Albums That I Own

I write about albums. Albums that I own.

Carrie & Lowell

Posted on March 27, 2015 by R.J.

Band: Sufjan Stevens
Album: Carrie & Lowell
Best song: “Fourth of July”
Worst song: “Drawn to the Blood” is not as strong as the rest of the record.

There’s a conversation to be had about Sufjan Stevens, his religiosity, his skillset, his campiness and his general whiteness (I believe Pitchfork touched on the whiteness of the indie scene here). There are connections there, most certainly, but I can’t put them together right now. To use an overly obnoxious cliche: What do we talk about when we talk about Stevens? Is it one of those things above? Is it his popularity that seemingly came out of nowhere, only to be somewhat wasted on Christmas songs? Continue reading →

Singles

Posted on March 17, 2015 by R.J.

Band: Various
Album: Singles
Best song: “Birth Ritual” and “Would?” are classics.
Worst song: “Waiting For Somebody” is so so dumb.

Part of being old is the mistaken belief that the thing from one’s youth are the best things to have ever existed. I’ve written about it a million times, but — if I can pat myself on the back here for a minute — I do try to buck that trend. Balancing the “everything new is the best” with “everything from my youth is the best” is a tough road to hoe, but here we are. Continue reading →