popular albums of the week 1/30 - 2/5

So I'm starting a new blog to talk about media. For now, I'm just focusing on my project to listen to some popular music and increase my breadth, if not depth, of musical literacy. Started Week 1 with some albums I knew, so I'd be comfortable easing into it. Picking up to three tracks as the best from each album.

red hot chili peppers - by the way
gave up on this guy. the songs on it for the most part aren't terrible, but a lot of them are utterly forgettable and not particularly catchy. 'by the way', 'zephyr song,' and 'can't stop' are the most obvious exceptions, with the latter being a major hit.

red hot chili peppers - stadium arcadium
knew this one pretty well before this week, but i mainly listened to it to get a better feel for what songs i disliked randomly and which ones actually sucked. turns out there's a decent mix, and i managed to pare the 28 tracks down to 16 listenable ones, many of which are instant classics. favorites are 'desecration smile,' 'tell me baby,' and 'hard to concentrate.'

boston - boston
i love this album. 'smokin' is the only song on it that i don't like, really, and its kickass:song ratio is excellent. i've kinda been assuming that i know the sound of every band as i write them, because boston is a classic rock band. and i say 'classic' as in its songs are usually classic, and it's just got a 'classic' sound ot it. favorites on this one are 'more than a feeling,' 'peace of mind,' a nd 'let me take you home tonight.'

the who - who's next
solid album by a band with more 'classic' sound. a lot of the songs seem kinda 'noisy' to me, but for some reason, i can put up with that noise better than the RHCP noise. maybe it's because i know RHCP is capable of a lot better, and i like some of their noise? anyway, i wouldn't listen to them just for their sound, but they've got a bunch of great individual songs - 'baba o'riley,' 'behind blue eyes,' and 'pure and easy.'

queen - a night at the opera
pound for pound, the most diverse and possibly the greatest of the classic albums i heard this week. every song has its own feel, but there's also a band sound. queen is very unique, and you can kinda sense the experimental nature of their songs. favorites are '39,' 'love of my life,' and 'bohemian rhapsody.' exciting and unique taste, i know!

Hoping I can update this blog at least weekly.