In 1969, Herb Alpert had a personal crisis, marking the end of his career making Easy Listening music with the Tijuana Brass. Apart from being "the guy who recorded Spanish Flea", it would take him a full decade to release a new album, this time simply as Herb Alpert.

During that time, his now-wife Lani Hall left the group Brasil '66 and married Herb in 1974. He tried to record an album of Tijuana Brass hits, but decided against the project. And finally, by 1978, he began work ... read more

After struggling to get my head around "Labor Days" (2001) at first, this is the album that truly got me into Aesop Rock. That is because None Shall Pass (2007) caps off a legendary 2000's run for Aes, who creates incredible chemistry with Blockhead on the production side of things once again.

I think his attempts to take the reigns on Bazooka Tooth (2003) were a little hit-or-miss, and he would find much more success self-producing five years later on the album Skelethon ... read more

You might know the rapper/producer Edan for collaborating with New York names such as Mr. Lif, Count Bass D, and Homeboy Sandman. But "Beauty and the Beat" (2005) is perhaps the best-executed psychedelic hip-hop album ever, if such a genre can be said to exist. The soundscapes on this album are nothing short of beautiful! And it really makes me wish there was more Edan to go around, with Echo Party (2009) being a close second in my mind.

The intro track, "Polite Meeting," ... read more

I've been a listener of JPEGMAFIA since 2018, and heavily enjoyed projects such as Veteran and Cornballs. But on "EXPERIMENTAL RAP," between the obnoxious flows and pointless instrumental changeups... This is such a nonsensical album, I legit wonder if his quality control disappeared after huffing galaxy gas with Yeezy.

To quote Chance the Rapper here: "I met Kanye West, I'm never going to fail..."

I guess I could give him pity points for instrumental talent, but ... read more

Sweet Trip's 2003 album "velocity : design : comfort." blew my mind when I first heard it. The intro "Tekka" is an absolutely crushing and violently glitchy electronic track, yet it's followed immediately by "Dsco," which is a beautifully catchy indietronica song.

If you have a vinyl copy, you'll also notice "Chocolate Matter" jumps from track 10 to track 3, either to fit on wax better or just to show off how much of a standout shoegaze ... read more

As a full disclaimer, I made the album cover for this project. I also worked with Kyle Cahill for months on end, making music videos for every song on this project. The resulting student film debuted live at the Hart School of Music, and can be found on YouTube. It was one of the most fulfilling things I've ever done within the realm of music, and it's an honor to have worked on the video visuals for such a great debut.

While some of the tracks on this album are more satisfying to me ... read more

If my old roommate Robert had to pick one Roots album to say is his favorite, it would probably be Illadelph Halflife (1996), released 10 years prior. But as the first Roots project I ever heard back in 2018, and the highlight of their 2000s releases in my opinion, Game Theory has to be my personal favorite. I love this thing so much, I happily bought a 12" copy of the single "Don't Feel Right".

The Roots' live drumming from Questlove brings incredible energy to this ... read more

This was first DJ mix I ever heard, back in 2023, and it changed the way I think about music pretty heavily at the time. The fact that this DJ mix made it onto a vinyl for its 20th anniversary in 2022 is absolutely insane, but also an absolute miracle work on the part of Catherine Sable to deal with such a sample clearance nightmare.

In 1995, the Belgian brothers known as David and Stephen Dewaele would start a band known as Soulwax, whose name you might see attached to numerous remixes (such ... read more

The cover art for this album reminds me of the fkn' Wallace and Gromit Mug Mug meme. I honestly gel with these dissonant sounds and sorta psychological warfare upon the listener, with repeated track titles about how "art is sucking the life outta me" ...

Whether it's a girl telling you she needs to donate plasma to go shopping, or this repeated Vincent Price-ass laugh throughout the album... all of it is underscored by this heavy bass and tired-sounding vocal performances ... read more