If the world is shutting down around you, might as well try to make some music. The English band Wolf Alice were ensconced in a Brussels studio when COVID-19 made European borders close as decisively as heavy steel doors. They … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf — Blue Weekend
335. Yello, Stella (1985) Yello was down to a duo. Following the 1983 album Gotta Say Yes to Another Excess, founding member Carlos Perón split from the group to pursue a solo career. That left keyboardist and programmer Boris Blank … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #335 to #333
50 Reasons to Love Joni Mitchell’s ‘Blue’ On the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the release of Joni Mitchell’s fourth studio album, The New York Times provides a colossal retrospective with commentary from fellow musicians, some who participated and … Continue reading Outside Reading — Songs Are Like Tattoos edition
Me, too, Colleen. Me, too. Cool, the new album from Colleen Green, is scheduled for release in September. Continue reading This Week’s Model — Colleen Green, “I Wanna Be a Dog”
After a set of years that have been marked by misery — not only the global pandemic, but also the rampant corruption and malfeasance of the interlopers in the White House during the latter portion of the twenty-teens — I … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf — Jubilee
338. The Mission UK, Gods Own Medicine (1987) “I was sat at home one night, up very late, listening to records, and I’ve got Mission speakers,” Wayne Hussey explained when asked about the inspiration behind the name he chose for … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #338 to #336
A sunshiny pop number that’s just so clearly made for summer, “A Bee Without Its Sting” is an advance single from the forthcoming album by The Go! Team. More crucial to its gleaming appeal is the presence of Detroit students … Continue reading This Week’s Model — The Go! Team, “A Bee Without Its Sting”
Sour isn’t an album for me, and I’m fine with that. Scratch that. Try again. I’m great with that. Olivia Rodrigo made her young fame bounding along the Disney treadmill, including a turn as one of the leads in the … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf — Sour
341. Sonic Youth, EVOL (1986) In retrospect, it’s clear that EVOL is the album that marked Sonic Youth starting to grow up. Devotees of the band’s earlier anti-music roughhousing might have been more inclined to call it selling out, to … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #341 to #339
Lucy Dacus has already released a few songs from her forthcoming album, Home Video. They’ve all been strong examples of her impeccable songwriting and expressive performance style. Clearly, though, “Brando” is the one I was waiting for. Drawing on a … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Lucy Dacus, “Brando”
Coffee for Two 