368. Ian Hunter, Short Back n’ Sides (1981) Chrysalis Records execs were sure Ian Hunter was on the verge of a major commercial breakthrough. The former Mott the Hoople frontman had been knocking out solo albums with regularity since the … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #368 to #366
I have no interest in any guessing games around the subject — or is that target — of “Mr. Perfectly Fine,” one of the songs Taylor Swift recently dug out of her stash of previously unreleased material. Nor am I … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Taylor Swift, “Mr. Perfectly Fine”
371. The Chameleons U.K., Strange Times (1986) Manchester band the Chameleons were poised for quick success. After earning the enthusiastic support of influential British DJ John Peel, the band was signed to Epic Records, and their 1982 debut single, “In … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #371 to #369
It’s been a long, rough year since Waxahatchee released the exceptional album Saint Cloud. There’s little doubt that Katie Crutchfield, the sole proprietor of Waxahatchee, was counting on the subsequent tour as her true revenue stream. We all know how … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Waxahatchee, “Light of a Clear Blue Morning”
I want to write about Julien Baker’s new album, Little Oblivions, without bringing up the singer-songwriter’s bandmates in boygenius. It’s so hard, though. Just like her cohorts, Baker spun away from that indie dream group with a readiness to expand … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf — Little Oblivions
374. Yaz, Upstairs at Eric’s (1982) Following the breakup of her group the Screamin’ Ab Dabs, Alison Moyet was a singer without a band. She followed a practice common to musical strays at the time by placing an ad in … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #374 to #372
I wonder if it’s even accurate to use the term side project to refer to Bachelor, the new band formed by Ellen Kempner, frontperson of Palehound, and Melina Duterte, who performs under the name Jay Som. Maybe those categorizations no … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Bachelor, “Stay in the Car”
The world shutting down brought out the productivity in Cloud Nothings. The Cleveland band have never been especially slack when it comes to recording new music. In the twelve years they’ve been banging out tuneful noise, they’ve only let more … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf — The Shadow I Remember
377. The Pogues, If I Should Fall from Grace with God (1988) The Pogues had a mess on their hands. Somewhat surprisingly, given their reputation — or, to be clear, the reputation of their lead singer — the mess wasn’t … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #377 to #375
I have only the barest interest in the annual spring ritual of gathering college athlete to dribble their way across a bracket in the name of good fun and shoveling money into the coffers of a mildly exploitative national organization. … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Bloody Your Hands x Self Help, “Santa Monica”
Coffee for Two 