write for a female audience in mind. And, of course, they hilariously missed the mark. The song was okay, but the lyrics betrayed their own cluelessness. 

So I guess we are wrapping up the stage where every other album comes from Manchester. If this was our farewell, it was a pretty solid goodbye.

RATING: 4/5