Blog
Album Of The Day: Illinois by Sufjan Stevens
Released 20 years ago today in the United States, this is the second and last of Sufjan Stevens's albums that is loosely based on a U.S. state. Known as Illinois, the full title of this album is Sufjan Stevens invites you to: Come on feel the ILLINOISE, and the titles of some of the tracks are much, much more verbose and sometimes a whole story unto themselves. At 74 minutes and 22 tracks, this is a magnum opus for the artist and a incorporates many new sounds to the musical styles of Stevens, whose music was often mostly banjo-heavy, quirky folk-rock music before this. This album has elements of marching bands, classical, electronica, musical theater, and much more with many of the instruments played in the studio by Sufjan himself. Lyrically, it makes a lot of references to Illinois history and geography, mentioning lots of city names and places as well as historical events such as the World's Columbian Exposition, John Wayne Gacy, Jr.'s actions as a serial killer, and that the fictional city of Metropolis that Superman resides in is somewhat based off Chicago. But it also uses these bits as a pushing-off point to talk about other subjects, weaving in religious themes and more universal questions of life, such as referencing Chicago's most famous skyscraper "The Sears Tower" in the track "The Seer's Tower", referencing the Apocalypse and Sufjan's relationship with God. 20 years later, it still is Sufjan Stevens's most successful album by sales and is definitely an interesting listen the whole way through due to its mini-songs and musical interludes.
Release Year: 2005
Listen on Apple Music
Listen on Spotify
Album Of The Day: Flap Your Wings by The Choir
Released on this day 25 years ago, this is the 9th studio album from alternative rock band The Choir, and the first release from this band that I was exposed to, as I bought this CD a few years later at some sort of store while music shopping. It's not music I listen to often, but "Mercy Lives Here" is very beautiful and "Hey Gene" finds the band grappling with their close friend Gene Eugene dying so unexpectedly. And though this recording of "Beautiful Scandalous Night" is maybe not as beloved as other versions on more worship-focused albums, but it's the band's own version. The lyrics of some of these rock songs also seem to be about personal joys and struggles with relationships and starting families as well. It's maybe not The Choir's most beloved album, but it's a good album and worthy of a listen, I think.
Release Year: 2000
Listen on Apple Music
Listen on Spotify
Buy on Bandcamp
Album Of The Day: Disappear by PFR
Released 24 years ago today, this is the fifth studio album from the band PFR. In 1996, the band broke up, but in 2000 they reunited for a track on the Roaring Lambs album. They decided to reunite and recorded an album, but as soon as the album was released, their label folded and the album never really got the promotion they deserved. The band may have been a bit disappointed with the sound, though I have a copy of the CD and it sounds very good to me. It's definitely not exactly the same as their '90s albums, but it's some solid rock/pop songs with some three-part harmonies and religious language. 24 years later, they are working to give fans a chance to rediscover the album. Through a crowd-funding campaign, they are getting the album remastered and will release it on CD, vinyl and streaming. So whether you have heard this album or if you have not, you can support their Kickstarter campaign to re-release the album independently, and sometime this year or next, it will be on streaming for everyone to hear.
Release Year: 2001
Crowdfund the album's re-release
Album Of The Day: Halcyon Days by Chagall Guevara
What do you expect from a band that hasn't released any music in over 30 years? Probably nothing, usually. But in this case, you will find the unexpected. Released 3 years ago today, this is the second studio album from the oddly-named band Chagall Guevara. The band's members had a successful crowd-funding campaign in 2020, and one of the excellent results was Halcyon Days, a collection of mostly new songs from this band that had not played for nearly 30 years but was mostly music industry veterans. (A few songs were written in that early '90s era, and there's an excellent Mark Heard cover to close out the album as well.) It's an eclectic collection of music, with "Still Know Your Number By Heart" having a country lilt and other songs being much more of a classic rock style. The lyrics are a bit of a puzzle, but definitely have a dry humor and do a bit of poking fun at the establishment and the music industry. It's definitely not a new band and it's a bit of a throwback sound, but it's fun to hear some new recordings from a band that has resurrected after 30 years of the members doing other things.
Release Year: 2022
Listen on Apple Music
Listen on Spotify
Album Of The Day: Crooked by Propaganda
"I don't hate America, just demand she keeps her promises." Released 8 years ago today, this is my favorite album from rapper Propaganda and one of my favorite rap albums ever. I first heard Propaganda in the LA crew Tunnel Rats back in the early 2000s, and "Slow Cook" and "Do Know Wrong" definitely incorporate some of the vibes from the underground rap that was Propaganda's start. Still, the poet and rapper known as Propaganda has done so much more than that since then, and the musical styles on this album reflects that. "Crooked Ways", "Cynical" and "Gentrify" are some of my favorites here. "It's Complicated" and "I Hate Cats" are more spoken word interludes than rap, but fit really well into the album, in my opinion. Propaganda clearly shares his worldview as a black man throughout and digging into his lyrics has definitely helped educate me on the life of black people in today's culture. I might not fully understand everything he's saying yet or the communities he comes from, but I love the sounds and his wordplay, plus the excellent music his team put together for this album. Thanks, Propaganda, for reaching out to so many communities and coming to Minneapolis and AudioFeed to perform live, and I hope we continue to get new music from you as the world spins on.
Release Year: 2017
Listen on Apple Music
Listen on Spotify
Album Of The Day: Travel III by Future Of Forestry
Released 15 years ago today, this was the third of three EPs released by Future Of Forestry on the theme of "travel", and it's one of their best releases in my opinion. The band gets going with the rockin' "Bold & Underlined", and definitely gets more electronic with "Protection". "Did You Lose Yourself?" is probably the best song on the EP, with a beautiful pop sound and strings that are a foretaste of the band's sound on their later independent releases. Eric Owyoung, the songwriter and musician who is the heart of Future Of Forestry, its a very talented writer and these Travel I, Travel II, and Travel III EPs were fun explorations of his talents and the many types of songs he can create. This EP is maybe the most rock 'n' roll the band ever gets, which is unfortunate in my opinion, but I continue to love the music put out by Future Of Forestry for almost 20 years now.
Release Year: 2010
Listen on Apple Music
Listen on Spotify
Album Of The Day: If In Case You Feel The Same by Thad Cockrell
"If I'm gonna go down, I'm gonna go down swingin'." Released 5 years ago earlier this week, this is the fourth album released under Thad's name, among albums recorded with other friends and the band Leagues. It's a fun collection of indie rock, though the musical influences in these songs are clearly include pop, electronic, gospel and country. Thad Cockrell has been a singer-songwriter for over 25 years and has co-written with many different artists across many genres. This album is a solid 10 tracks about love found and lost. I think my favorite part is the middle tracks: "Slow And Steady", "Love Moves In" and "Fill My Cup", though the it's a great listen all the way through.
Release Year: 2020
Listen on Apple Music
Listen on Spotify
Album Of The Day: Starflyer 59 by Starflyer 59
Released 30 years ago today, this is the second studio album from shoegaze/indie rock band Starflyer 59. In the early '90s, My Bloody Valentine started the "shoegaze" genre, where the vocals were often lost in a sea of distorted guitars and other instruments. In 1995, this second self-titled album by Starflyer 59, also known as "Gold" for its solid gold-colored cover artwork, was later recognized in Pitchfork Magazine's Top 50 Shoegaze albums as developing the genre of shoegaze further in the mid-90s. It's definitely 50 minutes of heavily distorted guitars and somewhat sad or angsty love songs. Though not as accessible as much of their later indie-pop music, it still has its charms and is a good album to listen to straight through, in my opinion. I love that Tooth & Nail and now Velvet Blue Music releases the prolific, rather offbeat music of Jason Martin (Starflyer 59) for all these years. Though it's not something I listen to very regularly, Starflyer 59 is always an interesting listen.
Release Year: 1995
Listen on Apple Music
Listen on Spotify
Album Of The Day: We Walk This Road by Robert Randolph & The Family Band
Released 15 years ago tomorrow, this is the fourth album from R&B/gospel/rock group Robert Randolph & The Family Band, and it's one of their best in my opinion. The band and their lead singer/pedal steel guitarist got their start at church but their first three albums were much more in the "jam band" rock genre than this album, which definitely still has elements of those classic R&B/rock jams. Produced by T-Bone Burnett, this album celebrates their many musical and spiritual influences. Along with a number of original songs, covers of classic songs by Blind Willie Johnson, Bob Dylan, John Lennon and Prince are spread throughout this album and they are great new versions. It definitely celebrates their Gospel roots as well as a variety of other musical influences. As always, the band's musicianship is great and Robert Randolph's skills on the pedal steel are jaw-dropping. Sadly, it seems like the version on streaming doesn't have the brief clips of classic Gospel groups between some of the songs ("segue" tracks) which definitely contribute to the feel of the album—tying past to present—which is I guess a reason to get your own copy on CD or double LP.
Release Year: 2010
Listen on Apple Music
Listen on Spotify
Album Of The Day: Coming To Life by The Normals
Released 25 years ago today, this is the second album from alternative rock band The Normals. These were young men who were interested in making raw, honest rock about their life and loves, and that included some thoughts on their faith in God and women they were romantically involved in. This was a favorite album of mine in the following years, and I still love to give it a listen. As I've watched Andrew Osenga and a few other members go on to do other things musically and professionally, it's clear they have matured a lot since then, but it's still fun to relive their passion and earnestness for tackling the challenges of life from The Normals era. Favorite tracks are "Every Moment", "The Best I Can", "We Are The Beggars At The Foot Of God's Door" and the title track. These songs never really made it on the radio, but it's still an album I love to listen to all these years later.
Release Year: 2000
Listen on Apple Music
Listen on Spotify