I’ve been finding lots of albums in the good to very good range this year, but not many great ones. Here are three more strong, but not classic, albums. American indie rock artist Lucy Dacus, Canadian post-rockers Godspeed You! Black…
Before he became Patti Smith’s lead guitarist, Lenny Kaye compiled Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era. Released in 1972, the two-LP set covered American garage rock and psychedelia from the years 1965-1968 and was a major influence on…
Congratulatons to EclecticMusicLover, who easily won last week’s never had a #1 single. He scored 26/29, 3 ahead of J’s 23, while no one else scored over 20. This week’s quiz is a little confusing. You need to select the…
Lots of dedicated music fans are sniffy about mainstream pop music from the 21st century. And if there’s anything worse, it’s 21st-century mainstream pop that was pre-fabricated for a TV show. Girls Aloud originated from the reality show Popstars: The…
Swedish quartet ABBA were massively popular from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s. They were effectively a supergroup when they formed in 1972. Agnetha Fältskog was already a solo star in Sweden while songwriting team Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson…
Congratulations to Aaron, who just edged Tony and Rich for the fastest time last week. This week you need to select the artists that never had a #1 Billboard single. It’s not sudden death – if you get one wrong,…
In an unplanned coincidence, today’s three recent releases are from English settlements ending with on. Post-punk band Squid from Brighton, London’s Cleo Sol, and Swindon’s Andy Partridge. Squid Bright Green Field 2021, 8.5/10There’s a whole crop of young, critically acclaimed…
Before he became Patti Smith’s lead guitarist, Lenny Kaye compiled the 2 album set, Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era. Released in 1972, the two-LP set covered American garage rock and psychedelia from the years 1965-1968 and was…
Congratulations to tomwritesaboutstuff, who recorded the fastest time in last week’s acrostic puzzle quiz. This week you need to name the musical act given a promotional product with their branding. I scored 19/20 – I missed the squiggly face…
Singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt came from a prominent Texan family. Prodigiously intelligent, his family groomed him as a lawyer or senator but seeing Elvis Presley on the Ed Sullivan show led him into music. Struggling with manic depression and addictions,…
