So, I'm just gonna start off and say that I don't really like Not Like Us. Sure, there's a bunch of memorable lines on it. Sure, it's pretty catchy. Sure, it's fun to see Kendrick double down on Meet the Grahams with a song that was pretty much guaranteed to be a hit. However, the song felt underwhelming to me. The beat is catchy but it's mixed too low while Kendrick's flow, while smooth, isn't particularly interesting. The song almost feels like a rush ... read more

The only thing keeping this song from a dead drop zero is that it kinda makes me feel wistful sometimes. This song was basically my introduction to existential dread when I was like 13 and even when I listen to it now I feel a little bit choked up about the bittersweet progression of life. Then, of course, Lukas starts the self-congratulatory bullshit (LUKAAAASSS GRAAAAHM) and I remember that this is actually just a generic piece of sterile mid-2010's sorta-pop-soul balladry. Lukas ... read more

Ok. This isn't really the worst pop song ever, either in my opinion or in any "objective" sense. However, I hate it. I hate it so much. Why? Probably overplay. I remember hearing it in countless advertisements, on the radio everywhere I go, in the grocery store. When I was on my high school swim team, I would hear it on repeat every evening during practice then again the next morning while we were lifting. It's honestly kind of genius how Marshmallow was able to create a song that ... read more

The late 60's to early 70's is a period in jazz history that is generally associated with wild experimentation. Miles was doing his doing his weird jazz-funk-rock stuff and spawning dozens of imitators, the former associates and acolytes of John Coltrane were tapping further into their spirituality, and the genre as a whole seemed to have committed to pushing past the boundaries that had previously defined jazz as a whole. It was in the midst of this sea change that Ahmad Jamal released his ... read more

I know this is the normiest music opinion ever, but I think this is the greatest jazz album ever recorded. It just ticks every box for what makes a jazz album great in my eyes. The lineup of musicians here is absolutely stacked, featuring many of the greatest jazz musicians of the last 70 years. The solos across this whole album are incredible. Each song manages to balance a feeling of soulfulness with the loose soloing that makes post-bop what it is. All of this is built on a bedrock of great ... read more

Honestly, I knew very little about Gil Evans before listening to this album. I heard his collaborations with Miles Davis and I knew he was an arranger. That was it. Based on that alone, I wasn’t expecting much from a Gil Evans solo project outside of the pop classical music that was popular at the time. Turns out, I was completely wrong.

What I heard when I heard this album leaned far heavier into jazz than I expected. It’s the point where the opener “La Nevada” is ... read more

I’ve listened to a lot of albums in my short time on this Earth, but few have made me feel as strange as this one does. When the final track, “You Never Wanted Me”, fades to silence, I feel conflicted. On one hand I feel deep emotional pain brought on by the brutal honesty that Jackson C. Frank conveys here. But at the same time I feel strangely comforted. Maybe it’s because I can relate to some of what is being sung about here or maybe it’s Jackson’s amazing ... read more

Growing up, I was surrounded by 70’s music. I heard Fleetwood Mac and Steely Dan in the car, James Brown and Bob Marley blasting from my basement, Eagles in every god damn public place. I even used to fall asleep to a classic rock station as a kid. When I got older, I began grew older and grew interested in discovering music by myself, I dug even further into the 70’s. I listened to Talking Heads, Lou Reed, War, Joni Mitchell, and so much more. I thought I knew that decade inside ... read more

When it comes to jazz, I tend to lead towards the more bop-oriented stuff. Sure, there is a lot of experimental jazz that I absolutely love. But, the sounds of bebop, hard-bop, and their related sub-genres make up most of my jazz listening. These types of jazz just feature a sound that feels more familiar and natural to me. I never thought I would find a jazz album that would be experimental but not without that bop feeling (outside of the works of John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy of course) until ... read more