497. Rain Parade, Explosions in the Glass Palace (1984) Following their well-regarded debut album, Emergency Third Rail Power Trip, Rain Parade began to splinter. Most notably, band cofounder David Roback formally departed, evidently weary of jostling with the group’s other … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #497 to #495
It’s probably unnecessarily reductive and comparative to note that “Sweeter” represents a sign that Leon Bridges is about to move into the What’s Going On phase of his career. But that’s what I finding myself thinking as I listen to … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Leon Bridges, “Sweeter”
500. INXS, Shabooh Shoobah (1982) The members of INXS knew they were on the verge of a breakthrough when preparing to record their third album, Shabooh Shoobah. After a couple reasonably successful album releases in their homeland of Australia, the … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #500 to #498
Of all the enduring figures of college rock’s heyday in the nineteen-eighties and early nineteen-nineties, no one mines their own history more effectively than Bob Mould. Across his last several albums, Mould has drawn upon most of the sounds that … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Bob Mould, “American Crisis”
This series of posts covers my long, beloved history interacting with the medium of radio, including the music that flowed through the airwaves. Last night, I commemorated a momentous birthday, crossing over to one of those ages that can leave … Continue reading Radio Days — Then and Now: May 31, 2020
504. Icehouse, Icehouse (1981) The band Icehouse introduced themselves to the world with the song “Icehouse” off of the album Icehouse. The heavily self-referential methodology wasn’t intention or even in place at first. Hailing from Australia, the band started in … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #504 to #501
In deeply unsettled days such as these, there might be no better and timelier message than the proclamation of endurance found in “I Will Try,” the new track from Painted Zeros. The chief creative outlet of singer-songwriter Katie Lau, Painted … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Painted Zeros, “I Will Try”
These posts are about the songs that just barely failed to cross the key line of chart success, entering the Billboard Top 40. Every song featured in this series peaked at number 41. An inarguable legend of country music, Merle Haggard had only one Top 40 single during his career. He was dominant of the country charts, delivering thirty-six #1 songs (and two more collaborations with others that reached the pinnacle), including a stretch from 1971 to 1976 when practically every single landed at the top. Across sixteen singles, he the forlorn ballad “The Emptiest Arms in the World” stalled … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Near Misses — “Okie from Muskogee”
508. Ramones, Halfway to Sanity (1987) The photo shoot that provided the cover art for Halfway to Sanity provides a pretty solid temperature check of how the Ramones were feeling about being the Ramones at the point of their tenth … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #508 to #505
For our household, it started at the Hideout. Looking for concert stops to make on a road trip a couple years back, we went to a little club in Chicago and bought our tickets for a performer we’d never heard … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Shilpa Ray, “Manic Pixie Dream Cunt”
Coffee for Two 