Be it warnings, ruminations, or out-right demands, My Finest Work Yet feels less like something Bird wants to say and more like something he needs the rest of us to hear.
Andrew Bird: My Finest Work Yet
Run the Voodoo Down: Miles Davis – Bitches Brew
Released: March 30, 1970 Miles Davis famously said, “do not fear mistakes—there are none.” He’s also the man who reinvented jazz “four or five times.” He played his trumpet for decades, weathering one cultural revolution after another. He was an innovator, originator, and visionary. His audience spans a handful of generations at this point, and... Continue Reading →
FAILURE: Wild Type Droid
Wild Type Droid, Failure's sixth overall full-length, just might be the band's most focused, artistically-potent release to date.
Frames: A Look Back at the Oceansize Masterpiece
Released: October 1, 2007 If you could listen to any record again for the first time, which one would you choose? It’s the sort of question that makes for a perfect icebreaker in a crowded room (remember those?) because of the variety of answers it’s sure to inspire. After all, few things evoke shades of... Continue Reading →
That’s Me In The Spotlight: R.E.M. – Out Of Time
Released: March 12, 1991 It's nearly impossible to discuss R.E.M.'s ascent from enigmatic indie-rockers to stadium-filling pop stars without mentioning the band's seventh album, Out Of Time, and the brooding, minor-key anthem "Losing My Religion." The band had long conquered the college-rock landscape, but everything changed in 1991. Thanks to the universal embracing of the unconventional... Continue Reading →
Failure’s Fantastic Planet
Released: August 13, 1996 History is filled with countless examples of unsung bands whose efforts proved crucial to a movement or scene that would ultimately pass them by. While the '90s saw an alt-rock revival teeming with countless sound-alikes, Failure was a few years too early to the party. Still, while they only briefly flirted... Continue Reading →
The Sound of Stars Aligning: The Red Hot Chili Peppers – Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Released: September 24, 1991 For better or worse, Blood Sugar Sex Magik changed everything. Not only did the record provide the Red Hot Chili Peppers their immutable mark of permanence on the pop-culture landscape (satellite radio is still eating up “Under The Bridge”), but the Rick Rubin-produced album also found Anthony Kiedis and the boys complete the transition... Continue Reading →
At The Peak of Their Powers: Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dream
Released: July 27, 1993 One of alt-rock’s most polarizing bands, Chicago’s Smashing Pumpkins successfully managed to ride the early-90s grunge wave to unparalleled success, all the while maintaining a unique sense of identity. Eschewing many of the genre’s aesthetic trappings, the band’s sound and image were more in line with the pomp and circumstance-excess of... Continue Reading →
