February is Music Writer Exercise Month #MWE • Page 16

Yes! I can't claim to be super familiar with all of his catalogue but Nebraska is a standout for me.

 

Bruce usually makes it a pretty easy gig.

 

I like some Modest Mouse singles, but I tend to find their albums tough hangs because of the length (and this one is shorter than the earlier albums). I was really impressed with the production, and I feel like I can hear hints of the hits they'd write later on, but maybe I just don't want to spend that much time in Isaac Brock's head.

 

Yo, Prefab Sprout is really freaking cool.

 

I probably won't find time to listen tomorrow and Sunday, so I'll try to listen to There's a Riot and Singles Going Steady today after I check out the new albums out

 

I've never listened to Born to Run either, and really regret not including it for my list this month.

 

so good. bonny rules

 

Been meaning to get to Converge forever

 

There's a Riot Goin' On is very good! For whatever reason, I've alway stayed away from Funk. It's just never clicked with me outside of a few songs. This is a good entryway. I don't see myself returning to it often (like most of the other albums I've listened to, haha) but it's good! I might go back in and focus on the lyrics, as I'm letting it wash over me right now.

 

Bonus?

 

I might have some free time after I listen to Hayley, so I could just do that!

 

kayla we’re so proud of you

 

peep tunnel of love! would have to imagine you love brilliant disguise

 

perfect review lmao

 

It's also massively influential from a production perspective, too. All the neo-soul 90s guys like D'Angelo and Questlove just worship that record, it seems.

 

Just hit play on Born to Run.

 

Day 5 is Madlib's Shades of Blue, which is him remixing a bunch of tracks from Blue Note's back catalogue, building these cool instrumental(ish) hip hop beats out of them.

It's pretty cool! I knew it'd be something I would enjoy, and it didn't disappoint, with some great chilled out jazzy rap beats. I don't necessarily have much to say about this one, other than you can really tell how talented and skilled he is a producer, there's no mis-hits, everything works perfectly, blending the various original tracks into one cohesive whole.

From the (very little) I've heard of instrumental hip-hop, or whatever you want to call it, it always does feel like it's slightly missing something, and you end up thinking about how this beat would be perfect for so-and-so to rap over, which I guess is unavoidable.

Very enjoyable, and basically exactly what I expected it to be.

 

Love this for you

 

Buzzcocks had me worried with that first track, but overall this is a very good pop punk album. Goes to some different places than I was expecting, you can absolutely see how it'd be so influential.

 

Was that Singles Going Steady that you listened to? It’s great that considering it’s a compilation that came out super early in their careers and you can track them going from bratty snotty punk like Orgasm Addict, to more new wave directions by the end with What Do You Know. They changed quite a bit stylistically in a few years.

 

Yup! Still midway through but you can hear the evolution. It's funny that "What Ever Happened To" is the b-side to "Orgasm Addict" because of how much better/more evolved that song is than Orgasm.

 

Pretty confident a few of you would be into this! Indigo Girls and Ani DiFranco have sited her as an influence before and it’s clear why

 

This is my third year of MWE, and I'm pretty sure Sings the Blues is my favorite album that I've discovered through the exercise. Just a perfect album in pretty much every respect. Thanks @cshadows2887!