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Wed Jan 13 2021
Home Is Where The Music Is
Hugh Masekela
Alternates between: Funky, violent, groovy, mournful, cinematic, and bluesy. Like late-era Coltrane + Funk with 70’s instrumentation.
4
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Thu Jan 14 2021
Veckatimest
Grizzly Bear
Busy, ornate, and well-produced. Ear-candy indie stuff. Personally, somewhat bloodless and empty in my opinion...it just doesn't stick with me.
3
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Fri Jan 15 2021
Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
Pure energy and vitriol unchanged by time.
5
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Sun Jan 17 2021
Solid Air
John Martyn
Wide-ranging and really interesting listen throughout. Reminiscent of Nick Drake, but more ambitious and harder hitting.
4
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Mon Jan 18 2021
Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)
The Kinks
Ambitious for any year, and it's frankly embarrassing I've never heard of it until now.
4
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Tue Jan 19 2021
Songs For Swingin' Lovers!
Frank Sinatra
Peak Sinatra and as smooth as silk from start to finish. It's easy to see how this music and Frank himself became something of a lifestyle brand for a few decades--idealized romance and class.
5
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Wed Jan 20 2021
Africa Brasil
Jorge Ben Jor
Fun music with great melodies and groove to spare.
4
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Thu Jan 21 2021
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Elton John
Epic and indulgent, ya know--Elton.
4
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Fri Jan 22 2021
Tuesday Night Music Club
Sheryl Crow
I'll admit it--I snoozed on this album the day this system presented it to me. Listening now, a day later, and I have to say it's great. Classic singer-songwriter music, but with surprisingly wide-ranging influences and overall a really fun listen.
4
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Sat Jan 23 2021
Dry
PJ Harvey
Angular, raucous, righteous, feminist, and fully-formed straight out of the gate. A great first listen, and one of many to come I think.
5
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Mon Jan 25 2021
Liege And Lief
Fairport Convention
4
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Tue Jan 26 2021
Parklife
Blur
Weird and wonderful. Very Beatles-esce .
4
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Wed Jan 27 2021
Roger the Engineer
The Yardbirds
Bluesy psych that mostly reminds me of “Rubber Soul”.
3
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Sat Jan 30 2021
Rattlesnakes
Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
4
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Sun Jan 31 2021
When I Was Born For The 7th Time
Cornershop
I've tried getting into this album a couple of times, and I've come to the conclusion that, for me, this is a more interesting album anthropologically than musically--or at least it is (as an America) out of the context of where and when it was made, and by whom.
3
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Mon Feb 01 2021
First Band On The Moon
The Cardigans
4
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Wed Feb 03 2021
Rain Dogs
Tom Waits
Deep and wide and scary and charming.
5
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Fri Feb 05 2021
Closer
Joy Division
5
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Sat Feb 06 2021
Arrival
ABBA
Not a great album in terms of structure or when taken as a single work, but a really good collection of songs.
3
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Tue Feb 09 2021
Jagged Little Pill
Alanis Morissette
3
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Wed Feb 10 2021
OK Computer
Radiohead
Greatest of all time, if music was a contest. Prescient and sharp almost 30 years later.
5
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Thu Feb 11 2021
The Pleasure Principle
Gary Numan
Obviously influential, but feels cheap and plastic compared to some of its progenitors.
3
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Fri Feb 12 2021
I Against I
Bad Brains
Like living in a kick drum. Pure energy.
4
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Sat Feb 13 2021
Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul
Otis Redding
Pure skill: Otis, the backing band, the Stax production--all of it.
4
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Wed Feb 17 2021
Buffalo Springfield Again
Buffalo Springfield
Buffalo Springfield rips--I don't know why I've slept on them for so long. Maybe because everything the members went on to do--besides Young--tends to be pretty "sleepy"? CSN/CSNY is technically excellent, to be sure, but I'm not often in the mood for that "Saturday morning with a cup of coffee" sort of music. This album is great though! The closing track "Broken Arrow" doesn't quite hit for me, but it's ambitious in a Beatles-esqe way I find charming. Like an America "A Day In The Life". Less Albert Hall, more Nashville Skyline.
4
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Sat Feb 20 2021
The Dark Side Of The Moon
Pink Floyd
What can you say about this album? Obviously influential, but not in its actual form except for a few exceptions in the mainstream. The most selling psych-rock album probably ever, but something of a dead-end in American music despite decades of enthusiasm about it.
4
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Sun Feb 21 2021
At Folsom Prison
Johnny Cash
One of the few live albums I've heard where the audience is just as much a part of the performance. The songs are great, Johnny's performance is charmingly flawed, but it's all about the atmosphere created by the little details: the inmate's reactions, Johnny's asides, and the warden's announcements.
5
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Mon Feb 22 2021
Stankonia
OutKast
Funky fresh, ya'll.
4
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Tue Feb 23 2021
Kind Of Blue
Miles Davis
Instant atmosphere.
5
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Fri Feb 26 2021
Heartattack And Vine
Tom Waits
Maybe the most "album" Tom Waits album I've listened to so far, and there's some really great tunes on here too.
4
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Mon Mar 01 2021
Songs From The Big Chair
Tears For Fears
Great songs, great production.
4
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Tue Mar 02 2021
Forever Changes
Love
Hippy disillusion in a folky stew.
4
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Wed Mar 03 2021
The Last Broadcast
Doves
I need to listen a couple more times to review the lyrics, etc... but it definitely sounds like something I would have been into in 2002. Still nice now, though!
4
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Thu Mar 04 2021
Beyond Skin
Nitin Sawhney
Wow. I was really blown away by this one. A diverse album from an artist with seemingly endless talents. The apocalyptic "beyond skin" themes add a lot of gravity.
5
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Fri Mar 05 2021
World Clique
Deee-Lite
Bubbly, funky, joyous--instantly mood-altering stuff.
4
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Sat Mar 06 2021
Straight Outta Compton
N.W.A.
Gangster rap gone mainstream, and much of it still lands despite being something of a bridge between heritage acts of the late 70’s and Biggie, Tupac, etc... of the 90’s. I could do without the misogyny.
4
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Sun Mar 07 2021
I Should Coco
Supergrass
Bright and energetic britpop with a lot of songwriting chops on display.
4
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Mon Mar 08 2021
Mama's Gun
Erykah Badu
Execution, vision, and funk--what's not to love?
5
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Tue Mar 09 2021
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Kanye West
In hindsight, probably Kanye's peak despite how good Yeezus and Life of Pablo were in parts.
5
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Wed Mar 10 2021
The Low End Theory
A Tribe Called Quest
Rhythm and jazz and hip-hop with such distinct world-view and atmosphere--really, really, really good.
5
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Thu Mar 11 2021
Here, My Dear
Marvin Gaye
Brutally honest lyrics and packaging that leaves little confusion about *exactly* what this album is about. I have no doubt repeated listens would draw out more details, but a double-album worth of mid-tempo R&B started to overstay its welcome for me.
3
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Fri Mar 12 2021
Nebraska
Bruce Springsteen
Springsteen would be a legend just for this album, I swear. Can't-miss songwriting with its soul in the blues.
5
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Sun Mar 14 2021
Low-Life
New Order
80's synth pop with an undercurrent of darkness and academic post-punk--ya know, New Order's whole thing.
4
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Mon Mar 15 2021
GI
Germs
In 1979?!? Nonstop action like a grindhouse film of music.
4
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Tue Mar 16 2021
Bandwagonesque
Teenage Fanclub
Big Star, but not. Excellent musicianship, good tunes, and immediately catchy at first listen. Power pop at its best.
4
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Wed Mar 17 2021
New Forms
Roni Size
I love electronic music in general, and Aphex Twin, Squarpusher, and Autechre in particular. That said, I found this album to be boring.
2
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Fri Mar 19 2021
American Beauty
Grateful Dead
Pleasant, pleasant, pleasant.
4
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Mon Mar 22 2021
Darkness on the Edge of Town
Bruce Springsteen
Excellent tunes as always, and some of his best as well. "Adam Raised a Cain" still kicks.
4
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Wed Mar 24 2021
Born To Run
Bruce Springsteen
More expansive and cinematic than I was expecting, and I'm pretty familiar with the singles off this album. The saxophone is arguably the lead instrument here, and there are some jazzy moments where it and the keyboardist can really shine. Bruce's lyrics are excellent and invoke a "working class" urgency: inspirational-via-the-gallows, a bleak sort of joy.
5
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Thu Mar 25 2021
Make Yourself
Incubus
Definitely emblematic of where rock music was in '99, but maybe not what I'd pick from that era in such a tight list. More specifically, why "Make Yourself" and not "Hybrid Theory"? Similar nu-metal and hip-hop influences, but the latter is probably more indicative of music to come and overall more influential.
3
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Mon Mar 29 2021
Nowhere
Ride
Like MBV and The Stone Roses had a baby. Really great, though.
4
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Tue Mar 30 2021
Behaviour
Pet Shop Boys
The most I've ever liked the Pet Shop Boys, truthfully.
3
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Wed Mar 31 2021
Cafe Bleu
The Style Council
Cool as a cucumber, but maybe a bit bloodless for soul.
3
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Fri Apr 02 2021
Remedy
Basement Jaxx
Great stuff for any year, let alone '99. The last three tracks in particular look forward to some of the more aggressive EDM to come.
4
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Tue Apr 06 2021
Grace
Jeff Buckley
Unbelievably skill underscored by the tragic end of the artist that's hard to ignore when listening to it. I wish he lived longer because he really could have had his own niche--soulful but raw, virtuosic but not academic, pretty but not vapid.
5
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Wed Apr 07 2021
Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs
Derek & The Dominos
Ok sure. Not my cup of tea, but the guitar work is great (of course). The eponymous "Layla" is really the only thing that jumped out at me.
3
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Thu Apr 08 2021
Dig Me Out
Sleater-Kinney
Raw power.
4
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Sat Apr 10 2021
Searching For The Young Soul Rebels
Dexys Midnight Runners
Wow, I totally underestimated this band. It's exactly what it is, and it's not like much else. Like a sophiti-pop album made by a folker with an unorthodox croon.
3
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Wed Apr 14 2021
One World
John Martyn
Really interesting, as ever for John. Worth the price of admission for the final track "Small Hours" alone.
4
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Sat Apr 17 2021
Exile In Guyville
Liz Phair
Swagger and confidence.
4
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Sun Apr 18 2021
The Stooges
The Stooges
"I Wanna Be Your Dog" and most of side B are great, but it's an uneven listen with some misses.
3
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Mon Apr 19 2021
Pink Moon
Nick Drake
Beautiful music we all get to hear, seemingly made whether anyone was listening or not--and that's an uncommon thing. A late-career masterpiece with the intuitive confidence of a stellar debut. It's just a pity he didn't stick around to see how much everybody loved it.
5
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Tue Apr 20 2021
Sound of Silver
LCD Soundsystem
Sharp and funky and emotional and cool all at the same time.
5
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Wed Apr 21 2021
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme
Simon & Garfunkel
Pastoral and academic, but not inaccessible.
4
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Sat Apr 24 2021
Let's Get Killed
David Holmes
The interviews sprinkled into the mix add a sense of time and place. The music itself can be a bit forgettable at times, though.
3
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Sun Apr 25 2021
Playing With Fire
Spacemen 3
Noise and madness with beauty mixed in.
4
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Tue Apr 27 2021
Fear Of Music
Talking Heads
Art punk made with professionalism but balanced with campy subject matters and surrealist lyrics. Too dumb to take it seriously, but that's how you get to make weird/great stuff.
4
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Wed Apr 28 2021
My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts
Brian Eno
About what you'd expect when these two get together, but that's not a bad thing. Firmly avant-garde.
4
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Sat May 08 2021
Rattus Norvegicus
The Stranglers
Goth rock "back in the day". That organ, though.
3
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Tue May 11 2021
The Coral
The Coral
Throw-back, but still fresh.
3
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Sat May 29 2021
Live At The Harlem Square Club
Sam Cooke
One of those live albums where not only is the "room" present, but a huge part of the captured experience. Great performance, and infectious to listen to.
4
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Wed Jun 02 2021
Murmur
R.E.M.
Jingle jangle city, but it all goes down smooth.
4
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Thu Jun 03 2021
Entertainment
Gang Of Four
Excellent, and it's amazing just how fresh it still sounds 52 years later. Then again, I'm a big fan of Squid and Shame who've raised the banner for this kind of music in the past year. Love it. Highly recommended.
5
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Fri Jun 04 2021
Oar
Alexander 'Skip' Spence
Very interesting listen and one of my new favorites from this list so far. The sound of an accomplished songwriter...losing his mind.
4
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Sat Jun 05 2021
Drunk
Thundercat
Genre-agnostic music that can pull off soft-rock and progressive funk, often at the same time.
4
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Tue Jun 08 2021
Country Life
Roxy Music
Virtuosic performances and good songs that stuck with me after just one listen--what's not to like? Maybe Brian's voice, but I like it.
4
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Thu Jun 10 2021
Dog Man Star
Suede
Melodramatic and very ambitious.
4
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Tue Jun 29 2021
In A Silent Way
Miles Davis
A hypnotic album that sits at the end of one era and the beginning of the next, while remaining its own thing.
5
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Sat Jul 03 2021
At Mister Kelly's
Sarah Vaughan
Lovely, lively listen.
3
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Wed Mar 30 2022
90
808 State
Nice polyrythms, and a good listening experience overall. Aged well!
Highlight: Pacific 202.
3
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Fri Apr 01 2022
Heaven Or Las Vegas
Cocteau Twins
Highly atmospheric. Reminds me of a combination of MBV and The Cranberries, in a very good way.
4