Lilliputian Album Roundup #1: Lingua Ignota - Radiohead - Ween

I spend a lot of time on my job driving around. That enables me to listen to a lot of new music. So here's the first installment of a series, a quick round-up reviewing albums that I listen to: Buena vista!

Caligula - Lingua Ignota (2019)

Opera / Neo-classical / Death Metal / Noise

9/10 

(With the possibility of being 10/10 upon relistening)

CW: Themes of Domestic Violence & Abuse

I've described my emotional reaction to records with many terms; "terrified" has never been one of them. You've got your creepy albums, spooky albums, albums that fill your stomach with dread. But Caligula made me flinch and jump with its spontaneously violent music. I'm no stranger to crying to heartbreaks music, but I've never heard a song that's driven me to tears out of fear. It's hard for me to even conceptualize the torture that Ignota has survived, but her soul-rending screams and overwhelming orchestra posses me to feel maybe a minuscule fraction of a single percent of her pain. The only reason I haven't given this a 10/10, even though I am sure of its masterpiece quality, is that it is almost unbearable to listen to. But maybe that's the point, one that requires a reexamination. 

Layer on top of that lyrics weaving images of Biblical proportions and you have an art piece that ensures Ignota position as one of the most exciting modern-day composers. 

Fave Tracks: I couldn't space the songs apart because I was too stunned. I really need to relisten to this.

OK Computer - Radiohead (1997)

Experimental Rock

5/10

So this is who y'all have been talking about all this time? The greatest band ever on their greatest album ever? Ruminations on a world lost to consumerism and cyberspace? Dang, okay. I still don't get it. I don't hear what separates Radiohead from their counterparts. Moody, pessimistic reflections on the world? Guitar jams? Really, what the big deal? 

If a (or the) fundamental aspect of enjoying music centers the question "Does this move you emotionally?", I can't say OK Computer did much of anything. They sound alright. There's a couple interesting pieces in here, but no overall emotional payoff. "But listen to the lyrics!" Why should someone be compelled to listen to lyrics if the music that underpins everything is not that interesting? Why not just read poetry at that point? 

Death Grip's The Money Store, which I got around to recently, deals with similar themes as OK Computer, what with late stage capitalism, alienation, the singularity, and all that cool junk. Whereas OK Computer vaguely gestures to these ideas, The Money Store electrocutes your synapses sonically, which is why there is such a disparity in my grading of the two records.

Fave Tracks: Climbing Up the Walls, No Surprises 

12 Golden Country Greats - Ween (1996)

Country / Comedy

7/10

It isn't anywhere on the same tier as The Mollusk, but it's a gimmicky spin-off piece like a "Christmas album" (not to imply that every Ween album isn't a gimmicky spin-off piece). You've got 10 songs on this joint, some suffering from being a little low-key and subtle which is not Ween's strong suit. But it's still Ween, which is pretty great. The stereotype jokes are notably dated but thankfully most of the humor is centered around being making irredeemably stupid and obnoxious music that no one likes. 

One of the strongest tracks made for this record, "Wavin' My Dick in the Wind" was transplanted onto The Mollusk, siphoning some of the quality of this record and grafting it onto its successor. Fortunately the opening and closing tracks, both love ballads, are both greats and there are some gems scattered throughout. Not bad for Ween's only country album.

Fave Tracks: I'm Holding You, Piss Up a Rope, Mister Richard Smoker, Fluffy