Full disclosure, as usual: I know little about hip hop. But, that being said, the more I learn about hip hop the more I get at least some idea of what matters and what doesn’t. And I feel like I might be able to say that this has to be one of the most consequential …
Category: Music
Top Gun Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1986) by Various Artists
Like everyone else my age, I have seen Top Gun more than a few times. Unlike virtually every other boy my age, I didn’t like it. I think it’s because I recognized it was dumb but more because everything else I knew seemed to love it. And I was already watching old war movies and …
Playing With a Different Sex (1981) by Au Pairs
This is an excellent feminist post punk record that has right been compared to Gang of Four, both for its political lyrics and its danceability.
East Side Story (1981) by Squeeze
Can I admit something to you? I thought “Tempted” was from the ’60s. Of course, if I’d really listened to it, I might have noticed it wasn’t. But I became familiar with it when I was young and before I had an ear that could spot time and genre differences. And I guess I just …
Nightclubbing (1981) by Grace Jones
More than once I’ve begun listening to a Grace Jones record, really not enjoyed myself and then looked to see if it had high enough sales or enough acclaim and stopped listening to it the moment I could justify it. Not this one though: near universal acclaim.
Computer World [Computerwelt] (1981) by Kraftwerk
There’s an argument to be made that Kraftwerk are one of the most influential bands of the 1970s, given how they are more responsible than anyone for the transition from the fairly abstract tone poems of ’70s German electronic to synthpop. That’s an argument I’m extremely receptive to on their pioneering mid and late ’70s …
Turnstiles (1976) by Billy Joel
I have trouble putting into words how much I hate Billy Joel, especially late ’70s Billy Joel. Basically I don’t like anything about his music, though occasionally there will be something redeeming. And I’m getting to that point where I should be inured to him, where the animus should be wearing off. But it’s not.
Just as I Am (1971) by Bill Withers
I am perhaps softening in my old age, because this is a slicker soul record than the kind I like, though only a little bit slicker. Basically I used to not really tolerate soul with strings but apparently I can now. So that’s a weird way to start this.
What’s Going On (1971) by Marvin Gaye
Is it wrong that all I want to do is compare this to There’s a Riot Goin’ On? Gaye beat Stone to the punch and the title of Stone’s album was apparently changed to answer Gaye’s question. So it doesn’t feel that far off. Still, I’ll try to avoid it as much as I can.
Little Wheel Spin and Spin (1966) by Buffy Sainte-Marie
This is my first encounter with Buffy Sainte-Marie’s music – save covers of “Universal Soldier” – though I’ve known of her for longer than I can remember. (Is it possible one of my parents had an LP that never got played?) It seems I should have started with her earlier records, but I honestly missed …
Rock Action (2001) by Mogwai
I don’t know what I would have done if I had found this Mogwai record when it came out or, honestly, any of the early Mogwai album when I first discovered post rock. I probably would have lost my mind with excitement and would be insisting to this day that it is an absolute classic. …
Set This Circus Down (2001) by Tim McGraw
All I really know about Tim McGraw is that he likes to hold his cowboy hat on his head and he’s married to Faith Hill. I assumed he was a singer-songwriter, actually.
All for You (2001) by Janet Jackson
Well this is a horny album.
Crash (1996) by Dave Matthews Band
When I graduated high school in 2000, I barely knew who the Dave Matthews Band was. Sure, I must have seen their videos on TV, but I don’t know that I could have told you anything about them.
To the Faithful Departed (1996) by The Cranberries
I know this is not “the big one” but I was actually surprised how many of the singles from this record which I remembered, dare I say almost fondly. (I guess this means I’m getting old enough to just be happy to hear the music of my teens, even when I didn’t like it at …
Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite (1996)
So full disclosure: I barely remembered Maxwell’s existence when this anniversary came up. I knew the name but I couldn’t even tell you what kind of R&B he was associated with. I now understand that what he’s doing on this record was distinct from the dominant form of R&B at the time but, all these …
Cooleyhighharmony (1991) by Boyz II Men
I began to mature as a music fan in a world where Boyz II Men were ubiquitous. It felt like you couldn’t avoid them because, unlike so many other artists on the music video channels I watched, they were also played in malls, in doctor’s offices, everywhere.
And Now the Legacy Begins (1991) by Dream Warriors
I have no memory of Definition, probably because I was not even 8 when it ended its run. But I certainly felt the reverberations because the moment “My Definition of a Boombastic Jazz Style” came on, I knew it. I’m not sure I had ever connected it and the theme to Austin Powers before, as …
Blue Lines (1991) by Massive Attack
Is this the first ever trip hop album? My limited research suggests that yes, it absolutely is. There may have been some “Bristol sound” singles that presaged this record but nobody seems to have produced an LP. So, whatever you think of this album, and whatever you think of the term “trip hop,” there’s this …
Mama Said (1991) by Lenny Kravitz
I get why people like Lenny Kravitz. I think there was probably a time in my life when I could have quite liked Lenny Kravitz. (And maybe, for a while, I sort of did.) And maybe, had I not become the music history obsessive that I am, I would like him to this day. But …
Victorialand (1986) by Cocteau Twins
Though they’re missing a member, this almost feels like the Cocteau Twins at their purest or most essential.
The Electric Spanking of War Babies (7/10) by Funkadelic
This feels to me a little bit like Funkadelic re-imagined for the ’80s – many of the tropes of ’70s Funkadelic are here in full, but there are signs that musical technology is slowly changing.
Don’t say No (1981) by Billy Squier
I’m pretty sure the first time I heard “The Stroke” was in an arena. I had no idea what it was and I couldn’t figure out why half the audience (at least) seemed to know the song. Too recent to be “classic rock” when I was growing up and too “rock” (I guess) for those …
Street Songs (1981) by Rick James
What I know about Rick James can basically be summed up in two things: “Super Freak” and Chappelle Show. And I really know “U Can’t Touch This” much better than Super Freak. Oh, I know a third thing: he was once in a band with Neil Young. (That’s actually true.) So I had no idea …
Rastaman Vibration (1976) by Bob Marley and the Wailers
Hot take alert: Is this the best Wailers studio album after the departure of Tosh and Bunny? I think it might be.
The Soul Album (1966) by Otis Redding
As the kids say, I’m an Otis stan. (Oh science, I almost wrote “stan” like an old person, with quotes.) So I’m pretty much going to like everything he did.
Musicforthemorningafter (2001) by Pete Yorn
It sure is a good thing I didn’t know anything about Pete Yorn and didn’t read any of the reviews about this album before I started listening to it. Because reading some of the breathless critical acclaim this received would have just about guaranteed that I wouldn’t have liked it. Fortunately, I listened first.
Drops of Jupiter (2001) by Train
I know very little about the mainstream rock music of the aughts. For the first four years, I was sequestered in rural Quebec, with very little exposure to radio and access to music video channels only sporadically (and English-language for only one year). After returning to the world for two years, I then spent the …
Acoustic Soul (2001) by india arie
I knew only one thing about india.arie before I listened to this record, her idiosyncratic stylization of her name. I thought she was older for some reason, and I didn’t know anything else. So this came as a pleasant surprise.
Gorillaz (2001)
I just read a brief review I wrote of Demon Days that I don’t even recognize, not just because I have no memory of that album but because the person who wrote it has changed so much in the interim. I wrote it 10 years ago almost to the day and it’s safe to say …