1. Were you happy with the reviews that were published? How do you feel about your week as Record Club captain?
By Wednesday, I usually set up each blog post with the picture and the scheduled time and all that, so all I have to do is copy and paste the actual words of the review into the post real quick early on Friday morning. This week was the first time in a very long time that I did not have enough empty blog posts ready. I was expecting four reviews, and we got five. We have EXCEEDED expectations. During a dead week between Thanksgiving and Christmas, no less!
2. How was the variety of opinions? A wide range, kinda samey, or somewhere in the middle?
I was pretty surprised that I seemed to be the most positive here. Now, that's not to say that I "understood" it more than anyone else. To the contrary, it felt like all five reviews contained some measure of "this is strange." But some people interpreted that as a good thing, and some as a bad thing. Ain't nothing wrong with that.
It's also a pretty dense album, for a pop album at least, and maybe it's one of those albums you need more than a week with. No one else indicated that they had listened to it prior to this week, so let's assume that I was the only one. Not saying I knew it back to front, but I gave it some time when it came out. So this was at least my second week in 2024 listening to it daily. The extra time might have made a difference. I don't normally like when that happens. I like going in fresh. But again, it's a dead week between two major holidays, exceptions were made.
3. Were there any differing opinions that made you view the album in a different light?
Who mentioned Grimes? Let's see... it was Nate. I just noticed on Mag Bay's Bandcamp that they have a remix of "Image" with Grimes uploaded in October. Glad that they were able to get that up before Grimes' baby daddy became the de facto president of the United States. Still not sure I'm comfortable listening to Grimes at this point (probably why I didn't include her in the comparisons, though I will say that situation is less cut-and-dry than music from abusers. There's the baby daddy thing, obviously, but I read a lot of info about Grimes being really into the alt-right / white supremacy scene online, which, okay, yes, don't believe everything you read online, but honestly at this point it's just easier for me to not listen to Art Angels or the Magdalena Bay remix.
Where was I? Wasn't this supposed to be an exit survey about the album we just listened to and the reviews we wrote about it? Let's see. Nate grappled with the "what is pop?" question that I claimed in my review was boring, while I grappled with the "who does this sound like?" question that Nate claimed in his review was boring. Zach is becoming self-aware in terms of the "why are we doing this?" question in RC, and just needs to make that half-step forward toward knowing that vegetables are really really good for you. Sunny's review lends credence to the theory that more time with the album = more appreciation for the album. Sara was on point with the chronology, as Grimes peaked artistically in 2015, but I appreciate that Sara swerved and used Jepsen as the comparison point—I like her music better, and I like that she isn't a racist or the baby momma of an evil oligarch.
4. Was there anything about this album or this artist that you wished that people would've written about more?
I wish more people would attempt to write in the style of other writers. Although Nate was COMPLETELY UNSUCCESSFUL in his attempt to capture the essence of a classic Joe K*** review, at least he gave it his best go, in between selling winter coats door-to-door. What would a Zach review as written by Sara look like? What would a Nate review as written by Sunny look like? There are endless combinations.
5. How do you feel about your album choice now that the week is over? A success? Any regrets?
I don't think I've ever regretted an album choice. Have I? It's getting to the point where I can't remember every single week. I probably regret choosing that Philly Specials album a couple years ago. No Christmas music after Christmas. No more Jason Kelce on the blog.
6. Any other takeaways from the reviews? Or from this experience in general?
The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army" was #1 on XPN's Top 885 Songs of the 21st Century countdown, which was a good choice. My own guess as to what #1 was going to be, "Mr. Brightside," was off by one position, at #2. My dad scoffed at my guess when I said it, claiming that it wouldn't crack the Top 50. Say what you will about my father, but he certainly does not have his finger on the pulse of the millennial generation. Not one person under the age of 40 dislikes that song.
I had a lot of fun listening to that countdown, though. It felt cool to be temporarily part of the Philadelphia listening community for that one. That's the kind of shit I want for Record Club. 2025 is our year!!!
7. What is an improvement that Record Club can make that would enhance everyone's experience, either as a captain or as a listener/writer?
Next week, I'm going to publish an extra post on Friday morning that's titled something like "Discussion for [Album]" and hope that people will comment there instead of on individual reviews. Maybe build some momentum for some Friday morning discussions, If that goes well, we might even be able to replace the exit survey with those discussions. We'll see.
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