May 15 2025
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Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Beatles
In 1967, John Lennon was 27 years old, Paul McCartney was 24, George Harrison was 24, and Ringo Starr was 27.
These songs are achingly beautiful. It’s funny to me this album has such a seemingly lurid reputation as a revolutionarily psychedelic piece of art. It was at the time! Looking back this album is quaint in its sonic pallet, but it was the first to do it.
Pretty rad that Ringo gets to launch the record with a timeless classic in With A Little Help From My Friends. Getting Better is in my Top 10 Beatles songs. She’s Leaving Home always makes me want to cry. Within You Without You still blows my mind, I can’t even imagine what it felt like it to hear it in Liverpool in 1967. Good Morning Good Morning seems like the blueprint for They Might Be Giants’ sound. The Reprise is maybe one of the best songs on the album? The intro to the song goes really hard - proto hard rock/metal? A Day In The Life is one of the greatest songs ever made - it should be blared over global loud speaker systems as the world ends. We would all die with dignity.
5
May 16 2025
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James Brown Live At The Apollo
James Brown
JB has the juice!
Highlights: “Think” into “I Don’t Mind.”
Overall incredible arrangement in the background vocals.
Oddly the album feels sluggish at times and the entire run time is only 31 mins.
4
May 17 2025
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Wild Is The Wind
Nina Simone
Devastating.
No one had an instrument like Nina. This is such a powerful album that it’s hard to listen to some of these songs more than once in quick succession. True Art by a True Artist.
Four Women is a seminal song, I cannot believe that she was able to make it and put it on a widely released album at the time (and name the alb after the track). Timeless, ever-relevant. It’s a song that hits like a nuclear bomb.
Break Down And Let It All Out is maybe the best song about freaking the fuck out.
Simone’s vocal range on Wild Is the Wind is absurd.
She was a master poet. Her lyrics are spare but immense.
4
May 18 2025
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MTV Unplugged In New York
Nirvana
Nirvana has never been my band. But I get them and their importance. This performance is a very very cool context to hear their songs reimagined.
The highlight for me is the Bowie cover! I also like that Sinead O’Connor then covered All Apologies like the arrangement on this album.
4
May 21 2025
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Five Leaves Left
Nick Drake
Stunning, beautiful, timeless. Artists are STILL chasing this sound.
So thankful to get to hear this music.
5
May 22 2025
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Kimono My House
Sparks
A very cool record. Strong notes of Yes, Queen and Heart. Rad stuff.
4
May 23 2025
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This Is Hardcore
Pulp
“Dishes” alone gives this album 4/5 stars. Pulp is so fun and good. Jarvis Cocker rules.
4
May 24 2025
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Abbey Road
Beatles
One of the best albums ever made. It’s on my desert island with me. It’s 7 out of 5 stars. And yet…Maxwell’s Silver Hammer is on it: one of the Beatles worst songs. That’s how good this album is. Truly wild. I’m so thankful this album exists.
John didn’t like the medley. That’s why I don’t like John.
5
May 29 2025
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Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space
Spiritualized
A very cool album - crazy energy! Grateful to have gotten to listen!
4
Jun 03 2025
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Illmatic
Nas
Not only one of the best hip hop albums of all time, one of the best albums ever made. 10 tracks, zero filler needed. Fully formed. Incredible. If Nas never made another album again after this he’d still be top 3 GOATs. He was 20 years old when this album released.
5
Jun 04 2025
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There's No Place Like America Today
Curtis Mayfield
Wow! I’ve never listened to a full Curtis Mayfield album before. Really really great. “So In Love” is maybe one of my new favorite songs of all time. I see SO many reasons why Mayfield was influential.
I immediately think of D’Angelo’s Voodoo and Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterly.
“Blue Monday People” also an awesome stand out!
10 tracks no fluff.
4