Although a sharp, evocative songwriter who regularly delivers new albums stuffed full of beautifully tarnished gems, Chan Marshall gets a lot of mileage out of repurposing other performers’ material. Titled with admirable clarity and directness, Covers is the third instance … Continue reading Medium Rotation — Covers; The Boy Named If; Anaïs Mitchell
227. The Mighty Lemon Drops, Happy Head (1986) In 1985, the Mighty Lemon Drops formed in the West Midlands city of Wolverhampton, playing gigs here and there as the Sherbert Monsters whenever they wanted to work through new material. Around … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #227 to #225
“Angelica,” the new single from Wet Leg, feels very current in a way that sometimes eludes modern music. There’s not a lot of reinvention in the music itself; it’s splendid indie pop with a well-deployed wash of chunky guitar on … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Wet Leg, “Angelica”
For Mitski, everything’s different now. Or rather, everything clearly started to feel different for her at some point during the long post-release promotional and support cycle for her fifth full-length album, the exceptional Be the Cowboy. Somewhere in there, this … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf — Laurel Hell
I once again returned to the radio airwaves at my beloved alma mater last night. Thanks to a substitution call from longtime pal who holds down a regular Sunday slot — not to mention current student leadership’s continued kind accommodation … Continue reading Radio Days — Then and Now: February 27, 2022
230. Concrete Blonde, Concrete Blonde (1986) When bassist Johnette Napolitano and guitarist James Mankey decided to form a band together, in 1982, they chose the name the Dreamers. They played a few gigs around Los Angeles and elbowed their way … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #230 to #228
So I’ll admit that my weekend plans might make me especially partial to song called “Back to the Radio” at this very moment. But it’s no mere convenience of personal association that makes the new single from the Brixton band … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Porridge Radio, “Back to the Radio”
233. Pixies, Surfer Rosa (1988) Not long after the release of their debut EP, Come On Pilgrim, the Pixies got to work on their first full-length. After plans to simply duplicate the process of recording their earlier tracks were scuttled, … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #233 to #231
Hailing from Melbourne, Australia, Romero makes big swaggering power pop. The opening riff of the newly issued track “Turn It On!” surges with a hard rollercoaster turn of guitar-slinging confidence, and then lead singer Alanna Oliver makes her own assertion, … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Romero, “Turn It On!”
236. INXS, The Swing (1984) INXS headed out for a quick North American tour after making initial preparations to record their fourth studio album. It was to be a critical entry in their catalog because it was following the modest … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #236 to #234
Coffee for Two 