#album 68

[anyways-wonderwall]

Album of the Week #68

Planet Her

(2021)

by Doja Cat

Overall Rating: 6.5/10

TL;DR: Probably an objectively good album, I’m just tired. Tired of hearing these singles that were drilled into my head, tired on the stupid one-liners, tired of the trap snare. While she has a fantastic singing voice and seems to be having fun, I’m too damn tired to have the enthusiasm rub off on me. 

(You know, I'll give her this, that is a badass album cover 10/10)

Every week i somehow get busier. When will it end

Overall Thoughts

As her albums become more refined, focused, and professional, her intent of writing about sex and womanhood becomes clearer. I think that Robert Christgau’s description of writing sex songs instead of love songs fits even more with this album. Every duet is about sex, every rap mentions it, even “Kiss Me More” which sounds like a lighthearted love song is incredibly graphic once you listen to the lyrics. I’m not saying this is a bad thing at all, it’s just fascinating to hear a whole album that has pop woven through it not mention love (I wonder what boomer Robert Christgau has to say about that). 

“Woman” starts the album off with a sensual tone and is I think the most creative and distinct song on the album. The rest kind of blend together and I think how overplayed some of them were on the radio ruined a few of them for me. I don’t think many of the songs offered anything unique or especially good, with a mix of predictable slow songs and rap songs that offer your standard sound board of effects and beats. The only real variation you’ll get is in a sometimes really good chorus or baseline, as she also offers about the same flow in every song. I think most of the album (especially “Naked” and “Need to Know”) fall into the category of “songs I’d dance to at a club and enjoy at the time but never think about again.” You need songs like that in your life, but that also means that I don’t have much of a desire to listen to this album in full again. 

In listening to her whole discography I’ve found that the one thing that Doja Cat lacks is being a good writer. Okay that sounds really harsh but I think her messages and themes are great, her ideas are solid and complex, she’s just really bad at writing well crafted, smart, and good lyrics. Often they’re stupid enough to border on funny which was fine in her early days but as she wants to be taken more and more seriously it just doesn’t really work. Often lines don’t rhyme or barely rhyme, the word play is stupid (“square like Madison”??? That’s dumb as hell), and when thing do flow and rhyme it feels like gibberish. I hope she gets better soon because if you’re gonna start billing yourself as a rapper (like she is in her newest album) you at least have to be able to write. Sure you can say the lines, but are they worth saying?

Part of me wonders if I’m especially harsh on this album because pretty much every song that was a single when this came out was so overplayed that it makes me genuinely angry to here. “Get Into It (Yuh)” is one of my least favorite songs of all time tbh, and if I have to hear that weird bird owl sound effect one more time I’m going to throw my headphones into the road. “You Right” is probably a good song objectively but I just find myself wanting to turn it off because its so boring to me, and the only song (other than “Woman”) that I find myself coming back to is “Kiss Me More.” 

You know, to end this review on a good note let’s talk about that song for a bit. It’s honestly perfect. I’ve had it stuck in my head for the past week but not in a dreadful way, in a “nodding my head and humming while doing the dishes” kind of way. The baseline is perfect, all the guitar parts are wonderfully catchy, SZA is fantastic in it, and its the perfect length. I’m glad the album ended with that song because I was at least left with a good taste in my mouth. 

Next week's review: Scarlet (2023) by Doja Cat

[hopeinthebox]

rm - indigo | title cards

from the colours of nature, human, etc. 10 blues included

inspired by the inimitable @kithtaehyung visuals 💙

[glittergroovy]

[chirpychipslive]

atom heart mother is the Most pink floyd album of all time because you come out of this massive orchestral spectacle piece and you're like "wow that was so cool! i wonder what the second half is like :)" and then they hit you with the syd barrett trauma double trouble of If and Summer 68. and then its breakfast time with Alan after :))

[javelinbk]

Since ao3 is down…

[queerdiazs]

hi friends 🫧 i was tagged in a lil q & a thing by @neverevan, @exhuastedpigeon, @kinardbuckleys, and @thewolvesof1998 ♥️

rules: answer + tag some people you want to get know better and/ or catch up with!

favorite color: green 🌳����

last song: field of heather by shane smith and the saints 🪶

currently reading: not a goddamn thing 🫶🏼 but i did restart ff7r and i’m blasting through it!

currently watching: absolutely nothing ☁️ i don’t have the time to sit and watch tv lately so i just catch what’s on and go with it!

currently craving: mm a salad with some vinaigrette dressing and bbq chicken pizza ✨

coffee or tea: (sweet) tea 🫖

no pressure tagging @spagheddiediaz, @jeeyuns, @actualalligator, @devirnis, and @loveyouanyway!!

[pardonmydelays]

Pick three songs from the tortured poets department judging only by the titles! (three, no more no less!). Bonus points if you explain why!

love this question, anon. no idea who you are. just three, ok, let me think:

SO LONG, LONDON - this is definitely my first choice, i just can't stop thinking about this title. first of all, it's track 5, so you know damn well it's going to be an emotional roller coaster. second, i'm a total slut for every song with the name of the city in the title. & third, we all know she spent so much time living & hiding in london, so i am getting cornelia street vibes, but sadder. i hope this song is 20min long. i hope it will destroy me.

BUT DADDY I LOVE HIM - this is so interesting, mostly because of the little mermaid reference... don't ask me how my brain works. i just got this feeling this might be one of my favourite songs from the album, the title is so desperate, but aren't we all when we're in love? much to think about for sure.

LOML - thanks to @noproof-youjustknow & her post about this song i started thinking about all the possible meanings... is it love of my life? is it loss of my life? or the worst: is it love OR my life? so many questions, so little answers, i am losing my goddamn mind because of this title. this song is gonna destroy me, i can already tell.

[duranduratulsa]

On the turntable today...

The Stranger by Billy Joel (1977)

Rumours by Fleetwood Mac (1977)

Roaches by Bobby Jimmy & The Critters (1986) (12" Single)

Class Of '68 by Floyd Cramer (1968)

Behind The Mask by Fleetwood Mac (1990)

#billyjoel #thestranger #fleetwoodmac #rumours #behindthemask #BobbyJimmyAndTheCritters #roaches #floydcramer #Classof68 #60s #70s #80s #90s #records #album #LP #12inch #12inchvinyl #vinylrecords #vinyl

[bullmotif]

summer '68 belongs on Ram so badly

[bonbonzzz]

I haven't drawn her since September I'm sorry I'm rusty.

[ulysseanescapades]

complete album: #67, more than meets the eye

full album here, including the episode "a sacrificial escape" requested by @coluccikins, which has one of the famous "this one's for Big Kids" warnings at the beginning, which was always more scary to me as a kid than the actual episode was.

[dahliavxvii]

I got an idea and tried to make up a story, about rainbow4.0 (ritchie, cozy, roger, don and graham)

But I have difficulties finishing it.

Well, I came up with it this halloween and i was trying to made up a cute story to fit the day, and the title would be "down to '68".

The general plot is, on Halloween night in 1979, at Ritchie's suggestion, 5 Rainbow guys decided to hold a seance. However, an accident happened when a passing ghost heard Ritchie's most urgent wish: bring in a singer with long hair, and misunderstood the meaning… by turning Graham back to 20 years old (the year 1968, when he published only one woman, ritchie heard this song 11 years later and took him into rainbow, so this year is when everything started). So here is a younger version of graham facing 4 curious band members, they shifted the blame from one to another and quarreled and finally decided to let the boy perform with the band (in despair). And just before that moment graham changed back. So no audience know what really happened, and no fans believed their story.

↑

I think it will be pretty interesting if i can write it out. I am NOT confident about that.

[rastronomicals]

2:53 PM EST November 6, 2024:

Curved Air - "Bright Summers Day 68" From the album Second Album (September 1971)

Last song scrobbled from iTunes at Last.fm

[glittergroovy]

Emergency - Paramore

[volfoss]

stumbling onto beautiful obscure music on my raws site... love wins

[citizenhullabaloo]

Smash Pass Trash: Yes, and… by ’68

Disclaimer: Completely subjective opinion! Remember that before you bully me 😦

Pros?

A familiar yet abrasive continuation of the band’s sound from the last 3 records. A story told through titles, with lyrics enhancing the meaning behind the songs. Musically, it’s pretty much same old ’68, with a kick of the cocaine.

Cons?

Personally, at the moment of writing this review (live on twitch by the way), I don’t see any flaws really.

Afterthoughts?

As much as I always rip on a band for sounding the same forever, these guys own it. They say “FUCK YOU” directly to the audience, unlike other bands, and maintain their stance, which makes me respect them a lot! I love seeing the parallel of the Blues-influenced punk/noise music of ’68 versus the Punk-influenced blues/garage music of The White Stripes. ’68 is never void of emotion, and is always raw, to the point, with the best combination of metaphors and deeper details that I believe every band should aspire.

Rating Scale: Smash, Pass, or Trash

Rating: Smash!!!

I heard hints of Failure in “They All Agreed”, in hindsight. Possible tour one day? Hahaha, I love to dream.

Side note: To hear all the verbal musings of this record, check out my twitch where I wrote this review out live! https://www.twitch.com/jammerdead

6 / 5 (Based off my The Music Checklist)