mcglothlen

In my top 20 rock albums, Good Morning Spider finds Mark Linkous completely in control of his material. Messy, insubordinate in delicious ways. Funny. Maria's Little Elbows breaks me a little bit every time I hear it. I was something of a Sparklehorse superfan and completist. And then he broke our hearts. Just the same, I'm grateful for every track he laid down. This album is a special work among many special works.

Simultaneously a throwback and timeless, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot rarely strays from the top of the stack for me. Cozy Chaos. His melodies here are spellbinding and seem almost inevitable. Genre-defying, in my opinion - and that is incredibly high praise.

Brief masterpiece of shoe-gaze folk. I challenge you to find anything like it that didn't come after it. Even earlier Nick Drake, as good as it is, doesn't really predict the terrible beauty of this album. His voice, his guitar - both find their perfect narrative in this wonderful and singular work. It was pretty hard to write even this much without using the word "haunting". There's probably a reason for that.

This album moves my body in aggressive and unexpected ways. Post-rock. Heavy. The way Schedule for Using Pillows and Beanbags builds and stacks. It's one of my favorite instrumental guitar pieces of all time. It's a thrilling and mind-bending adrenaline rush.

No other way to say it: I like having really gay sex to this album. That's okay to say, right? The Polish Ambassador has such a good sense of rhythm and humor. Lookin' Butters: Please listen to this. Something happens at the three minute mark that never ever fails to delight me. Dumb and wonderful.

Lush and hypnotic. Even if the soundscapes might seem a little dated to some ears, the work is undeniably compelling. I never am not in the mood to hear this. "Hidden gem" gets overused but it fits in this case.

Come on. "Kathleen Hanna" is honestly all I should have to say. But this album is crazy fun. And crazy. It's self-aware and politically astute. It's FUNNY. And you can dance to a lot of it. It talks about "heavy" subjects in a way that makes you think about stuff while feeling weirdly, wonderfully light. These three people are alchemists.

No skips. In my top 20 albums ever. It's spooky, funny, clever and beautifully crafted. It's the best, tastiest chaos. If you don't like this album we can't really be friends. There's nothing else remotely like it in the Eno catalog. In interviews, even ENO seems surprised by this album. Experience the sounds and textures for sure - but also pay attention to the lyrics. They're a fever dream of the best kind.

I love Imperial Teen. This is their new one. It hasn't quite grabbed me yet - but I'm confident it will. It's a great casual listen but I need to dance to it a little bit, I think. Imperial Teen is smart, often funny, always energetic guitar-driven pop. Roddy Bottum (from Faith No More), Lynn Truell (from Sister Double Happiness, the Dicks, and the Wrecks), Will Schwartz (of Hey Willpower), and Jone Stebbins (of the Wrecks). So good. So. Much. Fun. You like fun, right?

The RANGE OF SONGS in this musical is stunning. One of the few musicals that maintain its musical and narrative impact throughout the show. And every song has a reason for being. I picked what I picked as my 3 favorite songs, but listen to Some People, Mr Goldstone, and All I Need Is the Girl. Lyrics by Sondheim. Music by Jule Styne. Come ON. So good.

Pick THREE standout tracks on this album. Are you KIDDING? I mean - I did it but they'll be different tomorrow. This album is a layered monolith of exquisite taste, gorgeous production, and raw emotion. This is a turning point album. I will never ever get sick of it.

Dope Lemon is, depending on how you look at it, Angus Stone's side project (if you think of Angus and Julia Stone as his main gig) - or it's his main gig. Every one of Dope Lemon's albums is solid. His new one is amazing. This is his first one and it is nearly perfect. Dope Lemon is all about the jam. If you don't like slow, lazy, BAKED jams, this isn't for you. But if you do? Light up, lean back, listen... (This is my first review on here so I decided I couldn't give my first review a 10... but I might come back later and give it a 10)