December 2011 Archives

One of the greatest albums of the 1960s (or any decade), Odyssey & Oracle was the Zombies' last hurrah. The band crafted a warm, vividly psychedelic yet achingly melancholy work that can stand proudly next to Pet Sounds, Sgt. Pepper's and Village Green. The album was initially ignored in Britain, but after the deflated group disbanded, the fantastic "Time of the Season" took off in the U.S. Top tracks include "A Rose for Emily," "Care of Cell 44," "Beechwood Park" ... actually, all of them. No music collection is complete without it. [Nick Dedina] Hear It Now!

Weird enough to actually like Christmas music? Well, Darlene Love's "White Christmas" and "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" are the two best Christmas songs ever. The Crystals' "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" is third, and The Ronettes are always wonderful. Anyone who disagrees is getting coal in their stocking. [Mike McGuirk] Hear It Now!

Steve Hauschildt is the quiet member of the trio Emeralds; his solo output is slim compared to the volumes amassed by bandmates John Elliott and Mark McGuire. His first widely available (non-CD-R) album is accordingly economical, making the most of its materials. It's not minimal, but it's rapturously focused. No gesture is wasted, and his pinging synthesizer fugues roll like perpetual motion machines. Klaus Schulze, Durutti Column and Detroit techno's John Beltran inform the dewy arpeggios, but the music is a universe of its own making. [Philip Sherburne] Hear It Now!

Welcome to Producers Corner, our new video series in which we grill our favorite producers about their mysterious craft while following them around their natural habitat: the studio, of course. So far we've talked to folks like Pacific Northwest icon Phil Ek, fearless M.I.A. cohort Zakee and SF rock guru John Vanderslice. Today we make a home visit to Jimmy Tamborello, the electro-pop innovator who records as Dntel, has worked with the likes of Rilo Kiley and Bright Eyes, and is also one-half of celebrated indie-pop duo The Postal Service. He tells us why he prefers working from home (who doesn’t?), how to deal with writer’s block (buy something!), and why it’s better to work alone (you feel free to do dumb stuff). It’s all brought to you by ASUS and Intel. Enjoy.

The appeal of country music, for a sissified city slicker such as myself, largely lies in glimpsing a universe in which everyone is tougher, stronger, surlier, drunker and more adept with power tools than I am, which is not a terribly high bar, no, but it's nonetheless simultaneously dismaying and thrilling how many women can clear it. Here then we have Miranda, Taylor, Neko, Ashton, Carrie, Those Darlins and many others boozing, seething and raging, to my delight/terror. Yes, even the one named "Sunny."

Listen now: Friday Mixtape: Country Chicks Who Could Beat Me Up

"How can I love somebody else/If I can't love myself?" sings Mary J. Blige on "Be Happy," the penultimate track on My Life. The legend is that she recorded this seminal album while struggling with substance abuse and a tumultuous romance with Jodeci's K-Ci Hailey. She sang of pain as well as pleasure, and the incredible six-minute slow jam "I Never Wanna Live Without You" inspired plenty of baby-making. Executive produced by Sean "Puffy" Combs, this is a portrait of a young woman trying to find faith in God and the promise of eternal love, and it is one of the best albums of the '90s. [Mosi Reeves] Hear It Now!

These days, urban music can encompass dance pop, quiet-storm soul, and hardcore hip-hop, from Rihanna to Charlie Wilson, from Jill Scott to Lil Wayne in "How to Love" mode. This would all be confusing, except for one thing: You know an R&B track when you hear it. That's why our Urban Hits station mixes tracks from genre queens Beyoncé and Mary J Blige with adult-contemporary goddess Adele and rap heroine Nicki Minaj. All of them contribute to our current understanding of R&B as less of a fixed genre (or a fixed race) than an aesthetic. It's a style of music with deep roots in soul and an appreciation of pop music's boundless creativity. Most importantly, it retains the ability to speak to a wide international audience. So don't be surprised if you hear Rick Ross' "Aston Martin Music" after Trey Songz "Bottoms Up." This is the sound of R&B in 2011.

Listen Now: Urban Hits

Live from New York City's CMJ Music Festival, here's our exclusive chat with Pat Grossi of the symphonic dream-pop crew Active Child, wherein he discusses how he got into the harp, the ways his time at Catholic high school inspired him and why he wants to be James Brown (!). Enjoy.

Creating a sequel to a classic album is always a tricky proposition. There's going to be anticipation, but there are also expectations. While Raekwon fails to match the intensity of his 1995 solo debut, this is a valiant effort. Rae's flow has weathered a bit over the years—he has the gristle of a middle-aged man—but his knack for wordplay and imagery remains. Lyrically, this is his best work in a decade. And though nothing here matches "Criminology" or "Incarcerated Scarfaces" from the original, "House of the Flying Daggers" is a great late-period Wu classic. [Sam Chennault] Hear It Now!