Not 1st listen! “Oh my god… I get it now” My curiosity about this album/musical led me to seek it out last year, as well as some Bonny Light Horseman music, a group Anaïs Mitchell is part of. It’s a particularly odd case, where I felt it was caught between its various genres and influences at first listen. Too cleanly produced for rootsy folk, too dry & deadpan for the theatrics, plus the only voice I was familiar with was Vernon/Bon Iver, which kept distracting me from the story. But today, somehow, all the threads came together. The added context of financial woes to the Orpheus & Eurydice story goes a long way in making it contemporary, where the rattles of cello and musical saw keep the songs planted in this eerie, Tom Waits-esque world of Hadestown without overwhelming the lyrics and story.

I promised myself I'd give some space between the end of the main list and the start but Ladies and gentlemen... the Weeknd March 27, 2025 (5 years of this album holay) I'm of the opinion that the trilogy, including this, Dawn FM and Hurry Up Tomorrow are solid as fuck- though my favourite is Dawn FM :) The thick, hazy, cinematic synths present in this one provide a template for those other two albums, so this would be the logical choice. What can I say about “Blinding Lights”? That song follows me everywhere I go, up to and including my dreams. I can’t really complain though, because one of my favourite pop songs from lockdown was “Save Your Tears”, which like “Blinding Lights” was co-written with Max Martin/Oscar Holter 🇸🇪 I could nitpick on which Weeknd should be on the 1001, but this one works just fine. Just wish it started and ended in a more concise manner HL: "Hardest to Love", "Scared to Live", “Faith”, "Save Your Tears", “Until I Bleed Out”

March 29, 2025 HL: "Table For Glasses", "Lucky Denver Mint", "Your New Aesthetic", "Ten", "Just Watch the Fireworks", title track They have more songs besides "The Middle"? While listening to this, my brain drew comparisons to post-Britpop like Coldplay, Travis & Doves, but that's more the fault of the 1001 for not really giving heed to the emo subgenre, or my fault for not listening to much emo on my own. Initially I didn't think it had the chops to wow me over 70 minutes, but take out the 2 bonus tracks, and after realizing that "Goodbye Sky Harbor" is just a really long coda, I concluded it's pretty standard length for a CD release. Clarity has a really great 3 song run at the beginning, but doesn't lose too much momentum after that. It does the sugary, strings + glockenspiel stuff as well as the power-chord-chugging tunes. Perhaps credit is due to Trombino, the producer who also worked on the Drive Like Jehu & Rocket From the Crypt from the OG list, for making it all flow so nicely. In sum- lots to enjoy about the more melodic side of emo.

Not 1st listen! “Oh my god… I get it now” My curiosity about this album/musical led me to seek it out last year, as well as some Bonny Light Horseman music, a group Anaïs Mitchell is part of. It’s a particularly odd case, where I felt it was caught between its various genres and influences at first listen. Too cleanly produced for rootsy folk, too dry & deadpan for the theatrics, plus the only voice I was familiar with was Vernon/Bon Iver, which kept distracting me from the story. But today, somehow, all the threads came together. The added context of financial woes to the Orpheus & Eurydice story goes a long way in making it contemporary, where the rattles of cello and musical saw keep the songs planted in this eerie, Tom Waits-esque world of Hadestown without overwhelming the lyrics and story.

March 31st 2025 HL: "Man! I Feel Like a Woman", title track, "From This Moment On", "That Don't Impress Me Much" I feel like I'm not as enthusiastic for this one for reasons beside the music. There's a reason many of these songs still endure after almost thirty years (at least in Canada), but much of the time that I'm listening to this I imagine a darkened community centre, floor sticky from all the spilled booze, where everyone does the boot scoot n' boogie because that's the only socially acceptable dance. Shania opens this album with an all-time banger though, so can't complain about that

Definitely the album I know the least about so far, after commercial smashes from the Weeknd & Shania Twain. Thought of Gang of Four & Young Marble Giants (Colossal Youth) from the name, but so far it’s closer in sound to Arcade Fire and Bleachers. I guess Australian rock hasn’t broken into the Canadian mainstream as much as I thought, though they sure tried in the 80s (INXS, Crowded House) The man can sing- the partly-screamed vocals in “Atlas Drowned” sound like a different person than the baritone of “Achilles” I’m wishy-washy on music that is custom fit for a stadium, but as with Arcade Fire & U2, I find this very enjoyable. The emotional hills and valleys make the almost 80-min run time worth it HL: “Fear and Trembling”, "What Can I Do If the Fire Goes Out?", “Achilles Come Down”, "The Heart is a Muscle", "Le réel", "Say Yes to Life" later on March 31

Another Australian band I am not familiar with! This would be great pairing with a contemporary album: Don’t Throw Stones -> Glass Houses (Billy Joel, 1980) I enjoyed the first few songs the best, though it's pretty consistent throughout. The comparisons to other 70s bands started to enter my mind, uninvited, around side 2. Although based on the quality of the musicianship and lead singer, I prefer it to a few of the prior entries, for instance the Stranglers & Blockheads 3.5 HL: title track, "Thru the Window", "Suspicious Minds", "Tired of Me", "Big Sleep" April 1, 2025

Melbourne yesterday, Indianapolis today with Margot & the Nuclear So and So's! "I wanna gouge out your eyes"- least psychopathic indie band A couple great songs- see below- but a lot more okay ones in my eyes(ears). It helps that I'm already drawn to this sort of semi-acoustic indie rock. If you enjoy this I recommend Harlequin Dream by Boy & Bear (2013). HL: "Pages Written on a Wall", "Broadripple Is Burning", "German Motor Car" April 2, 2025

April 7, 2025 HL: “Rapture”, “Penetration”, “Indian Summer”, “Rehearsal” Today’s AOTD is from David Bazan, of Seattle! I had misgivings about the opener “Options”, thinking I was about to go down a muddy road towards beige, 2000s post-grunge. Then the ironically upbeat “Rapture” immediately shatters that expectation. What could have been a simple morality play about the sin of infidelity is complicated by the dejected final couple of tracks- seeming neither sympathetic nor damning to the “protagonist”. Though it’s not an easy listen, it is a pretty impressive concept album from a time and genre (90s/00s slowcore) I haven’t been particularly interested in. 4* for now

April 8, 2025 I knew a LITTLE Jellyfish before today, just from letting the Algorithm guide me. Spotify gave me “Russian Hill”, and Apple Music has an “Inspired By Queen” playlist that features “Joining a Fan Club”. Both are from this album, so it’s no surprise that I enjoy this. I’ll have to ponder on this further, but it may be genius. *May* If I was in a band and released this 4 years after forming, I’d also maybe think ‘where do you even go from here’

April 9, 2025 HL: "Jasmine", "Str8 Outta Mumbai", "Crush", "100,000" I wish I didn't spoil the lore for myself before listening, because I'm still trying to fill in the gaps of what a finished "Bait Ones" would sound like. Maybe down the road I can fully appreciate it as a standalone, but for now I feel blueballed by this clearly innovative take on electronic pop. Like "Chix" sounds like it's gonna be my favourite song, and then it just ends >:0 3 stars, not because it's merely okay, but because it has so much potential it makes me mad >:0

April 10, 2025 wa wa wee wa