Music Music Music

[Phoebe]

[akiva]

I'm afraid of pimps and whores
I'm afraid of Roger Moore

[poorpete]

(142) Aretha Franklin - Young Gifted and Black

This was everything I hoped an Aretha album would be. It's wonderful. From the love songs, the dance songs, the inspirational spirituals, and inspired covers, it plays like any other artist's greatest hits. Her voice is great (I'm going out on a limb here), her piano playing is fantastic, and her arrangements are ace. Ace i say!

[Phoebe]

Sigh, so true. She is so great.

70. is an album that has both Beethoven 7 and 8, which I've heard before, but I'm sampling different versions.

[akiva]

Random stuff rolling through my brain this morning.

I have no idea where this one came from. And I'm old enough to remember when this came out.



Then, out of nowhere, came this song.

[Phoebe]

Ha!!! Who can say how these things lodge in the head. Well, I'm still churning through Beethoven, on to #71 album of the Ninth Symphony, which was funny because as soon as I finished it, I got in the car to go somewhere and the same was playing on the Classical radio station.

Green Light is still the earworm of the week. The pop stations stopped playing it, unfortunately, but it's still on the college type radio station. I need to commandeer the portable CD player/radio for my car. My husband bought very fancy speakers you wifi up to your cell phone or whatever, for the kitchen, so two points to him for that, but then he failed to instruct me in how to USE the speakers or where the instruction booklet lives, so two points taken away for that, as I have fancy speakers I know not how to use, and it requires knowledge to make go. Booo.

[poorpete]

(147) Rhiannon Giddens - Tomorrow is My Turn

Solid covers album collaboration with T Bone Burnett. I have yet to hear a version of "She's Got You" that was not transcendent.

[poorpete]

(146) Alicia Keys - Songs in A Minor

Wonderful title, good album.
Visited the Genius article of my favorite song and felt compelled to write an annotation that I felt was woefully missing.

https://genius.com/11911470

[Phoebe]

Great addition to the info - perhaps someone looking up lyrics might be inspired to dig further into literature!

Well, my husband finally taught me how to use the new speakers, and we've been annoying the whole neighborhood ever since! The maiden voyage/test (passed) was
72. Chemical Brothers - Surrender. There's one track I dislike because it repeats the same six-note motif ad nauseum, but otherwise a perfect album, perfect for breaking in your speakers.

73. Aretha Franklin - Spirit in the Dark - 1970
More perfection; maybe you'd call this more "soul" than some of her earlier work? Anyway, a must-hear, beautiful, soothing but exciting music.

74. Valerie June - Pushing against a Stone - 2013
Genre-defying beautifully crafted music, but I did ask myself, was she on Austin City Limits? And the answer was yes, so that gives you at least a ballpark. Mix of country, soul, blues, rock, folk or maybe even bluegrass? Whether one likes it probably depends enormously on whether you like her voice, which is unusual and may be an acquired taste, and whether you need songs to have a tight structure that goes somewhere (these often meander around). It's kind of like Emmylou Harris meets Andrew Bird meets Eartha Kitt, doing bluesy numbers.

75. Aaliyah - One in a Million
Pleasant album but no real standout earworms. Good for early morning or late night.

Now on to Young, Gifted, and Black!

[akiva]

[poorpete]

I hope to hit another Miles or two before this challenge is through.
Amazon is lacking in Chemical Bros. albums, but I've listened previously to Surrender, great songs, great cover, and Let Forever Be is one of the greatest music videos ever.


Alessia Cara - Know it All

Still got one more listen but here are my thoughts after two listens: Sure she's playing from the Lorde playbook, but would rather a person inspiring to be Lorde than any other pop star out there. I really enjoy the lyrics here. A better distillation of how much of a bummer going to high-school/college parties were I have yet to hear.

[akiva]

It doesn't stop
It just wears down

[Phoebe]

Drake's Passionfruit is my song. Yet the radio seldom plays it. Sigh! And when it does, my kids, all being possessed of good taste, reject it as horrid. Makes sense and yet, I love this song so much. Drake is so mellow. Seriously, did I say enough times how much I love this song?

[poorpete]

Earl Sweatshirt - I Don't Like Shit, I Don't Go Outside

Well this album really wants you to work at liking it. First, the music is very sludgy. Reminds me of the Chipmucks on 16 Speed.
Then there's the dense lyrics, which I'd love to analyze if the music would let me. I'm on the 5th listen on some of these, and I still don't have a track to recommend. Anyways...

[Phoebe]

Too soon! Can't. However, I have a question. The "hands clap" pop song? Why is making hands clap a desirable thing? They were so close to something good there, but hands clap? No, if I wanted to do something to impress my audience, that wouldn't be the thing.

[Phoebe]

More questions: why do these people, the "chainsmokers", exist? Why do people like this? A person wants her Drake, you know? And has to fight through a lot of really unfortunate chain-smoking bullshit to get there. I really need a separate car music thingy.

[Phoebe]

[akiva]

The chorus of this song has been running through my head for days.

[Phoebe]

My finger accidentally hit the lol button while scrolling and in a sad, ironic way I guess that works. Say goodbye to the land, because people here aren't going to do shit to stop the inevitable.

[poorpete]

Been sick. You'd think staying home would allow me to rock through a bunch of albums, but not quite with headaches and plugged ears and such.