Music Quiz: Ruined by a Letter 1990s #2
Last week’s US Presidents quiz featured the cover image of Olivia Rodrigo’s debut album Sour. The second single from that…
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Ween: Albums Ranked from Worst to Best
Aaron Freeman (Gene Ween) met Mickey Melchiondo (Dean Ween) in their eighth-grade typing class in 1984. They made several homemade albums…
10 Best 10,000 Maniacs Songs
The 10,000 Maniacs formed in upstate New York in 1981. They were initially an eclectic new wave outfit, with interesting…
Music Quiz: Musicians with a US President
Congratulations to EclecticMusicLover and Rich Kamerman who both scored 29/30 in last week’s Musicians with US Presidents II quiz. This…
New Music Reviews: Chvrches, Lorde, Faye Webster
One of my pet theories at Aphoristic Album Reviews is that artists peak with their fourth (and fifth) albums. Today,…
Nuggets: Journey To The Center Of The Mind by The Amboy Dukes
Before he became Patti Smith’s lead guitarist, Lenny Kaye compiled Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era. Released in…
Music Quiz: Musicians with a US President II
Congratulations to Tony, whose 24/25 in last week’s Famous Albums Badly Drawn Quiz was a clear winner. This week you…
Nuggets: Are You Gonna Be There (At The Love In) by The Chocolate Watchband
Before he became Patti Smith’s lead guitarist, Lenny Kaye compiled Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era. Released in…
Music Quiz: Famous Albums Badly Drawn
For most of the week, it looked like ‘Advance Australia Fair’ was going to ring around the medal ceremony. A…
New Music Reviews: Black Midi, Lindsey Buckingham, and Torres
Not as strong as last week’s crop of records – the new black midi record is excellent but I’m less…
10 Best Todd Rundgren Songs
Todd Rundgren emerged in the late 1960s as guitarist and songwriter for the Philadelphia rock band The Nazz. He’s scored…
Music Quiz: Who’s in the Band?
Congratulations to everyone who participated in last week’s badly drawn 1970s hits quiz. Especially to Eclectic Music Lover, who just…
New Music Reviews: Kacey Musgraves, Tinashe, and Tyler, The Creator
Three American artists this week, although Tyler, The Creator and Tinashe both have fathers with African heritage – Tyler’s father…
Nuggets: Too Many People by The Leaves
Before he became Patti Smith’s lead guitarist, Lenny Kaye compiled Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era. Released in…
Music Quiz: Artist to Badly Drawn Songs 1970s
Congratulations to kingclover and ElecticMusicLover, who both scored 36/38 in last week’s tough ‘The’ Bands quiz. It included some obscure…
Music Quiz: ‘The’ Bands
Congratulations to Tony, who caffeined up and motored through last week’s Flip Flop albums quiz. This week is straightforward after…
New Music Reviews: Lucy Dacus, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Erika de Casier
I’ve been finding lots of albums in the good to very good range this year, but not many great ones.…
Nuggets: (Would I Still Be) Her Big Man by The Brigands
Before he became Patti Smith’s lead guitarist, Lenny Kaye compiled Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era. Released in…
Music Quiz: Flip Flop Albums
Congratulatons to EclecticMusicLover, who easily won last week’s never had a #1 single. He scored 26/29, 3 ahead of J’s…
Singapore by Girls Aloud: Great B-Sides
Lots of dedicated music fans are sniffy about mainstream pop music from the 21st century. And if there’s anything worse,…
11 Best ABBA Songs
Swedish quartet ABBA were massively popular from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s. They were effectively a supergroup when they…
Music Quiz: Never Had a #1 Single
Congratulations to Aaron, who just edged Tony and Rich for the fastest time last week. This week you need to…
New Music Reviews – Squid, Cleo Sol, and Andy Partridge
In an unplanned coincidence, today’s three recent releases are from English settlements ending with on. Post-punk band Squid from Brighton,…
Nuggets: Are You A Boy Or Are You A Girl by The Barbarians
Before he became Patti Smith’s lead guitarist, Lenny Kaye compiled the 2 album set, Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First…
Music Quiz: Band by Fan Store Product
Congratulations to tomwritesaboutstuff, who recorded the fastest time in last week’s acrostic puzzle quiz. This week you need to name…
10 Best Townes Van Zandt Songs
Singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt came from a prominent Texan family. Prodigiously intelligent, his family groomed him as a lawyer or…
Music Quiz: Mini Acrostic Puzzle
Congratulations to kingclover, who scored the only 100% score in last week’s finish that album quiz. We can continue on…
New Music Reviews: St. Vincent, Japanese Breakfast, Emeka Ogboh
There’s a strong batch of newish albums this week. The retro 1970s sleaze of St. Vincent’s Daddy’s Home, the diverse…
Nuggets: Wooly Bully by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs
Before he became Patti Smith’s lead guitarist, Lenny Kaye compiled the 2 album set, Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First…
Music Quiz: The Last Word Albums II
Congratulations to Eclectic Music Lover and Tony, who were the only 100% scores in last week’s Last Word Albums quiz.…
The 10 Worst Songs of the 1960s
The 1960s were a great time for popular music. The development of recording technology allowed new sounds, and the decade…
10 Best Beach Boys Songs
The Beach Boys emerged from Hawthorne California, with Brian, Carl, and Dennis Wilson, along with their cousin Mike Love. Their…
Music Quiz: The Last Word, Albums
Congratulations to Sheik Yerbouti, who won last week’s 2010s’ Badly Drawn Songs challenge. This week you need to complete the…
New Music Reviews: Can, Mdou Moctar, and Xiu Xiu
1970s avant-garde German band Can pull a classic show out of their archives, while Mdou Moctar plays desert blues in…
Nuggets: I Want Candy by The Strangeloves
Before he became Patti Smith’s lead guitarist, Lenny Kaye compiled the 2 album set, Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First…
Music Quiz: Artist to Badly Drawn Songs 2010s
Congratulations to Sheik Yerbouti, who scored a perfect 20/20 in last week’s quiz. There were lots of strong 18s and…
Book Review: In Love With These Times – My Life With Flying Nun Records by Roger Shepherd
Note: In Love With These Times was released in 2016, but I only read it recently. Flying Nun is a…
10 Best Split Enz Songs
Split Enz first reached New Zealand’s attention with an appearance on the New Faces talent show in 1973, where they…
Music Quiz: Artist by Badly Drawn Song 2000s
Congratulations to Jamie from , who pipped Rich for the fastest time last week. This week we’re back to badly…
New Music Reviews: Manchester Orchestra, tUnE-yArDs, and Wolf Alice
Welcome back to new music reviews, with three recent albums. Manchester Orchestra’s earnest stadium rock, tUnE-yArDs’ eclectic indie-soul, and Wolf…
Nuggets: Louie Louie by The Kingsmen
Before he became Patti Smith’s lead guitarist, Lenny Kaye compiled the 2 album set, Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First…
Music Quiz: Follow That Lyric Song Titles II
Since Sporcle doesn’t measure micro-seconds, it looks like we had a dead heat last week. Congratulations to Rich Kamerman and…
The Clash: Albums Ranked from Worst to Best
Billed as “the only band that matters”, The Clash released their debut single ‘White Riot’ in the iconic punk year…
10 Best Go-Betweens Songs
Robert Forster and Grant McLennan met at the University of Queensland. Despite McLennan’s lack of musical experience, they formed a…
Music Quiz: Follow That Lyric Song Titles
Congratulations to Music Enthusiast Jim, who took home the fastest perfect score in last week’s Follow That Lyric 1960s challenge.…
New Music Reviews: Sault, Genesis Owusu, Miranda Lambert
Three new-ish records this week. The fifth album in little over two years from London’s enigmatic Sault, a debut from…
Nuggets: One Track Mind by The Knickerbockers
Before he became Patti Smith’s lead guitarist, Lenny Kaye compiled the 2 album set, Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First…
Music Quiz: Follow That Lyric 1960s
Congratulations to Rich Kamerman, on the moon this week with a high score of 17/20 in the Today I Learned…
Revisiting Creative Noise
During the first decade of the 2000s, this website was a minor, unremarkable part of the “web reviewing community”, where…
10 Best Dire Straits Songs
Dire Straits emerged at the height of punk in the UK, where Mark Knopfler’s smooth and accomplished guitar playing was…
Music Quiz: Today I Learned
Congratulations to Eclectic Music Lover, whose love of eclectic music helped him to score 24/24 in last week’s overlap quiz.…
New Music Reviews: Crowded House, The Chills, and Porter Robinson
Coincidentally this week, I review two 7th studio albums by New Zealand bands starting with C. As well as Porter…
Celebrate the News by The Beach Boys: Great B-Sides
The Beach Boys spent the first half of the 1960s becoming more sophisticated. Under the leadership of Brian Wilson, they…
Music Quiz: Song Title Overlaps
Welcome back to weekly music quiz. Congratulations to Sheik Yerbouti, who just pipped Jim for the fastest time in last…
Nuggets: Out Of Our Tree by The Wailers
Before he became Patti Smith’s lead guitarist, Lenny Kaye compiled the 2 album set, Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First…
Music Quiz: Building the Beatles
Congratulations to jprobichaud, who recorded the fastest time in last week’s quiz. This week is a single-artist quiz, about…
New Music Reviews: Dawn Richard, Olivia Rodrigo, Jazmine Sullivan
This week we look at three releases from contemporary female American artists – R&B artists Jazmine Sullivan and Dawn Richard,…
Peter Gabriel’s Best Album: Peter Gabriel (1980)
Before going solo, Peter Gabriel fronted the progressive rock band Genesis for six albums. His theatrical flair, croaky voice, and…
Music Quiz: Artist by Badly Drawn Song 1990s
Congratulations to Tony, who top-scored with 15/16 in last week’s badly drawn sexy album covers quiz. This week we’re up…
Nuggets: I Think I’m Down by the Harbinger Complex
Before he became Patti Smith’s lead guitarist, Lenny Kaye compiled the 2 album set, Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First…
Music Quiz: Maxim’s Sexiest Album Covers (Badly Drawn)
Congratulations to Tony from , who scored the fastest time for last week’s badly drawn 1980s quiz. This week we’re…
10 Best Hits of the 1990s
The 1990s are fondly remembered in hindsight, the decade of grunge, gangsta-rap, trip-hop, and Brit-pop. This list of the 10…
Nuggets: What Am I Going to Do? by The Dovers
Before he became Patti Smith’s lead guitarist, Lenny Kaye compiled the 2 album set, Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First…
Music Quiz: Artist by Badly Drawn Song 1980s
Congratulations to Paul from who scored the fastest time in scoring 20/20 in last week’s badly drawn song quiz…
New Music Reviews: Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders, and The London Symphony Orchestra, DJ Maphorisa, Kabza De Small, and Tresor
Welcome to what’s surely the longest headline in the history of Aphoristic Album Reviews. Coincidentally, all three albums in this…
10 Best Simon & Garfunkel Songs
Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel met in 1953 when they appeared in their school’s production of Alice in Wonderland –…
Music Quiz: Artist by Badly Drawn Song 1960s and 1970s
Congratulations to EclecticMusicLover and 2Loud2OldMusic, who both scored 19/20 in last week’s Tracks on the Back Solo quiz. I was…
R.E.M. Albums: Ranked from Worst to Best
R.E.M. emerged from Athens, Georgia, part of a fertile scene that also produced The B-52s, Pylon, and Matthew Sweet. They…
Nuggets: Codine by The Charlatans
Before he became Patti Smith’s lead guitarist, Lenny Kaye compiled the 2 album set, Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First…
Music Quiz: Tracks on the Back Solo
Congratulations to Kamer Chameleo-Man who scored the fastest perfect score last week. This week you need to identify solo artists…
10 Best Hit Songs of the 1970s
I’ve listed the ten worst songs of the 1970s, so it’s only fair to look at the highlights of the…
10 Best Paul Simon Songs
Paul Simon’s songs are part of the American landscape, a thoughtful man documenting his inner dialogue in popular song. From…
Music Quiz: Guess Em In Fewer Words
Congratulations to ‘Boom Boom’ Rich Kamermancini, who won for the second week running in last week’s 4×4 quiz. This week…
New Music Reviews: Flock of Dimes, Kacy & Clayton & Marlon Williams, and Buck Meek
There’s an Americana theme with these three new releases. Jenn Wasner covers a lot of musical ground with her excellent…
Nuggets: Johnny Was A Good Boy by Mystery Trend
Before he became Patti Smith’s lead guitarist, Lenny Kaye compiled the 2 album set, Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First…
Music Quiz: 4×4 Albums
Congratulations to Baby-You’re-A-Rich-Kamerman who blitzed last week’s quiz, solving the 8 questions in a reality-defying 6 seconds. This week we…
10 Best Stevie Wonder Songs
Michigan’s Stevland Hardaway Morris started his recording career young – taking the name Little Stevie Wonder, he recorded his first…
Music Quiz: Group Clicking
We had a smaller turnout than usual in last week’s parentheses quiz, but it was again won by a Jim…
10 Worst Songs of the 1990s
It’s easy to look back at the 1990s with rose-coloured spectacles. You may assume that the charts were dominated by…
Nuggets: Stop! Get A Ticket by Clefs of Lavender Hill
Before he became Patti Smith’s lead guitarist, Lenny Kaye compiled the two-LP set, Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic…
Music Quiz: Parenthetical Asides
Last week’s US presidents quiz was a tight run thing, with both Jims joining me on 20/20 at 2:50, creating…
New Music Reviews: Azana, Cassandra Jenkins, and Lana Del Rey
Aphoristic Album Reviews takes a look at three new releases from women this week. Ingoma, from South African teenager Azana,…
Queen Albums: Ranked from Worst To Best
Queen formed in 1970 in London, originally a hard rock band with shades of progressive rock and metal. They adapted…
10 Best Songs by The Waterboys
When Mike Scott formed The Waterboys he was the group’s only member, recording most of their self-titled 1983 debut alone…
Music Quiz: Presidents in Song Titles
Congratulations to Angie and J. who both scored 75/78 in last week’s music grid quiz. It looks like almost no-one…
Nuggets: Complication by The Monks
Before he became Patti Smith’s lead guitarist, Lenny Kaye compiled the 2 album set, Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First…
Music Quiz: Music Grid
No one scored more than 18/20 in last week’s Double Grammy Winners quiz – congratulations to Eclectic Music Lover and…
Asterix Books: Ranked from Worst to Best
The Gaulish warrior Asterix has been a French institution since he first appeared in 1961’s Asterix the Gaul. He’s accompanied…
Music Quiz: Double Grammy Wins
Congratulations to Sheik Yerbouti, who recorded the fastest time in last week’s Who quiz. I didn’t watch the Grammy ceremony…
New Music Reviews: The Hold Steady, Julien Baker, and Hayley Williams
We stay in the USA for this week’s new albums. Literate bar-rockers The Hold Steady still have new ideas on…
Nuggets: The Witch by The Sonics
Before he became Patti Smith’s lead guitarist, Lenny Kaye compiled the 2 album set, Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First…
Music Quiz: The Who Songs by Image
Congratulations to Aaron from Keepsmealive, who scored the fastest challenger time on last week’s quiz about 1980s Songs. This week…
Talking Heads Albums: Ranked from Worst to Best
New York rock band Talking Heads started their career as the Artistics, with drummer Chris Frantz and vocalist/guitarist David Byrne.…
10 Best Gene Clark Songs
Gene Clark is best-known as an original member of The Byrds. He was the first to leave the group –…
Music Quiz: 5 Letter Words in 1980s Songs
Congratulations to J. and Tony who tied for the fastest time in last week’s Finish That Band II quiz. This…
10 Worst Songs of the 1980s
When I was a teenager in the 1990s, the 1980s were often reviled as the decade that taste forgot. But…
