Andrew Bird: MUSIC OF HAIR (1996)*
Spouse has become an Andrew Bird fan and I’m just learning about him myself. This record is starting with a lot of folk-heavy violin & guitar work. I know Bird is an accomplished violinist, but this is not what I was expecting.
More interesting than good. I’m glad to know this exists, but it’s not full of tracks that I want to hear over and over again.
Collected Tracks
- N/A
Angel Olson: BURN YOUR FIRE FOR NO WITNESS (2014)*
Angel Olson is a very cool artist, and there was a time in my life when I would have been totally into this record. Unfortunately, this one is full of what my spouse would call “navel gazing” and it feels too self-involved to be entertaining.
Collected Tracks
- Forgiven/Forgotten
Aretha Franklin: SOUL SISTER (1966)*
I still consider myself woefully ignorant of Aretha’s catalog. Continuing that journey here.
Hate to say it, but this feels like a pretty standard soul record from the mid-sixties. I do like how she recasts songs like “Ol’ Man River” and “Swanee” that have been used to caricature black people throughout history and gives them new life. Reclaiming them, if you will.
Collected Tracks
- Can’t You Just See Me
Aretha Franklin: TAKE IT LIKE YOU GIVE IT (1967)*
Double dipping in a large catalog. Much better energy than the previous record.
Collected Tracks
- Why Was I Born?
- Tighten Up Your Tie, Button Up Your Jacket (Make It for the Door)
- Lee Cross
- A Little Bit of Soul
Art Brut: BANG BANG ROCK & ROLL (2004)*
Just lovely stupid rock. Not taking many tracks because it’s not the sort of thing I want to OD on.
Collected Tracks
- Formed a Band
- Subliminal Desire for Adventure
What is The Rotation?
The primary way I build my digital music collection is by maintaining a playlist called, “The Rotation.” On this list, I load albums of artists I’m interested in hearing; mostly new-to-me artists or albums. Because I need some organizational principle to conduct this survey, I go by the alphabetical listing of the artist. I typically move from earlier records to later records, although there are exceptions. If I’m excited to hear a new album by a favorite artist I’ll add it in an apparent random placement to hear it sooner than later. From this list I’ll select tracks to add to my collection. It’s rare that I DNF a record, and uncommon for me to not select a single track from it. I’ve been doing this for a while and am currently on my 10th trip around the alphabet. Above are the albums heard in a given session and what thoughts, if any, I have about them. These are mostly first impressions, so don’t expect in-depth analysis.
Asterisks (*) after the album title indicate that it is a new-to-me record.
Leave a comment