Massive Attack’s sold-out show in Sydney in August was my first time seeing them — long overdue, as I’ve been a fan for over 30 years. As if I were being rewarded for waiting all that time, it was absolutely stunning, unlike anything I’ve seen before. Twenty-thousand of us at the unfortunately named Afterpay Arena … Continue reading Massive Attack’s unparalleled live fusion of music, cinema, and politics
I don’t mind admitting I’m writing this through tears. My first thought when I saw the news of Dolly Parton’s passing last week is that 80 is too young. She was only four years older than my mom when she passed last year, and that was way too young. I’m sure her family is feeling … Continue reading Blessed are the poor: Dolly Parton’s life of solidarity and giving
This is a list of my favorite albums of 2025! It’s my fifth-annual end-of-year list and if you’re a regular reader, you know they’re always late! So let’s get right into it without a long intro! Several of my new and old favorite artists dropped new albums in 2025, including three who’ve been the subjects … Continue reading An as-always untimely list of the best albums of 2025
I won’t spend too many words introducing this list — I’ve already explained my taste and methodology several times on my previous year-end lists, dating back to 2021. The overarching themes here are shoegaze, hyperpop, ambient, electronic, and psychedelia, as usual; with a big helping of skewed folk and country this time around. This was … Continue reading A reasonably timely list of the best albums of 2024
A thing about me is that I love Christmas, but for the most part I hate Christmas music. I realize this may sound strange. Trust me, I really do go nuts for the holiday season — lights, decorations, baking, holiday movies, Santa hats, showering my 10-year-old with gifts, the whole nine. But the music isn’t … Continue reading The only 5 Christmas albums I can stand
In case you’ve been exploring the outer moons of Neptune and missed the news, Britpop icons and perennial bad boys Oasis have reformed and are set to embark on a massive, ridiculously hyped, and highly lucrative world tour in 2025. Here are a bunch of reasons why you won’t find me queuing up for tickets. … Continue reading 30 years of hating Oasis
It was inevitable that I would end up writing about Charli XCX’s Brat — without question not only the album of the year but the pop-culture event of the year. But the crazy thing is how the nature of this essay changed so dramatically several times in the course of just a few days, from … Continue reading The spectacular rise and depressing demise of Charli XCX’s Brat Summer
If there were any justice in the world, All Over the Place would be widely considered one of the greatest debut albums of all time. A bright blast of jangly power pop and psychedelic garage rock marked by euphoric tunes, shimmering harmonies, and delightfully cynical lyrics about creeps and bad boyfriends, the Bangles’ first full-length … Continue reading Revisiting All Over the Place, the Bangles’ criminally underrated 1984 debut LP
I published the first of my year-end best-albums lists in early March of 2022, and sheepishly titled it “A belated list.” The next one was a little less late, landing in late February, and so that one was “A (somewhat less) belated list.” Well, the third edition is later than ever. It’s mid-March, 2023 has … Continue reading A belated (as usual) list of the best albums of 2023
This essay is divided into two sections: an introduction, with a brief overview of the album’s history and a defense of its greatness; followed by a longer (and quite obsessive) track-by-track breakdown of all 13 songs. Just so what you know what you’re getting into going in. And by the way, if you like the … Continue reading The greatness of Everything, the Bangles’ melancholy, masterful breakup album
