Record #531: Mae – The Everglow (2005)

If Destination: Beautiful had convinced detractors that Mae was overly sentimental and pretentious, then The Everglow certainly wasn’t going to change their minds. I mean, it’s a concept album with an accompanying picture book that opens and closes with a narrator explaining itself, for crying out loud.

But for those of us who had bought-in to their first disc, the follow up was a masterful epic that was a definitive work in every sense.

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Record #530: Mae – Destination: Beautiful (2003)

My sophomore year of high school, I found a great indie/emo band called Sky’s the Limit on Interpunk.com (oh, Interpunk…their website has never been updated, btw). I bought their only release, which was only released on a burned CD-R, and I was spellbound by the intricate guitar work, catchy rhythms, and soaring melodies.

So when I discovered Mae on an old Tooth & Nail compilation, I was attracted to them for many of the same reasons. I bought this album, and was amazed to find a Sky’s the Limit song on itIt was only then that I realized that Dave Elkins was the lead singer and principal songwriter for both of them.

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Record #528: M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming (2011)

If ever there was a post rock crossover pop hit, it’s M83’s Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming. 

This record debuted at number fifteen on the Billboard Top 200. The bouncing single “Midnight City“, complete with a screaming saxophone solo, was ubiquitous. The group appeared on a number of late night talk show performances. Songs were played in commercials and movie trailers.

This is only made more impressive by the fact that it’s a double album by a band that made their name playing synth-driven drone music.

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Record #524: M.I.A. – Arular (2005)

As legend has it, in the early 2000s the daughter of a Sri Lankan freedom-fighter slash visual artist named Mathangi “Maya” Arulpragasam (AKA M.I.A.) was introduced to the iconic Roland MC-505 sequencer and drum machine.

Despite having no musical experience of her own, she immediately saw the 505 as a tool to broadcast political messages to a society obsessed with entertainment. She could use hip-hop and dance music as a megaphone to amplify the struggles of marginalized people around the globe.

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