As I mentioned earlier, Embryonic was the first Lips record I ever heard. Admittedly, it’s hardly the most conventional place to start with their expansive discography–far removed from Yoshimi’s space folk and The Soft Bulletin’s wide eyed optimism, and even further from the trippy drug punk from the earliest days.
Author: Nathaniel FitzGerald
Record #163: The Faint – Danse Macabre (2001)
If you’re unfamiliar, the Faint makes the sort of gloomy, anti-corporate-America, synth-heavy post-punk revival that you’d expect from labelmates of Conor Oberst (who was a founding member, though he was no longer in the band at the time of this record). Sometimes, it’s exactly what I want.
Record #161: Exitmusic – Passage (2012)
I first heard of Exitmusic from an article that likened them to Beach House. I listened to a track through that lens, and I didn’t like it.
A few weeks later, I gave them another shot. This time, that lens was shattered by the opening title track, which had more in common with Explosions in the Sky’s more frantic moments than anything Beach House has ever done. Continue reading
Record #160: Dirty Projectors – Swing Lo Magellen (2012)
Some people have called the cover photo for this album ironic. And of course it is, right? Indie artpop god David Longstreth teaching some old country dude how to play air guitar? Hilarious!
Although listening to this album, I’m not sure there’s anything ironic about it. Longstreth isn’t mocking the fellow. He’s teaching him. He wants him to get it. He wants us all to get it. And that’s what’s special about this record.
Record #159: Elvis Costello – My Aim is True (1977)
The same year Clapton was putting together a collection of mediocre excuses for guitar solos called Slowhand that (let’s be honest) probably sounded dated upon its release, something else was brewing in London.
That something else was a young man named Elvis Costello who called in sick to his day job to record his debut album, which has become an undisputed classic.
Record #158: Eric Clapton – Slowhand (1977)
As a guitarist, I think it’s a little funny that the cover of this album depicts Eric Clapton, one of the most lauded guitarists of all time, playing a G chord, the first chord everyone learns.
But whatever.
Record #157: Emmylou Harris – Last Date (1982)
I read that this live album was meant to serve as a promotion for the Hot Band, the group Emmylou had brought along to support her. It certainly does that. From the opening track through to the final applause, what you notice first isn’t how much more earnest Harris’s voice sounds after she wears it out a little bit but the rollicking, honky tonking, freewheeling band behind her.
Record #156: Emmylou Harris – Roses in the Snow (1980)
I only bought this record because it has Wayfaring Stranger on it, but its bluegrass leanings mixed with Emmylou’s firm, gentle delivery and her selection of songs (including Simon & Garfunkle’s The Boxer!) make for a fine listen that proves Harris is not just a master of melancholy.
Record #155: Emmylou Harris – Pieces of the Sky (1975)
It’s almost strange hearing Emmylou Harris singing on her own. She’s sung duets with everyone, from Johnny Cash to Bob Dylan to Ryan Adams to Bright Eyes to Jack White to Gram Parsons, who first brought her into the public view.
Record #154: Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band – Night Moves (1976)
If you can’t stand Pink, Katy Perry, Colbie Collette, modern rock, or CCM and want some decent music in my town, there are only two radio stations to turn to in my town: unsurprisingly, they are both classic rock/oldies stations. And as such, one thing is for sure: they play a LOT of Bob Seger. Just how much Bob Seger wasn’t revealed to me until a few months ago when I got Shazam and realized how many of the songs on their rotation were his.