Finding Their Way: Rush’s Debut Album at 50
Fifty years after its release, progressive rockers Rush’s debut album remains an important stepping stone in the Canadian trio’s long journey to success.
All Things Reconsidered
25 Years of Tom Waits’ ‘Mule Variations’
With Mule Variations, Tom Waits tamed his vaudevillian guises and showed that he was aging gracefully, while retaining his integrity towards his artistry.
’10 Things I Hate About You’ Is a Revolutionary Riot-Grrl Inspired Teen Comedy
Gil Junger’s alteration of The Taming of the Shrew, 1999’s 10 Things I Hate About You, is a revolutionary Riot Grrl-inspired teen comedy for today’s girls.
The Fiery Furnaces’ Songs on ‘Widow City’ Are Multiverse 45s
The songs on the Fiery Furnaces’ Widow City are like a multiverse 45; they’ll never be hits on this Earth but might sell millions in a world slightly tweaked.
The Eagles Were ‘On the Border’ of Greatness 50 Years Ago
The Eagles’ On the Border (1974) signified the crossing of a musical boundary, as they progressed from country to rock, ensuring future mainstream success.
Built to Spill’s ‘Keep It Like a Secret’ Still Surprises at 25
Has any songwriter used the words “things” and “sounds” and made small matters seem more significant and full of possibility as much as Built to Spill’s Doug Martsch?
What Wilco’s ‘Yankee Hotel Foxtrot’ Got Right About Music Streaming
Wilco’s net-streaming experiment with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was part of the utopian promise for technology’s future, and it worked.
Elvis Costello’s ‘Armed Forces’ Remains a Potent Critique of Power
Forty-five years after Elvis Costello’s Armed Forces first arrived in record stores, its commentary on fascism is extremely relevant to today’s politics.
‘This Is Spinal Tap’ Turns the Volume All the Way Up to 40
The 1984 rockumentary, or mockumentary, This Is Spinal Tap is a prophetic parody where one can laugh about, laugh at, and be laughed at all at the same time.
Kings Will Be Crowned: Queen’s ‘Queen II’ at 50
Queen’s 1974 sophomore album, Queen II is an overlooked progressive rock masterpiece that predicted so much of their later work. It’s also still enormous fun.
20 Years of Madvillain’s Endlessly Creative ‘Madvillainy’
Madvillain’s Madvillainy remains an unforgettable underground hip-hop album, combining Madlib’s distinctive beats with MF DOOM’s precisely designed rhymes.
Those Days Are Gone Forever: Steely Dan’s ‘Pretzel Logic’ at 50
Steely Dan’s 50-year-old third album, Pretzel Logic, conceals its dark satirical vision of modern society beneath immaculate studio production.