eddiespageti

#48 – Under Construction by Missy Elliott

This album is excellent. The beats are great, as you would expect from Timbaland, and the tracks feature some amazing guest appearances, including Method Man, Ludacris, Jay-Z and Beyoncé. Now I will be spending the rest of the evening listening to more of those artists. The situation we find our country in really makes youContinue reading “#48 – Under Construction by Missy Elliott”

#47 – Ventura by Anderson .Paak

I saw Anderson .Paak at Coachella last year and really enjoyed his set. That makes it all the sillier that it took watching Trolls World Tour with my 2 ½-year-old to make me check out one of his albums. If you’ve been following this blog, you’ve no doubt noticed that I’ve been exclusively selecting albumsContinue reading “#47 – Ventura by Anderson .Paak”

#46 – Whitney Houston by Whitney Houston

Despite her ubiquitous presence in American pop culture, before today I had only ever listened to a handful of Whitney’s singles. It’s so tragic how her life ended and, indeed, how a good deal of it was lived. You like to think that, once a certain level of fame and wealth are achieved, life becomesContinue reading “#46 – Whitney Houston by Whitney Houston”

#45 – Face Your Fear by Curtis Harding

This album discovery is another triumph of Spotify’s algorithms. It really lets me be lazy about finding my selections. Curtis Harding seems to have been born in the wrong decade. This album would sound just as at home in the ‘70s as it does now. I’m sure it’s just that I am not well versedContinue reading “#45 – Face Your Fear by Curtis Harding”

#44 – Victory Lap by Nipsey Hussle

This man came up today in a conversation about people we never got to see live. Its always tragic to see a beloved artist die so young and we’re unfortunately all too familiar with stories of overdosed celebrities, but it’s another thing altogether to have them murdered in broad daylight. There are always going toContinue reading “#44 – Victory Lap by Nipsey Hussle”

#43 – There’s A Riot Goin’ On by Sly And The Family Stone

Since yesterday’s selection was a Marvin Gaye album, tonight’s will be one that was named in response to a Marvin Gaye album (What’s Going On). How’s that for a loose connection? The riot mentioned apparently is one that was blamed on the band themselves after a free show they were to play in a ChicagoContinue reading “#43 – There’s A Riot Goin’ On by Sly And The Family Stone”

#42 – United by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell

I love albums from this era. There’s something about the drums from recordings at this time that really makes the music so distinctive. This one is also interesting to me because Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell were paired up by the producers of Motown Records. They added vocal parts to some of each other’s songsContinue reading “#42 – United by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell”

#41 – ATLiens by OutKast

It seems fitting to pick something from the latest flashpoint in the fight against police brutality and systemic racism, Atlanta. Between the Rayshard Brooks case and the issues with the recent primary vote, Georgia has a lot of issues to work out. Of course, neither of these are isolated incidents. The shadiness surrounding their electionsContinue reading “#41 – ATLiens by OutKast”

#40 – Blue Train by John Coltrane

I’m always fascinated by great jazz albums, partly because a lot of it is over my head and partly because the musicians seem to possess such an otherworldly knowledge and ability. One of my favorite things about music, and particularly live music, is its ability to touch people who know nothing about how music works. Continue reading “#40 – Blue Train by John Coltrane”

#39 – I Was Walkin’ Through The Woods by Buddy Guy

I once saw a documentary about Buddy Guy with a story about Jimi Hendrix, who was apparently such a fan of Buddy Guy that he either cancelled, or abruptly shortened, a show of his that was down the street from where Buddy was playing that night. There follows footage of Buddy’s performance from that evening,Continue reading “#39 – I Was Walkin’ Through The Woods by Buddy Guy”