One of my favorite parts of December is skimming the various “Best Of” retrospectives. I’ve never done one myself, largely because I don’t put a ton of pressure on myself to keep up with new releases. But around the beginning of November, I realized 2020 was a pretty good year for music, and so it was time to take on that challenge: a proper Best … Continue reading Top 20 Albums of 2020: #20-#16
At the end of ever year, Spotify makes you a playlist with the songs you listened to the most. That’s nice of them. However, I can’t help but wonder… are the songs you listened to the most often really the same as your actual favorite songs? I know in some cases I listen to an album more if I plan on reviewing it, and I … Continue reading Spotify says these were my top 100 songs of 2020. Were they really?
So I am by no means a ‘Swiftie.’ Sure, I’ve listened to every song and even written a review of every album (links to those at the end of this post). And yeah, from 1989 onwards I’ve been fairly invested in her album rollouts, listening to new songs and watching new videos almost immediately after they dropped. But I’ve also consistently had negative opinions about … Continue reading ‘folklore’ by Taylor Swift – The Taylor Swift Album I’ve Been Waiting For
Genre: Country with tasteful dashes of pop Year: 2020Runtime: 46:54Total Number of Tracks: 12Songs you might know:– “Gaslighter”– “Sleep at Night”– “March March”– “Julianna Calm Down” My prior relationship with the album and artist: I freaking love The Chicks (still getting used to the new name). When I first got a boombox when I was 6 years old Fly was THE album I couldn’t stop playing … Continue reading Album Anne-alaysis: Gaslighter by The Chicks
And by “definitive ranking” I mean “ranking I came to just now over the course of a few hours as I rewatched all these performances, bearing in mind I could do the same exercise a year from now and come to an entirely different conclusion.” But all that doesn’t fit in a headline, does it? 15. “Something About the Way You Look Tonight” (Elton John) … Continue reading A Definitive Ranking of all of One Direction’s 2010 X-Factor Performances
Genre: That kind of semi-experimental synthpop that so many people are doing now that it’s arguably just regular pop. Year: 2020 Runtime: 33:27 Total Number of Tracks: 12, including two interludes that are each under a minute long. Songs you might know: – “Comfort Crowd” – “Wish I Was Sober” – “Maniac” – “Checkmate” – “The Story” My prior relationship with the album and artist: … Continue reading Album Anne-alysis: Kid Krow by Conan Gray
Genre: Pop Year: 2020 Runtime: 37:17 Total Number of Tracks: 11 Songs you might know: – “Don’t Start Now” – “Physical” – “Break My Heart” My prior relationship with the album and artist: I remember really liking Dua Lipa’s self-titled debut, though I have trouble remembering specific songs from it. While she makes relatively generic pop music capitalizing on all the same trends as the … Continue reading Album Anne-alysis: Future Nostalgia by Dua Lipa
Continue reading Album Anne-alysis: Future Nostalgia by Dua Lipa
Genre: Pop Year: 2020 Runtime: 39:30 Total Number of Tracks: 13 Songs you might know: – “No Shame” – “Old Me” – “Easier” – “Teeth” – “Wildflower” My prior relationship with the album and artist: Like most people, 5 Seconds of Summer first became a blip on my radar when they started opening for One Direction. (Have I mentioned that I LOoooOOOOve One Direction lately? Because … Continue reading Album Anne-alysis: C A L M by 5 Seconds of Summer
Genre: Pop with a country flavor. But by “country flavor” I mean in the way that La Croix is “fruit flavored.” Year: 2020 Runtime: 46:15 Total Number of Tracks: 13 Songs you might know: – “club” – “homecoming queen?” – “the other girl” (ft. Halsey) My prior relationship with the album and artist: I liked Kelsea Ballerini’s first two albums and have reviewed them both if you’re curious. … Continue reading Album Anne-alysis: kelsea by Kelsea Ballerini
Note: Prior iterations of these blog posts were known as “Album a Day” in reference to my 2019 pledge to listen to an album every day of 2019. Such posts have been re-branded as “Album Anne-alysis” because I usually don’t end up writing a blog post until long after my initial listen for that project. I’m also not putting any pressure on myself to review … Continue reading Album Anne-alaysis: My Name is Michael Holbrook by MIKA
Butcher Thoughts 