My Year with Spotify: 2022

With today being the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, I thought it would be fitting to list some albums that I feel are a homage to this season.  These albums remind me of spring mostly because it was when I first listened to them and/or they naturally have a warm and sunny feel to them. FIRST PICK: Baaba Maal - Missing You (Mi Yeewnii) (2001) This album evokes three main attributes that I consider to be spring-like: it's sunny, it's happy, and it's carefree: like taking a walk in the afternoon and looking up at the blue sky. Culturally, it's off the beaten path for me too and it's refreshing to hear a different language amidst my collection of typically English sung albums.  Baaba Maal is Senegalese and sings in Fulani, the language of his people. I haven't dug deeper than that so far, but it's an album that makes me happy and appreciative of the simple things in life.  SECOND PICK: The Beatles -  Revolver (1966) For the sake of continu...

  I hadn't planned to have a Beatles post quite yet this year, but when I saw the new release announcement for  Get Back (Rooftop Performance,)  I couldn't help myself. This recording is from their live January 30, 1969 performance atop their Apple Corps headquarters in London.  It commemorates the 53rd anniversary of this event.  There's also an accompanying theatrical debut exclusively  in IMAX that I hope to see in the ensuing weeks. As a huge Beatles fan for nearly thirty years, I was excited at seeing the news of a new release.  I promptly stopped what I was listening to Friday, and switched over for a listen.  This is my review of  Get Back (Rooftop Performance). First things first: I am not  a fan of live albums for the most part.  The album scale for me tips heavily in favor of studio albums over live albums.  However, there are some exceptions which I hope to write about in the near future. Secondly, if...

This week I wanted a new musical obsession and listened to  Lux Prima on continuous repeat.  I listened to it about a year ago on a recommendation from an online music site.  I lost count this week after the 13th or 14th listen and I haven't regretted it once.  I listened to it so much that I was already hearing the next track in my mind while the previous track was fading out.    Lux Prima is the 2019  collaborative effort  from former  Yeah Yeah Yeahs lead singer Karen O (Karen Lee Orzolek) and producer Danger Mouse (Brian Joseph Burton). Observed I nfluences After several full listens, I started to notice a few (possible) influences emerge.  It would be interesting to know if these were some of their influences but the two   immediate ones I can hear offhand appear to be old school Motown and The Moody Blues. The bold, driving stomp of drums/tambourine on "Woman" drives the song through all 2:54 of the track ...

At the time of this writing, we are currently under a Wind Chill Advisory with wind chills as low as 35 below zero.  As much as I like the occasional brisk walk from time to time, this is a different story altogether.  SPOILER ALERT: I haven't been outside to walk this week yet. The upside of this sub-zero weather drives me to "match" or "pair" it with a song or album that might "fit" the season to help cope in a small way with the inevitable onset of winter blues. Thankfully, there are a number of albums that I've come across that distinctly remind me of winter in general or have a specific winter memory tied to it.  The following are a few of my own picks.   DISCLAIMER: most if not all of these entries are strictly subjective: FIRST PICK: Sigur Rós - Ágætis byrjun ( roughly translates to Good Start) ( 1999)   The Icelandic   quintet released  Ágætis byrjun in 1999.  As an album, the overall sound plays out as both a dreary landscape upon a...

Bing Crosby's Merry Christmas album was the very first CD I ever bought.  I was thirteen years old.  I plunked down most of my hard saved allowance and hurried home with my purchase.  Once in the privacy of my upstairs bedroom, I carefully ripped into the clear cellophane packaging and gently removed the disc from its plastic nesting.  I checked the play surface for scratches and placed it back in the case...because I didn't even own a CD player yet! Yep.  A classic case of cart before horse.  It wasn’t until after my birthday in late January that I was able to get a base model CD player after scraping together half of the funds and haggling with my ever frugal parents for the other part. I was still trying to attach the boxy speakers when I heard the first strains of Silent Night  intoned with Bing’s rich baritone.  This time it was in digital form. I grew up listening to this album on vinyl from as early as two or three years of age.  But ...

An idea for documenting a 12-month music subscription to Spotify first lodged itself in my mind earlier this year.  'Prolly' during a late night/early morning bottle feeding with one of our twins when my body was half asleep and my mind was fully awake.  Since that moment, I've had plenty of time to mull it over on how and why I wanted to do this. I'm certain this isn't a new idea but it's an idea I've wanted to expound on these last several months.  I hope this forthcoming written documentary will spark some great conversations and hopefully introduce us to some music we've never heard of before. Perhaps you'll discover a new (or old) favorite album or musician.  My hope is that it is interesting enough for you to keep coming back for more content. I have a few ideas now and more for later.  If you have a suggestion for a post here, leave it in the comment section and I will take it into consideration. More updates to follow leading up to my year wi...