album-a-week
what an absolute smash. so fucking fun and rad and cool. brought to you by mitch’s introduction of this band to me via this song/video: “will i get cancelled if i write a song called, ‘if you were a man you’d be so cancelled’” which is sensational wow wow wow. new faves.
very cool album, really interesting musicality. rec from a bud, well worth the listen.
good god. these ladies! can’t get enough. they nail it every single time and i’m here for it forever.
gorgeous album. phenomenal group. no need for words from me.
welp, so far, this album is a dream and an honor to listen to. it’s a lot of what i needed in this messy and upsetting and tiring and illuminating time. i wasn’t familiar with this duo before seeing Queen Bey post about them and this album on her insta, but who am i to ignore recommendations from my president? according to pitchfork, these massively talented sisters: “starred in three seasons of the sitcom Grown-ish, snagged two Grammy nominations, opened for JAY-Z and Beyoncé’s joint tour, sang at the Super Bowl—oh, and Halle was cast as Princess Ariel in Disney’s upcoming live-action The Little Mermaid. In whatever free time they had, the Atlanta duo also managed to write, perform, and contribute production for their second album, Ungodly Hour.” I mean, I’m 6 and 8 years older than them, respectively, and i can barely keep up with this blog, let alone be rad and talented triple-threat powerhouses. basically, give it a listen and then play it again. you won’t be disappointed.
I'm 100% sure how we got here but, long story short, basically Abbi Jacobsen (of Broad City and artist fame) did a fundraiser art thing drawing people's portraits on zoom and in her Instagram documentation of it, she took a break and showed her dog and put a song from this album over it and I was like cool fun let's just see about these guys. And it turns out, in true Abbi form, Fly Golden Eagle is a funky psychedelic jam band, a lá an alt-indie version of Phish and you know what I dig it I'm here for it, let's go y'all!
hopped on the bandwagon this week and didnt hate it. i’m not a long-term fiona apple stan so I haven’t the perfect point of reference to OBSESSING over this album, but I did like it. I like a wild and rowdy and seemingly very miscellaneous style. obviously we all already know that pitchfork jizzed in their pants over it and i’m no expert (lol but neither are they. BURN) but it was cool and weird and fun and I dug.
this week, I’m finally getting around to an artist that has been in my peripheral music view for years and years. katie crutchfield, aka waxahatchee. the name has always floated around my various cultural-interest spheres, and once i started following marlee grace on instagram (also seen on insta as @personalpractice) sometime around late-2015, early-2016, waxahatchee began popping up even more because they’re buds.
she’s always here and there in release radars and daiy mixes, but she recently released Saint Cloud in late-march and the time has finally come for me to give her an intentional and fair shake, and i really want to read this article with the knowledge of the songs, not just the knowledge of her friendship with marlee <3
pitchfork rave
throwing it way back this week with an album from 1970, Come To My Garden, by angel-voiced Minnie Riperton (aka mother of Maya Rudolph). but how did i get here? well, it starts with the fact that, when in doubt of what to listen to, i usually turn to Alex Delany’s Spotify, pretty much any playlist he has made is a certified good time. last week he made one called “Stil Here” with the caption (? what word am i looking for here? is that what it is when it’s not for a photo? idk) “Still staying home. Still making playlists. Still vibing. Play it in order. And have yourself a lovely day.”
so last Sunday morning i put this playlist on as i cooked breakfast, and nine songs in is "Les Fleurs” by Minnie Riperton and it was so nice. but then, Mitch and i are like, “how do we know this song? oh, it’s in the last scene of Us!” and it made me feel so nostalgic and inspired, i decided to dedicate this week to an artist i have only a vague knowledge of (again, i really only know her name as “Maya Rudolph’s mom”) and here we are! my sunny spring bike rides are getting a little kick of Minnie!
This week we’re throwing back to an album recommended by Mitch and his Omaha-based roots. I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning from Bright Eyes (Mitch has been blasting Bright Eyes every chance he gets these last few quarantined weeks). Conor Oberst is a longtime fave (in part because I was a teen in the mid-aughts, in part due to living in Omaha for 4 years) and as I first listened to this 2005 album this week, I realized I already knew most of the songs on it (in part because a guy I had a crush on in high school listened to them, in part due to living in Omaha for 4 years). I’ve been listening to it a lot outside, on my daily 30 min bike rides, while weeding/gardening, while walking the dog, and it’s truly making an excellent soundtrack to this strange and surreal moment in our world’s history. It’s sad angst and joyful noise and power and aggression and gentleness and making the best of your situation and drowning and invigoration. I’M HERE FOR IT AND NOW LET’S FUCK IT UP BOYS MAKE SOME NOISE
oy vey. well it’s a wild wacky world out there right now and who knows what’s going to happen in the coming weeks/months (I anticipate I won’t be going back to work anytime very soon…) so I’m keeping busy with projects at home, attempting to make sourdough, long dog walks, gardening, sewing, and art. And I still need a soundtrack for it! So this week, we’re listening to Soccer Mommy’s recent release, color theory. So far, it’s soothing in a grim and honest sort of way, the opening song’s first few notes always remind me of “Not The Doctor” by Alanis, and it’s just the kind of moody and emo dose I needed after last week’s British beach rock surfer vibes.
This week, we’re giving a listen to a suggestion from an old college bud (thx Miles!), a ”two-fer” double album from Marine Girls, Lazy Ways (1982) and Beach Party (1983)! I’ve been excessively modern lately, so I’m stoked for a throwback, I love a surf rock/girl punk moment, and honestly we all need a little so-called fun in the sun in this climate. I knew nothing of this short-lived British band, but they’re cute and very DIY and I dig.
This week, I’m taking on another artist’s very recent release, an artist I haven’t spent too much time with (just songs here or there) but some of who’s lyrics ring with me everytime I hear her name (re:”how does it feel”). I’m very into this album so far, and excited for continued exploration of modern female rappers (modern rap is certainly generally our of my grasp). She’s strong, she’s cool, she’s all you want to hear in the same breath as Tierra Whack and Doja Cat. Here we motherfuckin go <3
Here we are. We have finally made it to this special moment in history when I let go and embraced Harry Styles once and for all. I’ve dipped my toe into the One Direction pond before, I’ve admired Harry’s style (ugh) from afar, I’ve not NOT wanted to, but I simply hadn’t let myself take that leap of faith. Now, I’m living in it, I’m loving it, I’m all in for it. It’s oldies and folky and rock & roll and funky and electric and David Bowie. It’s Harry Styles’ world, we’re just living in it.
This week, we’re tackling the queen of weird and wonderful pop’s new album, Grimes’ Miss Anthropocene. I’ve been a “grimes gal” for many many years, and she really never ceases to disappoint me. Now she’s pregnant with Elon Musk’s baby (a union we all followed to the depths of hell) and releasing even more thrilling and heart-achingly wonderful tunes. I’m here for it and I’m always going to be here for it when it’s from earth angel Claire Boucher <3
This week we continue on with friend recs, but now heading in a less nostalgic direction as I take on my first specifically all-male album, Foxygen’s 2019 album, Seeing Other People (I’ve just really been feeling the ladies in 2020!~). While many loved it and I have enjoyed my first few listen-throughs, others…well, did not receive it so well. That’s neither here nor there (we all have known for the better part of a decade, if not longer, that Pitchfork is absolutely not the end-all-be-all). But it’s fun and funky and kind of the perfect vibe for a week of work bike rides where the weather will actually be consistently nice!
xx
So, we’re playing to the nostalgia-factor this week with another friend suggestion (thx Ellen!) of Aly & AJ, specifically their more recent work. I’m giving their album Ten Years a good listen, as well as some miscellaneous EPs, like Sanctuary. I’m stoked! It’s poppy, is electronic, it’s fun, it’s a no-brainer for a week where I feel like I have no brain #coldseasonneverends. And “Take Me” is a certified bop.
This week I’m starting down the long list of suggestions I got from reaching out to my Instagram circle for music recs! Since two different people named Your Smith, I had to get on the train! (thanks Corinne and Caitlin <3). She just has singles and EPs out so far on Spotify, so I’m jumping back and forth between Bad Habit (2018) and Wild Wild Woman (2019). So far, I’m loving it, her voice, her vibe, Debbie!! Carry on Caroline Smith aka Your Smith, I shall follow.
http://yoursmithforever.com/
This week I’m plucking another one from some best of 2019 lists, one I’ve absolutely never heard of but absolutely dig, Titanic Rising by Weyes Blood. It’s haunting, it’s intriguing, it’s ABBA, it’s mesmerizing, it’s relatable, it’s theatrical, it’s a grand, sentimental ode to living and loving in the shadow of doom.
Already very wrapped up in “Movies” and feeling VERY seen by “Something to Believe” (the first line is “Drank a lot of coffee today” and soon after she sings “got a case of the empties” so…I mean…). Plus, this is the second week in a row where our artist is barely visible, consumed in a sea (here, literally) of the surrounding situation. Gorgeous and enveloped (this album and me, respectively).
xx
I took a week to reflect and revisit all my faves from 2019, but now we’re back baby! And kicking it off with a 90s Grammy award-winning classic from the absurdly talented and tumultuous Fugees, The Score. I knew a few of these songs very well already, “Killing Me Softly With His Song” and “Ready or Not” (recently featured in a Peloton commercial in a possible attempt to make up for their previous misgivings? Thank god for Ryan Reynolds. Anyways…)
But I was surprised by how familiar the rest of it sounded to someone who definitely didn’t listen to it upon its initial release (I was four at the time), and whose primary point of reference for Lauryn Hill is the 1993 cult-classic Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (ignore the whopping 7% on Rotten Tomatoes, this movie is amazing). See her in this gorg scene but especially this pivotal finale number.
Anyways, I had a great time with this album and am excited to get deeper into their history and subsequent careers this year. Read more about the group and this album here.