Arcade Fire’s ‘Funeral’ Still Amazes As a Conceptual Statement
On Funeral, Arcade Fire found catharsis in music while processing grief for the loss of loved ones. As a result, they shifted the course of indie rock.
Pop Past
Paul McCartney’s Beautiful Tribute to Lovely Linda McCartney
When Paul McCartney lost Linda McCartney in 1998, he described his grief as all-consuming, grief that haunts her sole solo studio album, ‘Wide Prairie’.
Elvis Costello’s ‘Almost Blue’ Was Rescued by Its Bonus Tracks… for a While
The release history of Elvis Costello’s Almost Blue provides a framework for examining how the delivery of recorded music can relate to our experience of it.
Skank’s Postmodern ‘Calango’ Keeps Trippin’ at 30
Skank’s Calango mixes Jamaican reggae, Latin percussion, keyboards, and guitars into a blend that sounds very much from Brazil and yet completely alien.
From Melville to Metal: The Conceptual Depths of Mastodon’s ‘Leviathan’
Mastodon’s Leviathan is a concept LP inspired by American novelist Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. Think of it as sludge metal’s answer to Dark Side of the Moon.
Liza Minnelli and Pet Shop Boys United on the Camp Classic ‘Results’
Results is an incredible union of two seemingly disparate acts, yet the musical marriage of Liza Minnelli and the Pet Shop Boys is brilliant dance pop.
Frank Zappa’s Serious Transformation: ‘The Perfect Stranger’ at 40
A prolific conductor and a sophisticated synthesizer make for an under-appreciated but vastly important album in Frank Zappa’s prodigious catalog.
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Jawbox Discuss ‘For Your Own Special Sweetheart’ at 30
Jawbox’s major label debut is their most beloved album, a perfect marriage of songwriting and production that sounds as thrilling today as it did 30 years ago.
Mr. Bungle’s ‘California’ Still Feels Fresh 25 Years Later
Despite not being strictly metal, Mr. Bungle’s unhinged musical adventurousness showed heavy metal could get weird and silly without losing the heaviness.
Minnie Riperton’s ‘Perfect Angel’ at 50: Imperfectly Angelic
Soul singer Minnie Riperton made full use of her multi-octave voice and songwriting talent on 1974’s Perfect Angel, with her still-beloved hit, “Lovin’ You”.
Metallica’s ‘Ride the Lightning’ Turns 40, But the Memory Remains
Yes, Metallica were singing about death—the cartoon skulls and swords I doodled in my notebooks rendered sonically. But they were also singing about life.
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The 20 Best Tom Petty Songs
Throughout his prolific career, Tom Petty challenged himself to keep things interesting and reinvent things. These are his 20 best songs.