Best Ever Albums

Re: Women's History Month Listening Project (Third Annual)

baystateoftheart — Sat, 4 Apr 2020 00:41:29 GMT

Author: baystateoftheart

Posted: 04/04/2020 04:41

To close out the month, I had a lot of success. Nothing was less than very good, and I re-listened to a lot of my favorite EPs.

Week 4+ (March 22-31). Albums I've heard in full before = *

Near-Perfect

E·MO·TION - Carly Rae Jepsen*

Amazing

Devotion - Beach House*
E·MO·TION: Side B (EP) - Carly Rae Jepsen*
End Of Daze (EP) - Dum Dum Girls*
EP2 - FKA Twigs*
The Long Sleep (EP) - Jenny Hval*
Spring Fever! (EP) - The Pussywillows*

Great

Little Electric Chicken Heart - Ana Frango Elétrico
Strange Cacti (EP) - Angel Olsen*
All My Demons Greeting Me As A Friend - AURORA
Fantasea - Azealia Banks*
1991 (EP) - Azealia Banks*
Fade Away (EP) - Best Coast*
Medúlla - Björk*
Boygenius (EP) - Boygenius*
Ask Me No Questions - Bridget St John [Thanks Jameth!]
Coat Of Many Colors - Dolly Parton
He Gets Me High (EP) - Dum Dum Girls*
Joanna Newsom & The Ys Street Band (EP) - Joanna Newsom*
Childqueen - Kadhja Bonet*
I Don't Want: The Gold Fire Sessions - Santigold*
Private Dancer - Tina Turner
Black Water - Tinashe*

Quite Good

Dreamboat Annie - Heart
October Project - October Project [Thanks Fischman!]
Take Offs And Landings - Rilo Kiley
And She Closed Her Eyes - Stina Nordenstam

~~~~~

Verdict: the three best albums I discovered this week were...

GOLD

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Ask Me No Questions by Bridget St. John

In terms of pure musical beauty, this is up here with anything I've heard this month. It's a worthy companion to her sophomore album, which I heard via Jimmy's top 10 thread. Heavenly, pastoral folk with excellent vocals. Thanks again Jameth!

SILVER

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Coat Of Many Colors by Dolly Parton

baystateoftheart wrote:

A short and sweet album packed with great country songs. I only knew the classic title track beforehand, and I was surprised by how close the rest of the album came to its magic. Dolly's skills as a vocalist and songwriter are in top form, and the music is much rootsier than what she'd make a few years down the road.

BRONZE

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Little Electric Chicken Heart by Ana Frango Elétrico

An underrated 2019 record from Brazil with a lot going for it. MPB arrangements with a wide palette of other influences, great vocals, mellow, bright, comfy. Unfortunately my Portuguese has gotten too rusty to say anything about the lyrics.

~~~~~

That's a wrap. I really appreciate everyone who chimed in! I've added a bunch of the other recommendations to my to-do list for future listening.

Re: Women's History Month Listening Project (Third Annual)

Tha1ChiefRocka — Mon, 30 Mar 2020 12:44:57 GMT

Author: Tha1ChiefRocka

Posted: 03/30/2020 16:44

You should listen to something by Annette Peacock before the month is out.

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I'm The One by Annette Peacock

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X-Dreams by Annette Peacock

Re: Women's History Month Listening Project (Third Annual)

Anonymous — Tue, 24 Mar 2020 18:21:07 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 03/24/2020 22:21

3 good ones from 2020

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Re: Women's History Month Listening Project (Third Annual)

baystateoftheart — Sun, 22 Mar 2020 19:19:13 GMT

Author: baystateoftheart

Posted: 03/22/2020 23:19

It was another week without a ton of music listening, and I went back to a bunch of old favorites for the first time in a while.

Week 3 (March 15-21). Albums I've heard in full before = *

Amazing

Heaven Or Las Vegas - Cocteau Twins*
Golden Hour - Kacey Musgraves*

Great

A Different Kind Of Human (Step II) - AURORA
Homecoming: The Live Album - Beyoncé*
Pussy Whipped - Bikini Kill*
Debut - Björk*
Eat To The Beat - Blondie*
The Noise Made By People - Broadcast*
Some Things Just Stick In Your Mind: Singles And Demos 1964 To 1967 - Vashti Bunyan*

Quite Good

Capacity - Big Thief*
Oil Of Every Pearl's Un-Insides Remix Album - SOPHIE
Little Earthquakes - Tori Amos

~~~~~

Again, there's just one album I discovered this week that I really loved:

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A Different Kind Of Human (Step II) by AURORA (NO)

While I slightly prefer the first installment in this series, step ii is another very worthwhile listen. Accessible, well-made, interesting art pop. There are lots of hooks but also a lot going on. Her vocals are great. The lyrics are good, but probably not the standout element here. The Seed adapts the well-known "you can't eat money" quote into musical form.

Re: Women's History Month Listening Project (Third Annual)

Jameth — Mon, 16 Mar 2020 17:41:11 GMT

Author: Jameth

Posted: 03/16/2020 21:41

^^^I added Ode To Billie Joe to my massive queue months ago and forgot about it soon after. Think I’ll spin it today.

Re: Women's History Month Listening Project (Third Annual)

baystateoftheart — Sun, 15 Mar 2020 20:27:32 GMT

Author: baystateoftheart

Posted: 03/16/2020 00:27

In theory, being home thanks to the pandemic should have resulted in me listening to a lot more music. It didn't happen this week, but maybe it will over the week to come.

Week 2 (March 8-14). Albums I've heard in full before = *

Amazing

Future Me Hates Me - The Beths*
Shangri-Las - 65! - The Shangri-Las*

Great

Hopelessness - ANOHNI*
Infections Of A Different Kind (Step I) - AURORA*
Barbara N° 2 - Barbara*
Lemonade - Beyoncé*
Ode To Billie Joe - Bobbie Gentry
New Amerykah Part Two: Return Of The Ankh - Erykah Badu*
Turn Out The Lights - Julien Baker*

Quite Good

Loved - Cranes
Supa Dupa Fly - Missy Elliott
Rid Of Me - PJ Harvey

~~~~~

There's just one album I discovered this week that I really loved:

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Ode To Billie Joe by Bobbie Gentry

The country soul album I didn't know I needed right now. It's really country and really soulful, in a way that feels more balanced than some other music I've heard in the genre. Gentry makes music straight from the backwoods of the Delta that really transports you there. The vocals and instrumentals are great, but what really sets this record apart is the songwriting and atmosphere. The title track is legendary, and the rest holds up really well too - except for the line praising DDT.

Re: Women's History Month Listening Project (Third Annual)

Jameth — Sun, 8 Mar 2020 13:50:11 GMT

Author: Jameth

Posted: 03/08/2020 17:50

^^^Nope, I'm starting with her debut and going through to Illuminations. Just finished the debut. There's a lot of praise for it, so I'm looking forward to it!

Re: Women's History Month Listening Project (Third Annual)

baystateoftheart — Sun, 8 Mar 2020 13:24:40 GMT

Author: baystateoftheart

Posted: 03/08/2020 17:24

Jameth wrote:

I’ve been listening to mostly female artists for a few days now. Mostly new listens with some re-listens sprinkled in. And mostly older folk artists. I’ll be listening to Buffy Sainte-Marie all day today. Here’s the best of what I’ve heard:

Five star or close:

It's So Hard To Tell Who's Going To Love You Best by Karen Dalton

Folksongs & Ballads by Tia Blake And Her Folk-Group

Ask Me No Questions by Bridget St. John

Ewa Demarczyk Śpiewa Piosenki Zygmunta Koniecznego by Ewa Demarczyk

Four star-ish:

How Sad, How Lovely by Connie Converse

Folkal Point by Folkal Point

The Invisible Comes To Us by Anna & Elizabeth

Will have to check some of these out! And I love Buffy Sainte-Marie! Have you heard this one yet?

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Illuminations by Buffy Sainte-Marie

Named in Wire's 100 Records That Set The World On Fire (While No One Was Listening).

https://lisathatcher.com/2011/12/28/wir...ing-21-25/

Re: Women's History Month Listening Project (Third Annual)

Jameth — Sun, 8 Mar 2020 13:17:28 GMT

Author: Jameth

Posted: 03/08/2020 17:17

I’ve been listening to mostly female artists for a few days now. Mostly new listens with some re-listens sprinkled in. And mostly older folk artists. I’ll be listening to Buffy Sainte-Marie all day today. Here’s the best of what I’ve heard:

Five star or close:

It's So Hard To Tell Who's Going To Love You Best by Karen Dalton

Folksongs & Ballads by Tia Blake And Her Folk-Group

Ask Me No Questions by Bridget St. John

Ewa Demarczyk Śpiewa Piosenki Zygmunta Koniecznego by Ewa Demarczyk

Four star-ish:

How Sad, How Lovely by Connie Converse

Folkal Point by Folkal Point

The Invisible Comes To Us by Anna & Elizabeth

Re: Women's History Month Listening Project (Third Annual)

baystateoftheart — Sun, 8 Mar 2020 12:36:00 GMT

Author: baystateoftheart

Posted: 03/08/2020 16:36

It was a fun first week, with some cool new finds and a lot of classics revisited. To reiterate, for these two listening projects, mixed bands qualify as long as women (or black people in the other thread) are responsible for songwriting and/or lead vocals for the majority of the album runtime. In the case of improvisational projects, it would be based on number of band members.

Week 1 (March 1-7). Albums I've heard in full before = *

Amazing

Let's Get Out Of This Country - Camera Obscura*
The Practice Of Love - Jenny Hval*
Have One On Me - Joanna Newsom*
Blue - Joni Mitchell*
The Hissing Of Summer Lawns - Joni Mitchell*
Ladies Of The Canyon - Joni Mitchell*
Split - Lush
Roseland NYC Live - Portishead*
Observator - The Raveonettes*
Tinderbox - Siouxsie And The Banshees*
Goo - Sonic Youth*

Great

Blacks And Blues - Bobbi Humphrey
Baduizm - Erykah Badu*
Amplified Heart - Everything But The Girl
One Two - Sister Nancy*

Quite Good

Aaliyah - Aaliyah
When This Life Is Over - And The Kids
Kollage - Bahamadia*
Trinity - Eartheater

~~~~~

Verdict: the three best albums I discovered this week were...

GOLD

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Split by Lush

Oh DAMN. Where has this dreamy album been all my life, and why isn't it more highly-rated?? Definitely deserves a place near the top of the shoegaze canon instead of, say, Nowhere by Ride. Great vocals, songwriting, instrumentals. It's a little on the lighter side for shoegaze, but that makes the heavier sections all the more satisfying.

SILVER

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Blacks And Blues by Bobbi Humphrey

Thanks Gowi for this rec from the Black History Month thread, which I got around to this week. A very accessible jazz-funk album with a surprising amount of vocals mixed in. It grooves nicely and lands on the right side of cheesiness, albeit not by a wide margin. Humphrey's flute playing is great.

BRONZE

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Amplified Heart by Everything But The Girl

Smooth, languid sophisti-pop. I prefer Eden (the only other album I've heard of theirs), but this is a great listen as well. There's a nice blend of styles, from the subtle electronic elements in some songs, to others that are folkier, to others that are more adult contemporary. Both their vocals are top-notch.

Re: Women's History Month Listening Project (Third Annual)

Fischman — Fri, 6 Mar 2020 21:03:06 GMT

Author: Fischman

Posted: 03/07/2020 02:03

Well, Baystate, my big female obsession this year, fueled in part by you I might add, was Alice Coltrane. So no recs there, just thanks.

5 thoughts this March:

I often catch heat for not giving pop any love, so here it is. I love this artist and this album:

Here's a moody one I've long loved. Shame this group didn't catch on more:

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I like this early Carole King:

Another great jazz pianist here:

And lastly, the latest from a fine pop/rock/adult alternative singer/songwriter

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Link

Re: Women's History Month Listening Project (Third Annual)

mickilennial — Tue, 3 Mar 2020 00:49:50 GMT

Author: mickilennial

Posted: 03/03/2020 05:49

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Deer Creek Canyon by Sera Cahoone

Starting off the month listening project to this one, one of my favorites. Ex-Carissa's Wierd member who fully goes in the folk direction rather than what Band of Horses and Jenn Ghetto would go onto do, Sera grounds herself in her roots. Still dreary and great.

Women's History Month Listening Project (Third Annual)

baystateoftheart — Sun, 1 Mar 2020 17:59:35 GMT

Author: baystateoftheart

Posted: 03/01/2020 22:59

I'll only be listening to music by women this March to celebrate Women's History Month.

I will post weekly summaries of what I've checked out.

If you want to join me in full or in part, this is the thread for you. Or if you want to simply share discoveries, recommendations, and discussion, this is also the thread for you!