Thanks for the response! Excited to be a contributor for the next version of the site, this is one of my favorite places to find and talk about music on the internet.
Can you guys please find a better way to integrate Stereogum Sessions into the site? I'm not watching them and they're slowing everything down.
I know you bought the site back again and revenue's important, but I would gladly pay you $10-$20 a year for a no-ad (and whatever other enhancements you can think of) experience. Just a thought.
I’d have to look deeper at the setup of the donation to know for sure, but I’m going to say no. Billboard doesn’t count albums that are free, you have to pay at least like $3-$4 for it and a donation doesn’t count.
You can't broadly agree with the tone of Trump's speech and not acknowledge that our gasbag president is directly escalating violence by sending in the military and portraying the largely peaceful nationwide protests as a leftist insurrection that needs to be put down in an authoritarian manner.
This is doubly exacerbated by the fact that while he was making his "tough on crime" speech, you could literally hear the screams of peaceful protestors being fired upon with tear gas so he could have his pathetic photo op.
Krist can say whatever the hell he wants on social media, but he's not absolved from criticism. That's what free speech is and I don't give a flying fuck what Trump's narrative wants to be. I'm sure he knew what he was doing considering Nirvana's fanbase. I don't have a problem with people speaking out against destructive protests and violence (though I think there's a fundamental problem when you try to refocus the conversation around it rather than police brutality), but divorcing Trump's "tone" from what he's actually advocating and doing is moronic and counter to the principles of the music that makes anyone care about his opinion in the first place.
TLDR Read the fucking room.
Would love a Stereogum ranking of all the Conor albums. Though the new Bright Eyes music hasn't been my absolute favorite (everything's a little too apocalyptic), he's been one of the more remarkably consistent songwriters from his generation, even after hanging up the Bright Eyes name. I'd put Ruminations from 2016 up with his best work.
So many of the songs I wrote as a teenager ripped off Conor and only Conor. I appreciate that you were 20 when Fevers and Mirrors came out (and at 29 his music still speaks to me with that same passion from time to time), but I think an equally large part of the current cultural reverence for Bright Eyes is because his music was also championed by impressionable, pubescent teenagers for whom his lyrical dramatics felt like an AIM away message-appropriate and accurate depiction of the primary-color sadness and desperation of being young and in love. Great write-up!
I’m not sure if it’s an indictment or not that the first half of the album flows better with three spoken word monologues about the nature of artistic intent and whatnot on Spotify.
I disagree. Isbell doesn’t have the same urge to swing for the fences that Springsteen does; he’s more concerned with perfecting a specific style of songwriting. (He basically has, in my opinion. Without the massive narrative surrounding Southeastern I’d be tempted to call Reunions his best record.)
"Mythological Beauty" is my favorite Big Thief song but I've always been afraid to try covering it because losing that atmospheric cloud felt like a sacrifice that would ruin the song. It felt impenetrable. Very happy to hear Glaspy's version, which captures its beauty and mystery in a more delicate way. Definitely checking out Devotion today.
Yeah, if anything I thought Something More Than Free was the link in that three-album run. I got the new one yesterday and it’s great, really enjoying “River”.
I actually ordered this last Bandcamp Day, but I finally got to spin the Nation of Language album this week and it is awesome! Banger after banger of Brooklyn new wave goodness.
Who the heck is still listening to Drake and Future’s “Life Is Good”? Is it exclusively in the top ten because of passive streams on algorithmic mainstream rap playlists?
And his list sounds like someone who doesn’t listen to rap’s list. All those folks are great artists individually, but if I had to pick any generic white college kid’s top 6 I could’ve done that for him.
But I also feel any “top 5” conversation should be more specific as to the criteria for how you’re ranking folks so...
She’s selling a 500pc puzzle with that single cover art but shipping’s not until Early June. Also shipping costs make the total like $45... I’m literally at a coin flip, since I’m assuming I’ll still need a puzzle then and the artwork is so pretty.
I guess what I’m saying is more musicians should sell puzzles.
Agreed! Eventually they fell off a cliff, but their debut was the epitome of maximalist theatrical emo and that follow-up was a really fun swerve into Beatles worship that didn’t sacrifice their hook writing. That intro song gets stuck in my brain every time I see or hear the phrase “you don’t have to worry”.
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