341 - Moby - Play

Moby has long had an awkward relationship with folks in techno. Some saw him as a cheesy pop DJ trying hard to be accepted. Some were rubbed the wrong way by his outspoken Christian views. Others wished he would just pick a genre instead of bouncing from uptempo techno to ambient to punk to downbeat and on and on...

On Play, Moby in mostly anchored within techno, but swings from the blues/jazz-sampled downbeat tracks not far from what Massive Attack had been recording for the previous five years to some smash-and-grab techno in line with Fatboy Slim and Chemical Brothers. Play isn't really about breaking new ground, it is just a great collection of songs created in styles prevalent in the 90's.

Songs I knew I liked: "Honey," "Find My Baby," "Porcelain," "Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?," "South Side," "Bodyrock," and "My Weakness"

Songs I didn't know but now like: This album tends to be background music for me when I play it. While I usually am paying attention in the beginning of the album, much of the second half just fades into the background. Listening last week helped to highlight some of the latter tracks like "Down Slow," "If Things Were Perfect," and "The Sky is Broken."

Songs I can go the rest of my life without hearing again: There are some short instrumental pieces I probably wouldn't miss, but there aren't any tracks I want to actively skip.