Jeff Buckley’s ‘Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk’ at 25
Anyone who wants to hear the truest Jeff Buckley—the artist he was on the way to becoming when he died young—should make sure to find ‘My Sweetheart the Drunk’.
Pop Past
That Stank Attitude: Steely Dan’s Final Albums Two Decades Later
The last album by the rock/jazz phenoms Steely Dan was released 20 years ago. This is a look back at why their last two records deserve reconsideration.
Paula Abdul Found Artistic Growth and Maturity with ‘Spellbound’
Paula Abdul confounded her critics with Spellbound, looking to expand pop hooks and catchy melodies with more esoteric sounds to festoon her state-of-the-art dance-pop.
Vampire Weekend’s ‘Modern Vampires of the City’ at 10
Vampire Weekend’s Modern Vampires of the City is very much a studio creation in the 21st-century sense, born from many months of sweat and obsession behind computer screens.
Janet Jackson Came Into Her Own As a Significant Artist on ‘Janet’
Janet Jackson’s Janet, released 30 years ago today, embraces the maturity of her sexuality and political identity, and in the process, she creates beautiful music.
Bob Dylan’s ‘John Wesley Harding’ Was No Friend to the Poor
Bob Dylan’s 1967 album John Wesley Harding is more about what it is not than what it is. Does that hold true for the mythology of John Wesley Hardin himself?
Reconsidering Sonic Youth’s ‘Confusion Is Sex’ at 40 Years Old
Sonic Youth’s Confusion Is Sex is impressively raw and uncompromising, thrilling and terrifying as a walk through the Lower East Side in the early 1980s.
Calexico’s ‘Feast of Wire’: Mestizaje Was on the Menu as They Evolved
Calexico’s 2003 album Feast of Wire hauntingly soundtracks the plight of Central American migrants who arrive at America’s border long before – and well after – the dissolution of Title 42.
Aimee Mann’s Solo Debut ‘Whatever’ at 30
Whatever introduced with authority and assurance the Aimee Mann who, by the end of the 1990s, had taken complete control of the rest of her career.
Carly Simon Became a Pop Rom-Com Queen with ‘Coming Around Again’
Carly Simon adapted to the glossier, smoother sounds of 1980s soft-rock, spinning yarns of upper-class anxiety in Coming Around Again.
The Kinks’ ‘Misfits’: Connecting with Ray Davies’ Powerful Middle Eights
The Kinks’ Ray Davies is a master of creating a rushing, crashing, emotional middle eight in his songs. This songwriting technique creates that personal connection to the fan experience.
Talking Heads’ ‘Speaking in Tongues’ at 40
Speaking in Tongues captures Talking Heads at the zenith of their funk freakout and just before a big gray suit would change everything. It’s an art-pop funk masterpiece.
