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. Cameron Crowe was trying to crack a … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Near Misses — “In Your Eyes”
137. The Smiths, Louder Than Bombs (1987) Because of the uncertain approach Sire Records took to releasing music from the Smiths in U.S., there was a lot of material that hadn’t been pressed on LP, Yanks’ preferred format for record … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #137 to #135
If music artists have narratives that span their entire careers, Samia is sketching in her next page appropriately with her new single “Kill Her Freak Out.” According to her, the sedate, withdrawn, Bridgers-esque expressions of anger and despair embedded in … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Samia, “Kill Her Freak Out”
There are many building blocks of the internet, but the cornerstones are think pieces, offhand lists, and other hollow provocations meant to stir arguments and, therefore, briefly redirect web traffic. Engaging such material is utterly pointless. Then again, it’s not like I … Continue reading Bait Taken — Bait Taken: Pitchfork’s 250 Best Songs of the 1990s
140. Nick Lowe, Nick the Knife (1982) On the official ledger, Nick the Knife is Nick Lowe’s third solo album. Considered in a more nuanced way, it’s his first outing on his own. The album’s two predecessors on Lowe’s solo … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #140 to #138
The new single from Meat Wave is exactly what I want, and indeed expect, rock music from Chicago to sound like. “10k” moves with a steady intensity and an obvious, inherent power, like an el train coming at full speed. … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Meat Wave, “10k”
Part of my process in becoming a proper part of my college radio station was learning the musicians who made stealthier contributions to the records that stirred the most awe for their resolute coolness. My previous music knowledge, shaped by … Continue reading Radio Days — Anton Fier
This series of posts covers my long, beloved history interacting with the medium of radio, including the music that flowed through the airwaves. At least in my era, I think the college kids who stewarded the airwaves at their campus … Continue reading Radio Days — Priority Emphasis
143. The Jam, Sound Affects (1980) As was becoming the norm, Paul Weller was not quite ready to go when he arrived at the studio to record the Jam’s fifth album, Sound Affects. Spurred in part by record company and … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #143 to #141
Not to get all Mr. Holland’s Opus today, but one of the enormous privileges that comes from working in higher education for many years (in my case, about a decade and a half) is watching the exemplary human beings you … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Ariel Bui, “Sixteen”
Coffee for Two 