In 1972, struggling to follow up his generation-defining and career-redefining What’s Going On, Marvin Gaye had writer’s block. The ambitious concept album detailing the…
There is perhaps no bolder album title in all of 20th century music than Ornette Coleman’s The Shape of Jazz to Come. And what’s…
In an era when any slob with a next-day delivery synth can create bleep-bloops in their bedroom and go viral overnight, the musical and…
Last year marked the 25th anniversary of the Notorious B.I.G.’s second studio album, Life After Death (1997) — the sequel to the Brooklyn rapper’s 1994 debut,…
It’s hard to fathom the pressure that would come with getting discovered by David Gilmour. The idea that a member of Pink Floyd would…
The liner notes for The Chicks’ third album, Home, included a photo of a marquee with giant block letters declaring, “We are changing the…
Curtis Mayfield’s soundtrack for Super Fly, Gordon Parks Jr.’s 1972 debut feature and one of the most popular and best known films of the…
During the summer of 1991, cousins Robert “Bobby” Diggs and Gary Grice were trying to get busy and do the impossible. They had both…
On the occasion of Paul McCartney’s 80th birthday, I decided to burden myself with the unforgiving task of writing about the Beatles. After trying…
The late ’90s and early ’00s were a blur of bright colors and bubblegum. Pop culture felt shiny and good, like the entire world…
Like The Slim Shady LP before it, Eminem’s fourth and arguably most enduring album The Eminem Show is receiving a very big, very deluxe…
It’s hard to believe that a folk group created in one of the most inorganic of ways — that is, covering songs that were…
Contrary to popular belief — or, at least, contrary to the ongoing narrative at the time — Person Pitch was not Panda Bear’s first…
By all accounts, Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… Pt. II should have been a complete failure. Delayed for almost four years (routinely a…
After releasing a trio of mildly successful albums, with even their eponymous third album almost entirely ignored by critics due in no small part…
By 2004, a few distinct options were available to veteran country artists. The B- and C-listers could count on regular performance slots at either…
If albums were appraised purely on the merits of generosity, Vince Gill’s These Days would have its name emblazoned in every hall of fame…
While nowadays regulated to the lowly status of a legacy act, mainly trotted out whenever some late-night comedian wants to make some forced joke…