Tag: Pop
-
Carole King ‘Tapestry’ (1971)
No list of the greatest songwriters of all-time is complete (or even worth reading) without a mention of Carole King. She is one of the most successful female songwriters in history, writing 118 hits that cracked the Billboard Hot 100 over her sixty-year career, earning her two separate inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall…
Written by
·
-
Roxy Music ‘Avalon’ (1982)
Roxy Music had long moved past its early 70’s art rock phase with Brian Eno by the time the early 80’s rolled around, but the band’s deep and rich history of avant garde synth pop is still present underneath all the wonderfully manicured pop sheen found littered throughout Avalon. From the sultry saxaphones to the…
Written by
·
-
Stevie Wonder ‘Songs In The Key of Life’ (1976)
The word “beloved” gets tossed around too often when talking about musicians (guilty as charged on that front), but it’s the perfect word to use when describing Stevie Wonder. An American icon in every sense of the word, Wonder was born six weeks premature and developed retrolental fibroplasia which caused him to become blind shortly…
Written by
·
-
Fine Young Cannibals ‘The Raw & The Cooked’ (1989)
Fine Young Cannibals 1989 release The Raw & The Cooked is a soul album in the way you’d envision an 80’s New Wave soul album to be. In other words, it’s an eclectic mix of sounds and styles that incorporates breakbeat, New Wave, dance, and rock elements filtered through the gravitational pull of Motown soul…
Written by
·
-
Christopher Cross ‘Christopher Cross’ (1979)
Yacht rock holds an incredibly special place in my heart. The smooth production style, the gorgeous three-part vocal harmonies, the sultry smooth rhythm sections, the saxaphones and synths– it’s all just so wonderfully easy to listen to. This is a sub-genre of music I’ve loved forever, became relatively obsessed with when I got Sirius XM…
Written by
·
-
BTS ‘Love Yourself 轉 Tear’ (2018)
BTS is the largest boy band in the entire world, one of South Korea’s largest exports, have spoken at the United Nations General Assembly three times, and was the first non-English speaking act to sell out concerts at the fabled Wembley Stadium in London and Rose Bowl in California. In other words, they’re absolutely massive…
Written by
·
-
Katy Perry ‘Teenage Dream’ (2010)
No one does massive effervescent pop quite like Katy Perry, and no album perfectly encapsulates the shiny bubblegum aesthetic of her prolific career better than 2010’s Teenage Dream. Is it vain, juvenile, and all a bit mindless? Absolutely. But it’s also an absolute pop masterpiece, filled with smash hits that are simply impossible to get…
Written by
·
-
Dua Lipa ‘Future Nostalgia’ (2020)
Dua Lipa’s brand of peanut butter smooth disco pop is simply a delight to listen to. It’s incredibly well produced, her voice is magnificent, and the songwriting hooks are crafted with care by the bevy of songwriters who were brought in to help bring the album to life. Future Nostalgia was actually inspired in large…
Written by
·
-
Cyndi Lauper ‘She’s So Unusual’ (1983)
Cyndi Lauper is an icon in nearly every sense of the world. Her wild hairstyles, feverishly flamboyant in all their neon glory, is a distinct calling card she’s continued to this day ever since introducing punk fashion into the pop mainstream. Her work as an advocate for the LGBTQ community during a time when it…
Written by
·
-
Ben Rector ‘The Joy of Music’ (2022)
Ben Rector is somewhat of a singer-songwriter darling, rising to prominence in 2015 off the back of his Billboard-charting single “Brand New” which put him firmly on the map in the mainstream. A handful of world tours and smash-hits later, Rector got married and had three kids. And while he never was an artist who…
Written by
·
-
Dusty Springfield ‘Dusty in Memphis’ (1969)
Dusty in Memphis is Dusty Springfield’s magnum opus, an amalgamation of Memphis soul and British orchestral pop that over time has grown in stature to be regarded as one of the all-time great albums. The album was actually a pretty significant commercial flop upon its release 1969 (even with top 10 single “Son of A…
Written by
·
-
Céline Dion ‘Falling Into You’ (1996)
Let’s not belabor the point– Céline Dion is a powerhouse. Her four octave range is the stuff of legend. She’s sold over 200 million records worldwide and is one of the best-selling artists of all time. She’s locked down five Grammy’s, four AMA’s, and 20 Juno Awards. In other words, she’s an absolute legend. Falling…
Written by
·
-
Sting ‘Mercury Falling’ (1996)
Sting is an absolute treasure to the world of music. I love nearly everything about him. His vocal talent is undeniable, rich with character. His bass playing is sublime and incredibly emotive. His storytelling chops are world renowned. But what I love most about his approach as a songwriter is his unabashed desire to take…
Written by
·
-
Barbra Streisand ‘Guilty’ (1980)
If you had to make a list of top entertainment icons of all-time there’s no doubt Barbra Streisand is somewhere at the top of that list. Over her six decade career Streisand has cemented herself in history as a rare winner of the EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony), sold over 150 million records (!!!), and…
Written by
·
-
Khalid ‘American Teen’ (2017)
Khalid’s American Teen nestles itself comfortably into a space somewhere between modern pop and Indie shoegaze, trotting through its 51-minute runtime at a measured pace. The vocals, guitar, and 80’s influenced synths are the focus here– Khalid doesn’t take a whole lot of risks on this album, opting to churn out a cohesive auditory experience…
Written by
·
-
Rick Astley ‘Whenever You Need Somebody’ (1987)
For people in my generation Rick Astley is pretty much exclusively known for nothing more than “Rickrolling”, which is basically the concept of providing a link to something like an article detailing the economic and industrial development of Singapore from 1950 to 1990 (a fascinating read fwiw) and via bait and switch providing a link…
Written by
·
-
Drake ‘Scorpion’ (2018)
There’s been no larger mainstream figure in hip-hop over the past decade than Drake. He almost singlehandedly dominated the commercial charts in the 2010’s, appealing to hardcore hip-hop fans, grandmothers, and everyone else in between. Time will tell how well Drake’s prolific output ages in the coming decades compared to some of his contemporaries (see:…
Written by
·
-
Taylor Swift ‘Red (Taylor’s Version)’ (2021)
Paul Simon. Bob Dylan. Prince. Joni Mitchell. Paul McCartney. Bruce Springsteen. Taylor Swift. This collection of names? Some of the best songwriters of all-time. Swift’s 30 track epic Red (Taylor’s Version) underscores that statement with an exclamation point. I’m not usually one for extended releases and double albums as they tend to be filled with…
Written by
·
-
Whitney Houston ‘Whitney Houston’ (1985)
As I’ve mentioned before there are only two singers in the GOAT conversation for me– Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston. They are two different types of singers (you can read our recap of Aretha’s 1972 album Young, Gifted and Black to understand why her soulful delivery is so damn special) but from a technical perspective…
Written by
·
-
alt-J ‘An Awesome Wave’ (2012)
I was fresh out of college and into the working world when An Awesome Wave came out in 2012 and can still vividly remember this album encapsulating my feelings at the time– wistful nostalgia for friends left behind and the hope of what life had in store. Listening ten years later, there’s still something about…
Written by
·
-
The Flamingos ‘Flamingo Serenade’ (1959)
Doo-wop music always makes me incredibly nostalgic for my grandparents. There’s a charming simplicity in the a capella approach, 4-5 voices sung over a sparse arrangement of drums, guitar, bass and orchestral strings all laying a foundation for the vocals to take center stage. The Flamingos were one of the preeminent leaders in doo-wop, their…
Written by
·
-
Bruno Mars ’24K Magic’ (2016)
If this album doesn’t make you want to get up out of your seat, throw your hands in the air, and bust out dancing you’ve lost an appreciation for things that make life worth living. I’m serious. If you don’t smile at least once while listening to the album we can’t be friends. 24K Magic…
Written by
·
-
Joe Jackson ‘Night And Day’ (1982)
Joe Jackson’s Night And Day has all of the elements that make the 80’s such a wild time in music history. The album throws elements of jazz, new wave, salsa, classical, and pop into a blender with a laissez-faire panache. What comes out the other end is an album of absolute excess, filled with big…
Written by
·
-
U2 ‘The Joshua Tree’ (1987)
The Joshua Tree is one of the best-selling albums of all-time. You can read all about the cultural impact it had here. That’s not what we’re here for. What we are here for is to talk about the impact The Edge (aka David Howell Evans) has had on popular music. Specifically, we’re here to analyze…
Written by
·
-
Moulin Rouge ‘The Soundtrack’ (2001)
Moulin Rouge was a cultural earthquake in my early teen years and one of the formative films for many millennials now in their mid-30’s. It’s a visually stunning film and an operatic soundtrack that fits the mood perfectly. The soundtrack is composed almost entirely of cover songs with their own over-the-top spin on them– it’s…
Written by
·
-
The Association ‘Insight Out’ (1967)
You can hear The Beatles influence everywhere in The Association’s 1967 album Insight Out, straight away from the barroom sing-along medley of “Wasn’t It Bit Like Now”. Frankly it’s a damn good song, and about as much of a banger you were liable to get in the 60’s. Being completely unfamiliar with the band ahead…
Written by
·
-
Janelle Monáe ‘Dirty Computer’ (2018)
Janelle Monáe’s Dirty Computer is a cyberpunk dream trip through R&B and pop influences, bouncing around like a pinball amidst the synths, spacey guitars, and percussive elements. There’s an air of hope underpinning each track on the record, a sense of self exploration which drives everything forward thematically. When combined with all of the hooks…
Written by
·
-
Sam Smith ‘In The Lonely Hour’ (2014)
When I first heard Sam Smith’s debut album In The Lonely Hour, I was immediately reminded of the same things that struck me when I first heard 21 by Adele. Undeniable and generational vocal talent, timeless musical arrangements, piano-driven ballads, and an innate ability to draw the listener in and make them feel like they’re…
Written by
·
-
The Bangles ‘Different Light’ (1986)
There’s effectively no middle ground when it comes to 80’s pop music– it’s either heartwarmingly cheesy, or just plain cheesy. The Bangles 1986 sophomore effort Different Light is filled with a lot more of the latter unfortunately, a saccharin sweet concoction of jangly guitars and reverb that feel empty despite taking up so much space.…
Written by
·
-
Avril Lavigne ‘Let Go’ (2002)
Somewhere in the pantheon of pop punk’s meteoric rise to the mainstream lies a statue of Avril Lavigne, transfixed with a deadpan stare, clad in a black t-shirt and frayed jeans. It’s hard to overstate just how much Lavigne changed the game for punk in the early aughts, especially for female artists whose role in…
Written by
·
-
Thomas & Friends ‘Big World! Big Adventures!’ (2018)
As far as kids albums go, Big World! Big Adventures! displays a wide array of musical depth. It covers the standard fare— ensemble casts, comedic breaks, medley arrangements, and an impressive array of wordly instruments befitting its name. But really I’m here to talk about the vocal performance on “Free and Easy”. Peter Andre, who…
Written by
·
