Wilco’s Wisdom in ‘Sky Blue Sky’ Resonates 15 Years After Release
Is there such a thing as middle-aged rock? If so, it would sound like Wilco’s Sky Blue Sky with its measured simplicity and reflective intensity.
Rick Quinn
Rick Quinn is a writer in the Nashville, TN area interested in the interplay between pop culture, religion, and social justice. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Vanderbilt University and is currently managing a burgeoning vinyl habit. He blogs at RickTQuinn and can be found on Twitter @apophatic1.
After Ten Year Hiatus, Lyle Lovett Returns to Form with ’12th of June’
The 12th of June is a welcome return to form for Lyle Lovett after a ten-year absence from recording and compelling testimony that he’s still a master.
Leyla McCalla Explores Haitian Music on ‘Breaking The Thermometer’
With Breaking the Thermometer, Leyla McCalla explores identity, freedom, and joy through Haitian music and culture. It’s a reminder of the album as a statement.
Identity and Transition Haunt Fontaines D.C.’s ‘Skinty Fia’
With Skinty Fia Fontaines D.C. deliver a brooding post-punk sensual feast with a distinctly Irish flavor. Longing, alienation, and malice simmer under the surface.
Jack White Rips the Knobs Off on ‘Fear of the Dawn’
Fear of the Dawn is an intense aural barrage of rock from start to finish and may very well be Jack White’s finest solo output to date.
Suzanne Vega’s Minimalist Masterwork ‘Solitude Standing’ Turns 35
Thirty-five years after its premiere, Suzanne Vega’s literate, minimalist gem Solitude Standing is fresh and worth revisiting. It’s essential work from one of popular music’s most gifted artists.
Pictish Trail’s ‘Island Family’ Immersive Encounter With Place and Time
Born of quarantine isolation, Pictish Trail’s Island Family explores connections to place and time. Its creativity offers a challenging authenticity.
Outside Is America: 35 Years After U2’s ‘The Joshua Tree’
U2’s classic album The Joshua Tree offers insights into the power of art to challenge the stories we tell ourselves 35 years after its initial release.
‘Pop’ at 25: Revisiting U2’s Dark Night of the Soul
U2’s Pop offered a challenge to the short-circuited cultural certainties and held possibilities of cultural critique and reassessment, of a broader landscape.
Queer Country Pioneers Lavender Country Return with ‘Blackberry Rose’
Nearly five decades after their groundbreaking release, queer-country icons, Lavender Country return with the release of Blackberry Rose.
On ‘Gratitude’ Abiodun Oyewole Weaves a Sacred Journey in Verse
A founding member of the influential Last Poets, Abiodun Oyewole gives voice to wisdom on life and sacred quests on his new solo album, Gratitude.