50albumsfor50years

Some days you just need some riot grrrl in your ears. Le Tigre Le Tigre 1999 Lo-fi, political, feminist, uncompromising. Le Tigre, fronted by Kathleen Hanna, formerly of Bikini Kill, are all of these things and more. Happily in your face and not afraid to scream a lyric when it seems called for, Le Tigre are tired of your bullshit and have been since the late 90s. But to dismiss them as just a political act or a one trick pony definitely misses some clever verbal gymnastics and musicality. I freely admit to liking dense music, the proverbial wall of sound. But in Le Tigre, and similar bands, I do admire the ability to cut the fluff and find the minimum that is needed to create a song and make it catchy. Take the third track " What's Yr Take on Cassavetes? " the track starts with a droning guitar riff and an earnest spoken section decrying something hidden between two people and not discussed. Could it be their true feelings for each other? Then just the synth kicks...

I picked this one for me. Feeder Pushing the Senses 2005 At some point in the early 2000s, I had grown bored of downloading music from UseNet (don't come for my illegal download of Vitamin Z , bro!) iTunes was in its infancy and I still didn't have much disposable cash to buy music anyway. The streaming services were also just starting, promising to help you discover new music. I decided to try them out to see if they did serve up stuff I was hitherto unfamiliar with. I don't recall what I used, maybe Rhapsody? But I liked the basic concept of "enter something you like and we'll serve up more stuff you like based on what others who liked what you first liked like." Sadly, I quickly learned that most people like a thing and then want more of that thing, apparently. (Alternatively, I might have learned that algorithms are bad and rarely serve up what someone really wants.) Me, I like a thing and then like a completely different thing but surely there m...

Not sure how I missed this one. This suggestion comes from Professor History Genius , Kevin Kruse (Sorry, Scudder, there can be only one. I don't make the History Professor Highlander rules.) Kruse, who took a break from his usual routine of dismantling the idiotic arguments of professional trolls like Dinesh D'Souza with detailed rundowns of actual history, posted a tweet about music . I am always up for some peak strumming and the 90s is underrepresented so far in this journey of mine. Unrest Perfect Teeth 1993 Again, how did I miss this album, or indeed, this band? Like, if you were designing the perfect album to appeal to Phil, which, I think we have already established, would be economically unwise, you couldn't get much more on point than Perfect Teeth. Lo-fi jangle pop with maximal strumming, slightly off kilter harmonies, released on 4AD records, no song on the album called Perfect Teeth, multiple lead singers, a track of just non-sensical noise? I seriousl...

This album comes from the suggestion of my friend Alex Johnson who tweeted his love for the band. Like so much music from the 70s, this was a band I knew of but knew nothing about and so, on to the list they went. Badfinger Straight Up 1971 Let's do a mini-review on this one first. I dig the album, the music, and the band in general. I was jamming along to the songs as they played and was enjoying it. I especially loved the alternating lead singers. Is there a modern band that does this with any regularity or is this truly an artifact of a bygone age? Send me your counter-factuals. Anyway, it was all good and enjoyable and I was writing the review in my head when track 9 started, Day After Day . Hmmm, I know this song, I thought. It is very familiar. That intro is unmistakable. And then the singing. And then, wait...this is...surely it's not...this can't be...Badfinger? Oh dear readers, I must confess, and I swear as god as my witness, I thought this was a Beatles...

One of the joys of doing this exercise is that I have opened myself up to a lot of musical possibilities I might never have discovered otherwise. My basic philosophy is if someone mentions music I am not familiar with, I check out the year in which it happened and if I have an opening, I snag it (or something else by the same artist in an empty year.) This can be suggestions from friends, twitter follows, or even family. Which leads to this week. My son approached me a few weeks ago and said, "Do you want to hear what I have been listening to lately?" Um, "YES!" And so he played me the music of Skylar Spencer and I said thanks, I now have 2015 covered. Skylar Spence Prom King 2015 Skylar Spence seems to have started his career as an artist named "Saint Pepsi" which one imagines he was forced to abandon after a "cease and desist" letter or two from some megacorp. Rebranding as Skylar Spence he released an album called Prom King. At least I...

I was asked the other day to create a playlist for a wedding celebration for two amazing friends, Karen and Alice. I was both completely flattered and utterly anxious since, despite being friends, I did feel like I might lack the deep knowledge of some of their other friends of their tastes and loves. I did my best to find songs that both expressed love, commitment, and what I believed to be their musical interests. It's a really good playlist with everything from Lauryn Hill to Darlingside to the Muppets. But since Alice was a long time contributor to Discography over at Scudder's blog , I knew I also had to find some specific pieces from there. That lead me to this week's review: Lake Street Dive Free Yourself Up 2018 Some of my fellow discography bloggers over at Scudder's place have chosen tracks from this album to discuss over the years but that is really the only familiarity I have with this band. Still, I did have some idea what I was in for and I was not...