CARLY RAE JEPSEN The Loneliest Time (604 / Schoolboy / Interscope) — It’s well established by now that the Carly Rae Jepsen pop music factory is about as dependable as they come, every new widget of hooks and beats heaved … Continue reading Medium Rotation — The Loneliest Time; Love Me Forever
These posts are about the songs that fell just short of crossing the key line of chart success, entering the Billboard Top 40. Every song featured in this series peaked at number 41. In late 1964, Steve Cropper was driving … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Near Misses — “Mr. Pitiful” and “I’ve Got Dreams to Remember”
107. Big Audio Dynamite, Tighten Up Vol. 88 (1988) Mick Jones believed Tighten Up Vol. 88 was an album made to vault Big Audio Dynamite to next level of commercial popularity. The band’s first two albums, This Is Big Audio … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #107 to #105
Whatever else can be said about Phoebe Bridgers, she’s pretty damned impressive as a collaborator. In the shooting-star ascendancy of her past few years, it seems Bridgers has eagerly responded in the affirmative to just about every cool opportunity that … Continue reading This Week’s Model — SZA, “Ghost in the Machine (ft. Phoebe Bridgers)”
PLAINS I Walked With You a Ways (Anti-) — I Walked With You a Ways is the sound of kinship. Katie Crutchfield, the heart, soul, and everything else of Waxahatchee, and Jess Williamson bonded over the soulful country music that … Continue reading Medium Rotation — I Walked With You a Ways; Shufflemania!
110. The Alarm, Declaration (1984) “Everything has happened so quickly, and we have hardly had time to think about it,” said Eddie Macdonald, bassist and guitarist for the Alarm, a few weeks before the band’s debut full-length was released. “But … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #110 to #108
“in|FLUX,” the new single from Anna B Savage, begins delicately. The first minute or so is spare and elegant, like Fiona Apple when she’s trying to lure the listener into a false sense of safety. Then the burbling electronic beat … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Anna B Savage, “in|FLUX”
ALVVAYS Blue Rev (Polyvinyl/ Transgressive) — Rev is a reasonable potent alcopop that’s been a staple of questionable choices for Canadian youth since the turn of the millennium. The beverage is offered in a range of colors, including blue, presumably … Continue reading Medium Rotation — Blue Rev; Desperately Imagining Someplace Quiet
113. Siouxsie & the Banshees, Tinderbox (1986) Siouxsie & the Banshees had grand ambitions with their seventh studio album, Tinderbox. The group’s first LP following Robert Smith’s departure to concentrate on the Cure full time, Tinderbox was originally conceived to … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #113 to #111
I’m glad the track starts with the drums. Although I remain among the truest of the true believers in Sleater-Kinney, I don’t dispute that the absence of drummer Janet Weiss has been keenly felt ever since she stepped away from … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Quasi, “Doomscrollers”
Coffee for Two 