#lauryn hill review

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 20/01/2024 (Ariana Grande, 21 Savage's american dream, D-Block Europe)

The story of this week is… well, there are a lot of stories, and the moral of nearly all of them is: don’t get your hopes up. Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season” has halted a certain someone off the top spot, and welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

Rundown

As always, we swiftly ignore you-know who and instead spend a little time on the notable dropouts, songs exiting the UK Top 75, which is what I cover (read the FAQ), after five weeks in the region or a peak in the top 40. As one would expect, there’s quite a lot of movement this week so we do have a hefty list, bidding farewell to… “Just Another Rainbow” by Liam Gallagher and John Squire after just one week at #16, “Entrapreneur” by Central Cee, “You’re Losing Me” (From the Vault) by Taylor Swift getting three-song-ruled out and exchanged for another Taylor song, and then “Standing Next to You” by Jung Kook, “Murdaside” by Mazza_l20 and friends, “First Person Shooter” by Drake featuring J. Cole, “adore u” by Fred again.. and Obongjayar, “Daylight” by David Kushner, “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus and the Selena Gomez-assisted “Calm Down” by Rema. Yeah, some massive losses this week, it really is ushering in the 2024 hit parade this quickly

As for our notable gains, well, we see a return for “Anti-Hero” by Taylor Swift at #69 due to the swap I talked about earlier - it really isn’t a good trade-off in my opinion. Aside from that, there are boosts for “Black Friday” by Tom Odell at #31 which I can’t complain about, and same goes for “Never Lose Me” by Flo Milli at #24. I will complain about “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield at #18, but that brings us neatly to our top five, where we have Teddy Swims fly in at #5 with “Lose Control”, followed by familiar faces, “Lovin’ on Me” by Jack Harlow at #4 and “Murder on the Dancefloor” by Sophie Ellis-Bextor at #3, and then, despite multiple versions and a music video, Noah Kahan fended off Ariana Grande’s comeback single “yes, and?”, stalling out narrowly at #2. It’s fully the season of the sticks, and also the season of 11 Goddamn song reviews, some of which were expected and don’t give me much to say, or much that I want to say, and some that just came out of thin air. I guess let’s just get this party started.

New Entries

#73 - “Scared to Start” - Michael Marcagi

Produced by David Baron

This episode is brought to you by our sponsor, Who the Hell is This Guy? So, Mr. Marcagi started out as the lead singer for non-starter indie rock band The Heavy Hours, before the release of two very recent and very obviously trend-chasing solo singer-songwriter singles. This is the second of them, and seems to have been his breakout and yeah, I suppose we have Noah Kahan at home. The song is overall about a youthful relationship that gets them into undetailed recklessness and escapism, particularly getting away from a small boring town into being on-the-road nomads, without much care for where the future actually takes them. I like the heartland rock pianos and the tried-and-true drop into half-time for the second chorus, though by the time he does it again in the final chorus, I mostly wish he just picked up the pace as the momentum needs to accelerate from there if it’s such a carpe diem track, it feels like a missed opportunity to really go hard at the final hustle, like Kahan would do. As a whole, it’s really not that difficult to see why this is here or even why people could love it, but I feel like it needed more refining to truly make it worthwhile.

#63 - “Praise Jah in the Moonlight” - YG Marley

Produced by Lauryn Hill, YG Marley and JohnnyG

When I say everything will chart in January, I mean everything. This is one of Bob Marley’s many grandchildren, and yes, that is the Lauryn Hill you’re thinking of. She married into the Marleys, this is her son, she co-produced and co-wrote the song, which additionally samples the original Marley’s “Crisis”, a 1978 track with the Wailers, an uplifiting song about living it up through crisis, staying aware of tragedy but taking time to yourself to allow for fun to be had, peace to be found. I like the song a lot, but it was an album track and hence never charted until it was sampled on this newer song from late last year, which - this is not the first time this week we’ll see this either - turns the otherwise conscious track into a love ballad, but sonically, it’s incredibly faithful, even down to the liquidy reggae groove and charming background singers. Sadly, YG does not have the presence of his grandfather, sounding mostly like a nervous, Auto-Tuned child stumbling onto the school talent show, but that’s also partly due to the mix crushing his nasal croon a bit, it feels smashed in between different elements of the mix instead of resting carefreely in it like Bob would. I do actually appreciate the shift in content for the second verse, which I can only assume was written by Ms. Lauryn Hill considering its cynical, conscious stabs at soul-taking and standing your ground. In fact, I actually like this song quite a lot - whilst it starts off as a love ballad, it ends up using more of an appreciative worship angle that fits much better with the lax, improvisational performance, especially once Lauryn comes in for the outro, it’s just nice to hear her singing again, to be honest. The guitars are also surprisingly sludgy by the end, it feels, fitting the mix’s general vibe, which makes it feel a tad sinister or at least defiant, which makes the sample flip - or really, recreation - a lot more sensible. So, yeah, I think this turns around to actually being quite good, if not great? I guess you can’t go wrong when you just plod in that classic Bob Marley tune as a loop for so long and get Lauryn Hill to do backup, I mean, it really does not seem like you can go wrong placing those two together on a track, albeit posthumously. I know it’s never coming but part of me wants to at least hope this may mean we get, if not a solo album, a wider array of collaborations from Lauryn Hill in the future.

#61 - “No Man’s Land” - Marshmello and venbee

Produced by Marshmello, Digital Farm Animals and Earwulf

To be completely honest, I thought Marshmello’s time in the Sun was over. He’s been latching onto Fuerza Regida and Latin music overall Stateside, so I figured his hit-making days could be far behind him, yet here he is without a reggaetónero or corrida band, and instead venbee, who has yet to really replicate the success of “messy in heaven”, but maybe this will be a winning combination and not another desperate last-minute attempt by Marshmello to find a final niche before the spark dies completely. Surely by now, you know where this is going. Mr. Mello even got Digital Farm Animals to co-write and produce so there really is a distant scent of imminent failure written into this one. That’s not to say the song isn’t good because, well, despite all my cynicism, it’s a damn good track, I actually really love this one. It has all the 2018 plastic tropical flavour but due to going for a faster-paced drum and bass rolick and surprisingly compressed and gross-sounding mix on venbee’s vocals, it doesn’t have any of the effortless sheen and instead sounds a bit rough around the edges, with even the little intricate details in that second verse sounding a bit out of place. That lines up pretty perfectly with venbee’s self-loathing that she feels has buried her into an isolation that she can’t really handle considering how much she hates that cycle. Now I don’t think this’ll be a hit: it sounds like something that could be a sleeper success, but by the time it would get much traction, the song is rather too depressive to be dropped into a Summer EDM mix, and honestly, we have no track record for venbee in terms of any consistent success, and it’s not like Marshmello is a pull anymore. So whilst I actually think this is brilliant, I would have to say to Marshmello: Maybe don’t get your hopes up.

#59 - “J CHRIST” - Lil Nas X

Produced by Omer Fedi, Gesaffelstein and Lil Nas X

“The biggest comeback” since Jesus and he couldn’t even break top 50? In this chart climate? In this economy? I did see a lot of social media disillusionment with Lil Nas’ religious angle, none of which I agreed with because really, it’s only his second time doing so and who decided that artists suddenly couldn’t use themes in their music? Yet that may explain the lack of success out of the gate for… “J CHRIST” - God, what a terrible song title - and I can’t say it’s unfortunate, this song is terrible, and not in an honest-sounding way either. LNX has never sounded more bored and typical, going for a vocal take that doesn’t even fully sound like him, as if he was pitched up in post, and the lyrics seem absolutely unfinished if not unchanged from a mumbling reference track. Even the catchy hook is pretty gimmicky with the “high note”, and the second verse just repeats itself sloppily over this piano-based trap beat, that doesn’t really go anywhere at all. In fact, if left on its own, one could consider this a bit of a feat: gawk in awe at Lil Nas X trying and failing to inject life into an amateur YouTube remake of “HUMBLE.” made by a guy with 12 subscribers! Yet due to the promising, alien outro from Gesaffelstein, we know that more effort could have been put into this to make it much more unique and refreshing, and his springy synth bounce lingers throughout the rest of the track, especially that pre-chorus, as a tease for something to come, which would be promising if that “something to come” wasn’t the absolute lowest barrier of entry for decent music: being interesting. Again, don’t get your hopes up.

#46 - “Alibi” - Ella Henderson featuring Rudimental

Produced by Aidan Glover, Cliff Masterson, Rudimental and Punctual

It is with the deepest of sighs that I say the late Coolio’s iconic Dangerous Minds soundtrack cut “Gangsta’s Paradise”, that has long outlasted its film companion, debuted at #1 upon release in 1995 and stayed there for two weeks total, and has returned intermittently to the UK Singles Chart since 2009 due to just how great of a song it is, a timeless Stevie Wonder flip with L.V. on the chorus and some of the most harrowing yet accessible conscious verses that have ever appeared on a chart hit. Ella Henderson, we are not doing this. Why Rudimental decided to credit themselves onto this… thing they barely produced is beyond me, because this is a worthless parody of the original, a dead-on-arrival concept with little respect for its source material… but that makes it sound cool, doesn’t it? It makes it sound risky, like it’s trying new things, when in reality, that’s far from the case. Ms. Henderson copies inflections and melodies directly from L.V., who already took them from Stevie, and replaces the lyrics with meaningless relationship platitudes. The beat is stock drum and bass, the main lead sample is from the most famous and memed part of the song. This kind of song makes me question whether I can even consider it art at all because what human aspect could have possibly been involved in this? Ella’s singing, sure, but not only are the vocals touched-up in post, it’s not like she or her choir care all too much about emoting these lyrics, and they really shouldn’t. Sure, a human - or several, according to the credits - programmed this song, but would you really be surprised if it was done algorithmically based on a TikTok search of the original song? I love sampling, it’s possibly the most interesting thing about popular music past the 1990s, but some reinventions are little more than fleeting insults at artists not alive to repel them. The man rejected Weird Al’s parody and even after he’d lightened up about that, I have serious doubt he would sign off on this garbage. May he rest in peace - I personally really love his other single “Fantastic Voyage”, maybe even more than “Gangsta’s Paradise”, and I’ll always remember his voice performance as the Kwanzaabot in Futurama. This? I’m trying not to remember it. Hopefully the UK can realise this for its cheap distasteful novelty and leave it  buried in the dregs of Spotify where it belongs.

#42 - “Heather on the Hill” - Nathan Evans

Produced by Alan Jukes and Stevie Jukes

I’m… genuinely surprised Nathan Evans is still popping up, especially with a song like this. The title may be referring to the song of the same name in the 1947 musical Brigadoon, set in the Scottish Highlands, perhaps most well known in its version by Grace Kelly. Now that is a beautiful composition with a surprisingly frail performance in the verses that really gives a lot of lackadaisical charm to the track, even if I’ve never even heard of the musical before. This track by everyone’s favourite sea-shantier has nothing to do with that song. The traditional Scottish folk strings may interpolate the original slightly but this is a pop song through and through, with Lewis Capaldi-esque vocal and guitar production, it’s all compressed and staccato and aimless but at least you can tell Evans is Scottish given all the references which would seem tacky if there weren’t just so many of them, and Hell, I’m not Scottish, I can’t judge how a Scotsman expresses his Scottishness. There is a great dramatic charm in the absolute joyfulness this seems to at least want to display, especially with the Scottish folk chaos in the back of the mix and Evans just giving it all he can. In fact, I kind of love this: it’s an adorable love song that ends very abruptly for no good reason, is littered with little Scottish lyrical details, and whilst it doesn’t hit the same as the song from the musical, it’s going for an entirely different vibe: one of folkish lovestruckness and awe, admiration. This feels like a first crush, if my first crush was from Orkney. She wasn’t, of course, but I can dream; both songs I discovered from this entry I appreciate in largely different ways but are pretty admirable all the same.

#27 - “n.h.i.e.” - 21 Savage and Doja Cat

Produced by Kurtis McKenzie, Scribz Riley, Jonah and Nineteen85

Okay, so 21 Savage released a new album, american dream, last Friday, and it debuts at #2 on the UK albums chart, with three new songs debuting here because the entire album was new material, and quite frankly, next to none of it fit the concept of the album, and that includes pretty much everything we have here. It’s really frustrating when ambition, especially conceptual ambition, seems to be promised and whilst the product itself is completely fine, serviceable and in the case of this 21 album, frankly quite good, it does not abide by the ideas that were presented in, say, the introduction, the soundtrack connection, how 21’s mother appears on both the opener and closer to speak frankly about her experiences and how they relate to her son’s, especially in regards to travelling from London to the US. Given that 21’s finally gained US residency and this seemed like his way of commemorating his escape from the confusing citizenship debacle, wherein he can be proud of both his British and American heritage, I was quite disappointed when it was 90% a typical rap album with soul samples, trap beats, flexing on haters, having sex with women, killing people in comical detail and even having a second half largely consisting of R&B just for the ladies, I suppose. With all that, like I said, I enjoyed the album! 21 is a lyrically and vocally quite fun presence nowadays, and the production was incredibly cohesive in its sound despite trying out some different rhythms and vibes throughout. It is, by all means, a good 21 Savage album, but if you’re hoping for more than that, again, don’t get your hopes up. As for the tracks that debuted, they are by far the least interesting and actually some of my least favourites. This one has an eerie guitar lick but also Doja Cat all over the track just whispering and distractingly so, with 21 kind of on autopilot, even if his short verse is pretty good. Doja is doing the whole quirked-up not-a-rapper schtick with the “ad-lib!” ad-lib and basic flow accentuated by again, those multi-tracked whispers and outright refusal to write a verse of considerable length. It’s just lazy on mostly her part but pretty much everyone else as well, there’s little to care for here.

#23 - “née-nah” - 21 Savage, Travis Scott and Metro Boomin

Produced by Metro Boomin

Why is the song called that? Anyway, this is my least favourite track easily. You have a straight minute of Travis wasting my time - without the Auto-Tune, without the spacey production, without the atmospheric concepts and ambition, who even IS this guy, really, other than an unconvincing cornball who never decides on a solid flow and fills up time with ad-libs, including some weird Westside Gunn riffing this time around? Also, considering how much time he’s spent with Kanye, I’m getting slightly worried to who this villainous “they” he’s referring to in this verse all the time might actually be, he’s been oddly defensive and conspiratory since UTOPIA at least. This is a completely serviceable Metro beat, though it actually gets kind of hard on the ears midway through due to that shrill sample that doesn’t really have much to blend with when the chopped, vintage sample isn’t present. It’s a shame that the rest of the track is pretty much garbage because 21 delivers some of his most violently funny and out-of-pocket verses on this whole album, with a cold-as-Hell chorus and lines about Virgil Abloh and Usher that hit pretty hard as punchlines. Again, a shame it’s all placed here on what was for everyone else, a throwaway track.

#19 - “Eagle” - D-Block Europe and Noizy

Produced by Da Beatfreakz

DBE sold like 10 million USB sticks or something, their album is #1 yet here’s their sole track in the top 75. Now this is the kind of so-bad-it’s-enjoyable DBE I like to hear, with Beatfreakz on production, an unusually long, minimal intro, an array of deranged ad-libs, terrible Auto-Tune, Young Adz stammering helplessly and not understanding how disparate some of the consecutive lyrics are from each other. He barely sticks to a coherent flow and starts the chorus with declaring that he thinks he’s Albanian, but he doesn’t enunciate so it sounds like he just calls himself the country of Albania. We even have Dirtbike Lb going for a verse that completely washes whatever Youthful Advertisement was doing, he actually kind of kills his verse, it’s impressive. The flow switch is much clearer and well-done than whatever Adz tries his hand at, his slurring and naturally slow, droning delivery is used to its best extent here. Oh, and like half the song belongs to this one extended verse from an actual Albanian rapper, Noizy, who goes in… I think? He says near the end, “I’m Albanian, you’re not supposed to like me” and I really don’t know what to make of that, or this song in general, it’s kind of a fascinating mess with some genuine flow highlights but mostly just bizarre choices. In that regard, classic DBE.

#11 - “redrum” - 21 Savage

Produced by London on da Track and Peeb

My favourite track from this album is “see the real”, a sassy, witty and dismissive hyphy-esque bop that inflects a lot of melody into 21’s sound but not enough to dissuade you from his cold demeanour. Some of my other favourite tracks include the sincere PSA “dark days”, the needlessly catchy R&B track “should’ve wore a bonnet” and yeah, “redrum” has none of what I just described. It’s pure violence, it got the music video set in London, so here it is, with its Italian classical music sample in the intro that just eventually forms into a menacing, unchanging loop. It sounds great, but with the caveat that it also just sounds like that the whole time. If 21 weren’t generally an incredibly compelling and more importantly convincing presence as a killer on the mic, this would be a pretty unimpressive beat, so it really shows how much better an instrumental can sound when the right pocket’s found, and for 21, who is on his A-game punchline and ad-lib wise on this track, it seems almost effortless. I’ve obviously not got much else to say about this song or the album as a whole, but I do think it’s a shame that its most unique and enlightening moments didn’t make their way to the charts, or that they were so few and far between to begin with. Hey, at least we didn’t get any shreds of that terrible Kid Cudi project, right? Sheesh.

#2 - “yes, and?” - Ariana Grande

Produced by Ariana Grande, Max Martin and ILYA

It’s fine. I know it’s the big story of the week but there’s nothing too celebratory, triumphant, badass or even interesting about this comeback single from Ariana, that clearly goes for an attitude it couldn’t fully commit to, given the cheaper-than-usual sounding vocaloid chop behind the diva house pianos and a cooing that sems to miss the point of its own genre. Lyrically, it’s self-motivation but I mean, we have “BREAK MY SOUL”, and the genuinely experimental and explorative RENAISSANCE from just two years ago, we really don’t need a lacklustre Ariana Grande rendition of this genre, especially when she’s completely phoning it in. She’s not someone who’s meant to chant mantras, that’s not the kind of loose, parading singer she is, it’s why she never worked on trap beats. The spoken word bridge is pitched-up - because sure, Ariana needs pitching up of all singers - and practically egregious: going for the censor during the Ethan Slater-related line is exactly the “serve” it was intended to be, given that it’s the one time the song actually feels like it exists, but it also just drills this hole further that Ari cannot sell this at all, and should absolutely not be trying to when the audience, even if invested in the “I’m fucking the SpongeBob guy” drama, cannot find themselves motivated by because, well, last time I checked, the only other person fucking the SpongeBob guy was the mother of his child. If someone can point me to the passion and empowerment in this song and its seven other versions instead of a lingering tinge of desperate acting-out, please do, because every listen just leaves an even sourer note in my mouth. Ugh, let’s move on.

Conclusion

I actually did not dislike “yes, and?” before writing this episode, but several listens and caring to look at the lyrics more have really prevented me from enjoying it the way I wanted to so, yes, it will get the Dishonourable Mention, with the Worst of the Week being so obvious I really don’t have to say it, do I? Best of the Week goes to Marshmello and venbee for “No Man’s Land” with an Honourable Mention to Nathan Evans of all people with “Heather on the Hill” and I suppose that’s it. It was a bit of a long ordeal this week, but thank you for reading, see you… a bit earlier than next Friday, I think, but still, next week.

[tidalwavvves]

the miseducation of lauryn hill (ms. lauryn hill)

I've embarked on my mission to listen (and I mean really listen) to the ten albums Rolling Stone deemed the best of all time as of 2023. Before I start, I want to mention that these ranking lists are useless. They're historically sexist and racist, with critics' opinions centering on white, Western, male artists. The vast majority of us would wildly disagree with this list (myself included) but I just thought it would be a fun project, and a solid guide to follow.

10th Best Album of All Time: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill by Ms. Lauryn Hill (1998)

Have I heard it before? Some songs (maybe half?) but not the full album

First impression: I knew it would hold my attention all the way through and keep me on my toes

Favorite song: Superstar (although it rotates with Doo Wap and The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill)

Least favorite song: Tell Him (but it's still an absolute bop)

Scores out of 5

Favorite Song: 4.8

Least Favorite Song: 3.5

The Cohesiveness of the Album: 5

Creativity and Innovation: 5

Vocals: 4

Lyrics: 4

Instrumentals: 4.9

TOTAL OUT OF 35: 31.2

Final Thoughts:

The fact that the album is almost entirely written AND produced by Lauryn is wild

I really love the ongoing classroom theme throughout. It really reminded me of middle school and high school, and honestly sounds like they just recorded one of my classes

I need to do a lyric deep dive because I just know I'm not fully understanding some of these

There are so many layers to every song. There's an organ in most of them, a lot of them on the back half have a harp, insanely layered vocals, it's all so interesting

I've listened to the album maybe 4 times since my initial listen, and I'm still not tired of it. I'm actually writing this thinking I might pause this episode of Gossip Girl to turn the album on

[thesinglesjukebox]

YG MARLEY - "PRAISE JAH IN THE MOONLIGHT"

The closest to covering Bob Marley we'll probably get...

[5.00]

Andrew Karpan: A remarkably inoffensive excavation of nostalgia processed through smoov, professionally-made R&B, the debut hit from Bob Marley's literal grandson made me think of that time Doja Cat flipped a Big Mama Thornton record to express some ambivalence regarding a larger conceptual project designed around improving the fortunes of the Elvis brand. The Marley version of this story is less convoluted and gifts us the historically notable presence of Lauryn Hill's voice on the charts. Surely that's more than, say, Pablo Dylan has ever done for us.  [7]

Jackie Powell: At first I was shocked to see that “Praise Jah in the Moonlight” had no direct association with the film Bob Marley: One Love besides the obvious fact that YG Marley is Bob’s grandson, but maybe that’s intentional. While “Praise Jah In the Moonlight” samples from Bob Marley’s “Crisis,” it lacks direction and energy. What makes Bob Marley great is his pacing, simple but poignant songwriting, and singular voice. His grandson YG has close to none of that, and he uses a heavy layer of autotune to “enhance” his vocals. He copies and pastes two lines from his grandfather at the beginning that comment on happiness being a choice, but what follows is something completely irrelevant to that. Is this a love song? Is this about loneliness? The only redeeming part is when YG’s mother Ms. Lauryn Hill joins her son on the bridge and then takes the song out by herself in the outro with a vocal performance that's much more melodic and catchy than the rest of the track. [5]

TA Inskeep: A mid trad reggae record is still a mid trad reggae record, no matter a) the artist's lineage and b) whether it blows up on social media.  [3]

Joshua Lu: It's nice to see a reggae song gain so much steam on the charts, even if it's nepo baby reggae. "Praise Jah in the Moonlight" is notable for its singer's lineage (and its sample of said singer's lineage), but its easygoing vibe and inoffensive nature are likely the main reasons behind its global success. [5]

Ian Mathers: This seems to be at least evoking a genre where the simplicity and repetitiveness of the production isn't a demerit... but that's usually partly because the vocals are compelling. Here, they aren't, and they sound oddly washed-out and blurry too -- which sounds like something I'd enjoy, but here just comes across as aggressively meh. [4]

Leah Isobel: "Praise Jah in the Moonlight" has a slippery quality. Its production blends signifiers from reggae, neo-soul, and hip-hop, while its structure is relatively aimless. YG's voice is processed in such a way that it slides off basically every line and pitch, so the lyrics' nods at social criticism don't quite cohere, either. The only line that punches through is more quotidian: "I'm just hoping that you'll sing my songs." There's something so vulnerable and earnest about that, and something heartbreaking about the way that it's nearly buried underneath Bob Marley and Lauryn Hill's combined presence. It's as if the weight of past generations presses out nearly all attempts to create something original or push culture forward, so all that's left is plainspoken, inadequate confession. Get PinkPantheress on a remix, stat. [6]

Katherine St. Asaph: Suffused with the subtext of everything it's an inferior version of. [4]

Scott Mildenhall: He'll try and light a fire, this scion, but that joke is out of gas. Still, amazing to listen and picture the future of iterative I and I. [5]

Nortey Dowuona: Unremarkable pablum. But the drums do knock. [6]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]

[sourmonsterworms]

The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill (1998) - Lauryn Hill

You know what, I do like it, even if its weird to listen to for the first time in 2020, knowing what happened to her

8.5/10

1. Ex-Factor

2. Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You

3. Doo Wop (That Thing)

[nanowrimo]

How to Write Through Second Book Syndrome

Second Book Syndrome is a unique experience that can affect any writer. Today, author Uju Asika talks about what she learned while tackling Second Book Syndrome and gives advice on navigating it.  There’s something immensely powerful about completing your first book. For a brief moment, you feel invincible. After all, pretty much everyone you meet thinks they have a book in them, but not many people actually sit down to write it.

I wrote my first book, Bringing Up Race, in the midst of a global pandemic. Writing my next book, a picture book for younger readers, was a much less stressful experience. So it was actually with my third book, aimed at grownups again, that Second Book Syndrome kicked in.

You’ve probably heard of sophomore album syndrome (see Lauryn Hill, The Stone Roses) aka the sophomore slump that, apparently, can happen to anyone from athletes to second year college students.

Second Book Syndrome isn’t talked about as much and yet it affects almost every author on some level. Whether you’re a million-copy seller, a mid-list author or a relative newbie, you grapple with the same insecurities and nightmare scenarios. How do I write something as good as or better than my last book? If my first book did well, was it just a fluke? If my first book sold poorly, is this book my last shot? Will it meet my readers’ expectations or am I going to get troll-bombed on Goodreads? Am I establishing an author brand or have I niched myself into a corner? Can I experiment with voice or will I get laughed at by critics? Do I even have it in me to write a WHOLE OTHER BOOK?

Now that you’ve finished at least one book, you might feel like you’ve got this shit nailed. But the tricky thing about writing is that every time you open a blank page, you are starting from scratch. And every time you face a blank page, you are forced to meet yourself there, again and again. No matter whether you’re writing fiction or nonfiction. There’s no escaping yourself and that’s what makes it so hard, so vulnerable and potentially, so transformative.

My latest book, Raising Boys Who Do Better: A Hopeful Guide for a New Generation, came out last month. Foolishly, I had it in the back of my mind that writing this book would be a relative breeze. In some ways, it was harder. I had so much Resistance — the negative force that pushes back when you try to do something that matters, as Steve Pressfield talks about in The War of Art.

I also had to deal with the impostor syndrome (a close cousin of Second Book Syndrome) that whispered in my ear that I didn’t have another book in me. That I had used up all my smart ideas and pretty words. That I should stick to short form content and leave the real writing to the professionals.

So how did I get over this? What can you do when you’re in the throes of Second Book Syndrome and feeling like you’ll never write another sentence again? Here are a few things that helped me:

Make a Plan

If you identify as a ‘pantser’ rather than a ‘plotter’, you’re probably shaking your head at this. But it doesn’t have to be a full proposal or outline. Your plan can be as simple as a journal entry, a short mission statement, a sentence describing your premise, or a note to self about what you’d like your reader to learn, feel and experience. Making a plan and reviewing it from time to time can help keep your project alive when you’re suffering from self-doubt, comparisonitis and other symptoms of Second Book Syndrome.

Give Yourself Permission

The only way to release yourself from the pressure of writing your next book is to liberate yourself. Give yourself permission to write badly. I mean, really really badly. Permission to write something that sounds nothing like what you wrote before. Permission to play, to dream, to procrastinate. Permission to research until your head is bursting. For every project, I always keep a notebook so I can write by hand and make a mess and scribble pages of absolute drivel. I can spend hours writing around the edges of what I’m actually trying to explore. I encourage you to start every new project by writing yourself a permission slip. When you give yourself permission, the words might stick and splutter for a while but eventually, they flow. After that, the magic is in the edit.

Drown Out the Noise

We’re surrounded by noise all day, from social media traffic to our own mental chatter to those Amazon reviews (gulp). It’s hugely distracting and can be a drain on your creativity and confidence. Look for ways to drown this out, whether that’s through meditation, writing retreats, long nature walks or journalling. My simplest trick is to put on some noise-cancelling headphones and turn the music up. This might sound counterintuitive but listening to music puts me in a headspace for writing without any filters. Also, as a mother who writes around her family life (the kitchen table is my office), I’ve used headphones for years to signal that I’m at work and to keep the cacophony of my kids at bay.

Get Drunk

When you have another book to write, it’s easy to feel lost at the beginning. What to write and how to say it? When this happens, I immerse myself in storytelling. The poet Charles Baudelaire famously said one should ‘Always Be Drunk’ and it’s a quote that I live by. I don’t mean Hemingway-style binges, I mean being drunk on stories. I consume books, podcasts, films, TV shows, songs, art shows, conversations, eavesdropping, everyday life. I feed my habit and my habit feeds my writing.

Focus on What You Can Control

Creativity is mostly trial and error. Art is subjective and you can’t control how your work will be received by an audience or by critics. Often, success hinges on an indefinable mix of luck, talent, hard work, timing, money, network, reputation and… did I mention luck? Through all this, the only thing you can control is how you show up. I do my best to show up for my readers in a way that’s engaging, impactful and entertaining — both on the page and in real life. Other than that, the rest is not up to me. All I can do is keep showing up.

Track Changes

When you’re editing a piece of work, it can be helpful to track changes on a document. But this isn’t what I’m talking about here. What I mean is keeping track of the changes that happen because you had the courage to put your work into the world. I screenshot comments from readers on social media who tell me my books have changed the way they think about race and identity. I save a file of testimonials from parents who say I’ve shaped how they talk to their children about these tricky topics. I also keep notes on what I’ve learned and how I’ve grown while writing a book. All this is a reminder that so much of writing (and reading) isn’t just about the product or the story but about who we are becoming through the process.

Lean On Your People

Probably the most useful thing you can do as a writer is to find your people and lean on them. Obviously your closest friend/partner/family member who enjoys your writing or offers great advice can be invaluable. But as a writer, your people are other writers and it’s essential that you seek them out. Follow #writercommunity hashtags on social media, join a writers’ group or membership, befriend other newbie authors when your book comes out. You need to be in community with other writers who get it. Especially when Third Book Syndrome comes knocking…

NaNoWriMo Writers Board member Uju Asika is a multi-award nominated blogger, former journalist and TV screenwriter. She is the author of Bringing Up Race: How to Raise a Kind Child in a Prejudiced World and the picture book A World for Me and You (Where Everyone Is Welcome). Her new book Raising Boys Who Do Better: A Hopeful Guide for a New Generation came out on June 1. You can order the book for free worldwide delivery on Wordery: https://wordery.com/raising-boys-who-do-better-uju-asika-9780241608418

Uju is launching a creative writing service for developing and aspiring writers, learn more here!

[allamericansbitch]

Hi everyone! Here’s the newest addition to my Creator Shoutout Series (july 16 - july 23)! I want to appreciate editors and their creations that i love from the past week. To track this series or look at previous shoutouts, please check out the tag on my blog *creatorshoutouts. Have a great week everyone!

the bear: season 2 gifset by @batladies

barbie (2023) graphic by @girldaddean​

hayley williams: closet tour gifset by @userparamore

olivia rodrigo: sour gifset by @melodramas

the bear: season 2 gifset by @vanessacarlysle

scream 2: sydney prescott gifset by @lady-arryn

sabrina carpenter: emails i can’t send gifset by @lovewillfindus

taylor swift: cardigan music video gifset by @mikelogan

gilmore girls: rory and paris in 4x17 gifset by @slayerbuffy

succession: shiv roy gifset by @jakeyp

taylor swift: electric touch gifset by @karmas

maisie peters x olivia rodrigo gifset by @antoniosvivaldi

the bear: sydney adamu gifset by @eatandsleepwell

the last of us: ellie wiilliams in 1x03 gifset by @felixcarlucci

yellowjackets: van palmer in 1x01 gifset by @fouralarm-fire

stranger things: lucas sinclair gifset by @lucassinclaer

sabrina carpenter: emails i can’t send anniversary gifset by @miss-lauryn-hill

heartstopper: nick nelson gifset by @kalemakar

paramore: you first graphic by @cellphonehippie

taylor swift: speak now icons by @castlescrumblingtv​

sabrina carpenter: emails i can’t send graphic by @thinkaboutwhatyoudid

yellowjackets: shauna and jackie gifset by @mickbetsch

stranger things: hopper and el gifset by @kingofscoops

maisie peters: not another rockstar gifset by @alreadygotone

taylor swift: eras tour gifset by @workbtch

selena gomez: birthday gifset by @linusbenjamin​​

only murders in the building: mabel and oliver gifset by @trueloveistreacherous

barbie (2023) graphic by @katistry

pride & prejudice (2005) gifset by @prideandprejudice

taylor swift: folklore anniversary gifset by @cametotheshowinsd​

ryan gosling: barbie press tour gifset by @nessa007

pearl (2022): pantone gifset by @nyxvuxoa

stranger things 4 x a nightmare on elm street gifset by @daphneblqke

barbie (2023): first reviews gifset by @sapphic-girls

the bear: 1x06 gifset by @djo

ethel cain: famous last words (an ode to eaters) music video gifset by @autismbarbie

selena gomez: birthday gifset by @melodramas

taylor swift: folklore anniversary gifset by @enchantreds​​

yellowjackets: sun signs gifset by @mistyquigly​

margot robbie: barbie premiere looks gifset by @kitconnor

barbie (2023) art by @phidont​​​

ethel cain: famous last words (an ode to eaters) music video gifset by @userparamore

taylor swift: discography gifset by @jakeperalta​

selena gomez: birthday gifset by @selenaigomez

succession: ​roman roy graphic by @rromuluss

yellowjackets: discord profiles gifset by @mistyquigly

halloween (1978)​​ gifset by @blanchett

barbie (2023) art by @cheesy-cryptid

the nice guys gifset by @barbieharrington

heartstopper: fearless gifset by @swearphil​

spirited away gifset by @alexstewart

fear street trilogy gifset by @deenafier​​​

puppet history: professor art by @rosyopal-eva​​​

[revielyx]

⊹.✮₊⋆ Intro post!!! ⊹.✮₊⋆

Hi! You can call me either Alyx or Blade, and I go by They/he pronouns!! Music is my special interest and I love yapping about it, lol.

I post album reviews of all genres, but my favs are early 2000s music of all kinds, rap, club music, r&b and neo soul.

Some of my favourite artists are Tyler, the Creator, Frank Ocean, Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West, Playboi Carti, Destroy Lonely, Ken Carson, Ayesha Erotica, Childish Gambino, Travis Scott, SZA, A$AP Rocky, Steve Lacy, Brockhampton, Lauryn Hill, Daniel Caesar, Brent Faiyaz, Kali Uchis, Nicki Minaj, Doja Cat and charli xcx. (Phew, that's a lot...)

My absolutely most favourite albums of all time are Igor by Tyler and MBDTF by Ye.

I hope we can be friends, or oomfs if u wanna be, and hope u enjoy my reviews as much as I love making them!! Feel free to suggest what album I should review next.

Peace and Luv. <33

[wumblr]

ruminating on the confluence of features that prevent people from getting into new music... people do rely on trusted friends to tell them what's cool instead of figuring it out for themselves. most people rely on hearing it from multiple people at once and calling it "buzz," and that's not so much a result of influencer marketing as the original cause of it, but it's nevertheless incredibly susceptible to covert marketing manipulation. labels benefit from recycling old music that they still hold one of the copyrights to. monopolizing the industry with a few huge names collimates profits towards the most amenable contracts (again, for the label) and of course i do understand why swarming toward bigger names is more fun, because there are more people there

radio frequency allocation has long since been chopped up and sold off to uh, several churches (who mostly hold AM talk radio, so that's irrelevant) and a handful of radio station holding companies, so it's trivial to buy airplay for payola when you can book the whole country in one perfunctory email, to a company your label established a relationship with long ago because it's been the only game in town (and who even still listens to radio anyway, besides the workforce where devices aren't allowed, arguably a larger portion of the music-listening public than streaming subscribers)

and just down at the base of it, liking music is made out of familiarity. you like what you've spent time with, so it's simply more difficult to find likeable new music instead of putting the same old favored tracks on repeat. i just did this with jill scott's debut album, had it playing in my car for solidly six weeks until i got a new kali uchis cd (who i already know and like). because fundamentally it was unobjectionable, relatable, and easy to listen to (unlike, i hate to say it, miseducation of lauryn hill, which was an extremely difficult listen that i could only stomach about twice because she was trying to play israel/palestine bothsidesism long before anybody else). and that's part of the problem too -- nobody wants to get into an artist of their own volition only to be slapped with an unacceptable controversy

on top of that, most of the time it's a slog through a neverending stream of mediocrity to find something good, overlooking mediocre lyrics to focus on good production or vice versa. even at best, your local "music guy" is always getting there from the "similar artists" feature on any number of services. and even beyond that, when you really get down to brass tacks and follow a bunch of music publications on RSS, you spend a lot of time scrolling past an unappealing headline and thumbnail going "ugh, who?" until somebody gets two articles published about them and thus seems familiar. and even still, knowing all this, i'm going "WHAT do i have to do to cultivate a following willing to be the first like on a soundcloud link" and trying to sidestep the problem by reblogging somebody else's post of the same link, thus gifting it the illusion of review by two separate parties, which still doesn't work because nobody comes to the infinite scroll website to stop scrolling and listen. extremely dismal state of affairs for the information superhighway and i haven't even touched on the death of piracy

[cheese-in-space]

Album a day poll

Winner of last poll: “The Horror and the Wild” by The Amazing Devil

Votes are appreciated even if you don’t know any of the albums!

I tried to do something with eponymous or adjacent album names this time! The last option cut out the amount of characters I could use. The artist on that option is Mindless Self Indulgence.

Review of last album: “Floral Strobe” by False Noise

I really liked this one a lot. I don’t think I could listen to it often, since it’s the sort of album that you have to pay close attention to to really appreciate. I really enjoyed how the songs really sound like the titles.

Last poll here

Next poll here

[narcobarbies]

A YEAR IN REVIEW: CREATIONS OF 2023

Post your favorite and most popular post from each month this year (it’s okay to skip months).

Tagged by @maxxxines <3 thank you so much for taggging me!!

JANUARY

MOST POPULAR: india love via instagram stories (2,547 notes)

FAVORITE(S): victoria monét via instagram stories , ryan destiny as alex crane on star on fox 2.02 , beyoncé as lilly on the fighting temptations

FEBRUARY

MOST POPULAR: victoria monét via instagram (1,716 notes)

FAVORITE(S): ryan destiny via instagram , carlacia grant via instagram , joyce wrice's bittersweet goodbyes MV , keesha ward from general hospital , joyful joyful from sister act 2

MARCH

MOST POPULAR: victoria monét via instagram (2,901 notes)

FAVORITE(S): nikolas cassadine calling out everyone in port charles from GH , carlacia grant via instagram , tessa thompson for armani beauty

APRIL

MOST POPULAR: sydney sweeney via glencocoforhair's IG (1,152 notes)

FAVORITE(S): victoria monét via tiktok , sydney sweeney via glencocoforhair's IG , sofia wylie via tiktok

MAY

MOST POPULAR: taylor russell by kali kennedy (2,789 notes)

FAVORITE(S): victoria monét party girls MV , saweetie via instagram stories , tems met gala after party , carlacia grant via instagram

JUNE

MOST POPULAR: victoria monét and janelle monáe at the age pleasure LA listening party (06/10/2023) (2,283 notes)

FAVORITE(S): saweetie via instagram (06/26/2023) , saweetie via instagram , ryan destiny via instagram , victoria monét via instagram , carlacia grant as cleo for obx s4 promo , kiana ledé via instagram , sofia wylie via tiktok

JULY

MOST POPULAR: Earth, Wind & Fire sit down with Victoria Monét (1,682 notes)

FAVORITE(S): flo milli in want em hood MV , saweetie birthday mv , india love in flyest in the city mv , sydney sweeney via glencocoforhair's IG , carlacia grant during the ACQUA DI GIO and Gen A event by Giorgio Armani. (07/15/2023)

AUGUST

MOST POPULAR: victoria monét via instagram (1,651 notes)

FAVORITE(S): foxy brown in i'll be mv , mya whine mv , kiana ledé via instagram , saweetie shot o clock mv , saweetie via instagram

SEPTEMBER

MOST POPULAR: victoria monét via instagram for spotify’s RNBx (779 notes)

FAVORITE(S): FAITH EVANS | CAN’T BELIEVE FEAT. CARL THOMAS (2001) , NELLY FURTADO – 2023 MTV Video Music Awards , sofia wylie via tiktok , saweetie via basedkenken’s instagram , ryan destiny via instagram , victoria monét via instagram

OCTOBER

MOST POPULAR: victoria monét photographed by byjamiebruce (615 notes)

FAVORITE(S): kiana ledé via instagram , saweetie via instagram , savannah smith via tiktok , alina baraz in breathless mv , faith evans in never gonna let you go mv , saweetie via instagram , danna paola via instagram

NOVEMBER

MOST POPULAR: sydney sweeney for armani beauty (1,150 notes)

FAVORITE(S): VICTORIA MONÉT photographed by chanellington , cassie photographed by jorden keith , india love for true religion , sydney sweeney via glencocoforhair's IG , ryan destiny for off white

DECEMBER

MOST POPULAR: tems via instagram (2,333 notes)

FAVORITE(S): tabyana ali as trina robinson on GH , sydney sweeney 'anyone but you' NY premiere , victoria monét via instagram , chloe bailey via instagram , jhené aiko via instagram

tagging: @miss-lauryn-hill , @oneofdem , @itszonez , @blackerthings , @ivanpellicer , @agorahills , @saw-x , @keatinglayla , @zendadya , @possession

[felismors]

DRAKEVEMBER PART 3: A tired review of Scorpion by Drake

via rateyourmusic

DRAKEVEMBER PART 3

A lot of this album completely failed to keep my attention, and I think that's probably gonna be a trend with the rest of the Drake albums I have to listen to. I fear for my sanity! This album is extremely boring, but it has three absolute gems in there that are good enough to bump it up an entire point. The entire album feels like buildup and afterglow for Nice For What. Absolutely amazing song. Drake appropriating queer culture before Honestly, Nevermind sounds absolutely incredible, especially because he got Big Freedia herself, and got an absolutely incredible chopped up Lauryn Hill sample. I can't think of a pop rap song that hits this hard released in the entire second half of the 2010s. It's a diamond in the rough. In My Feelings is also good, it has some crazy sampling that does also sound like something you can vogue to. Drake should really just start overtly pandering to the gays like Beyoncé did. Aubrey, stop being a fucking coward and become WOKE already This album, with the exception of one track, is gonna leave my memory the second I press the save review button.

SCORE: 2/5

listen on spotify

[vinniedangerous]

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill vs Thriller: Which Album Reigns Supreme?

Full video on YouTube

[gerogerigaogaigar]

Oh snap it is top ten time! These are the ten greatest albums of all time according to Rolling Stone magazine. Are they right about these choices or are they complete fuckups? Thank God I'm here to tell you all about this shit.

#10

Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill

Where to start? Miss Lauryn Hill deserves more. She was the star of the Fugees and her solo debut, this album, is one of the highest achievements in the genre of hip hop and soul but oh how suddenly halting your career will get people to stop talking about you. The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill is more than just a strong debut it is the perfect blending of hip hop and neo soul. It is what Hill started on The Fugees album The Score and makes it into something all her own. She switches between rapping and singing so fluidly that you don't even always notice it, but at the same time they don't sound anything alike. Hill is so beautiful with her rich contralto voice but when she switches to rapping she hits with an incredible staccato that usually contain copious Jamaican patois. But her style isn't what's new here, you heard her rap and sing on The Score after all. When given the freedom of an album all to herself Lauryn Hill gets deep into the politics of love, career, and family. And she comes at it from the distinct angle of a woman struggling to be successful in a male world. She talks about her pregnancy, the collapse of Fugees, past heartbreaks, she criticizes the hip hop industry, and she does it all without adopting the masculine kayfabe that most other female rappers of the 90s did. Lauryn Hill never once compromises her personal vision for her life and her music. And that's why she never followed this one up. She chose her family and raising a child over fame and if you listen to the lyrics on this album its obvious that she was gonna do that. I have to respect someone who has music as a passion and didn't want to fit that passion into a commercial box. Miseducation was always gonna be best as a one off thing and it is as good of a hip hop album as we are ever gonna get.

#9

Bob Dylan - Blood On The Tracks

1975, a decade after Dylan shook his fanbase by going electric. Bob Dylan had put out a couple good but not super successful albums with The Band but his career was realistically sundowning at this point. I suspect that this is a major factor in how Blood On The Tracks has been received over time. Receiving middling reviews upon release and then skyrocketing to the top of many best album lists in later decades. How uncool must it have been to admit that Bob Dylan released one of his best albums in 1975? Blood On The Tracks retains some of the production cleanness of his electric era, but the instrumentation is much more akin to his first few albums. Another thing that I think people may like about this album is that it is less lyrically obtuse than most other Dylan albums. That isn't to say that it's crystal clear straight forward storytelling but it isn't as cryptic as say A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall. Now here's the thing. I think Blood On The Tracks is a little overrated. It is a great album by a great artist, but it doesn't carry the sincerity or creativity of his earlier work. This isn't a new frontier anymore and while Dylan has matured as a musician it doesn't really change the fact that he's writing a bunch of songs about his marital troubles just like every other 70s rocker. Dylan just does it with a much better vocabulary and without talking about his penis. Still I would be a huge jackass to suggest that this is a bad album and if you, like myself, are horny for Bob Dylan's extremely long numbers then the song Lily, Rosemary, And The Jack Of Hearts is one of my favorites of his.

#8

Prince And The Revolution - Purple Rain

Oh yes. Fuck yeah! I couldn't agree more with this choice. Purple Rain is a completely transcendent album. Prince is always an immaculate performer but in Purple Rain he is just so much more extra. Every drum beat is more intense, every lyric more wild and sexual, the funk more unfettered. Prince screams in sensual agony constantly. His vocals dynamics more pronounced than on any other pop album ever recorded. And then there's the guitar. Did you know that Prince was one of the most skilled guitarists ever? He rips solos regularly in this album that put most metal guitar virtuosos sound like amateurs. Prince's career had done nothing but catapult from the very beginning and it all seems to have been building up to this moment. The bombast of the music, the flamboyant persona, the movie tie in to this fucking album. Prince had it all.

#7

Fleetwood Mac - Rumours

Can you even fucking imagine? You are in one of the greatest bands of the 70s, you are in the middle of a divorce and you're in the studio doing backup vocals on a song your ex wrote about how done she is with your shit. Being in Fleetwood Mac must have been wild. The two separate divorces that were happening while this album was being written really made for some of the best music of all time. It's not just breakup music either it's "I've moved past this" music, it's "I genuinely wish you well and hope we can still be friends" music, it's "you broke a sacred promise when you broke my heart and now I'm feral" music. All done in an intensely calm until it isn't calm anymore country/folk rock style. And it's all extremely catchy and memorable. From the eerily detached Dreams, to the jaunty Never Going Back Again, or the intense American gothic of The Chain and Gold Dust Woman. These songs are going to get stuck in your head. Fleetwood Mac were nothing if not accomplished songwriters and if that meant playing bass on a song about your ex's new boyfriend then godammit you better lay down a hell of a bass line!

#6

Nirvana - Nevermind

By all rights nothing should have propelled a band like Nirvana into the mainstream. They existed in a niche genre tucked inside of a niche genre. But something about Nevermind hit just the right chord with gen x. The music industry changed overnight with record labels rushing to sign and promote alternative artists and so the very notion of indie music went up in smoke for decades. If you think I'm being overdramatic or mythologizing too hard understand that this no name band of punk rockers knocked Michael Jackson off the top of the charts. The music industry of the early 90s was a very different place, major labels had the whole thing on lockdown, and this should have been an all but impossible move.

So what is this music that turned the industry upside down overnight? What is grunge? It really is just punk but with an anti-macho sensitivity and some influence from alt rock bands like R.E.M. and Pixies. It's lyrically witty and evokes both a fear of the mundane and a disinterest in the interesting. Cobain roasts mainstream audiences that have latched to alternative music (In Bloom), he paints a surreal portrait of middle class banality (Breed), and sings about the disenfranchisement of his generation (Smells Like Teen Spirit). What Cobain does that is interesting is always write from the point of view of who or whatever he is criticizing. Polly disturbingly portrays sexual assault from the point of view of the assaulter, Lithium has its main character be a Christian convert to show how religion can be a vice.

Musically Nirvana's brand of grunge is very punk, but there is a quiet loud dynamic that suggests, possibly coincidentally, emo as well. The distortion is heavier than almost any other alternative band and influence from recent tour mates Sonic Youth is probably partially responsible. Especially with the high wetness levels that the guitars frequently hit. There is also an undeniable hint of country twang that kind of permeates grunge music in this unstated way. You can certainly hear it on Polly and Come As You Are, but it's like an unseen specter surrounding all of Nirvana's music. I have a near infinite number of thoughts on the grunge movement and I may have let a few too many leak into what is supposed to be a review of a single album, but oh well, whatever, Nevermind.

#5

The Beatles - Abbey Road

With the impending breakup of the band looming over them The Beatles felt freer than ever before. The resulting album is in turn one of their happiest, their most unfettered, and probably their most unhinged. While there are a couple of relatively normal tracks in there, the love ballad Something, the dramatic Oh! Darling, or the sweet and hopeful Here Comes The Sun, a lot of the album is populated by weird shit. The jaunty murder ballad Maxwell's Silver Hammer truly feels like there was no point other than to go "hey wouldn't this be fucked up or what?" The nearly eight minute I Want You (She's So Heavy) is way too close to being stoner metal than anything by The Beatles should be and is my absolute favorite Beatles song. And then there are the surreal Because and Sun King the former of which is a psychedelic nightmare and the latter being much the same but with nonsense lyrics at least partially in Spanish for some reason. The musical diversity is very high with most of the songs on the first half of the record not sounding anything like each other. The second half contains a trilogy of medleys and is the more interesting half of the album in my opinion. You Never Give Me Your Money is split into three movements, which is such a McCartney move, and it transitions smoothly into Sun King. Then the rock n roll medley of Mean Mr. Mustard, Polythene Pam, and She Came In Through The Bathroom Window which all flow together so cleanly that they are essentially one song. I gotta respect the titular Mr. Mustard for shouting obscenities at the queen. What a legend. The final trilogy of songs that are also mixed together make up a sort of farewell for the band. They are clearly meant tow be the last song on the last Beatles album (Let It Be came out after but Abbey Road was the last recorded). So it's very funny that the album ends on an incomplete ditty that was accidentally tacked onto the record due to a clerical error.

#4

Stevie Wonder - Songs In The Key Of Life

The sessions for this album produced so many tracks that they couldn't even fit it all on a double album so it came with an extra 7" disc containing the last four songs. You'd definitely think an album that long would get tiring but no. Absolutely not. From the very first notes to the end, an hour and forty five minutes later, it is a masterpiece of 70s funk/soul. And even though the album runs longer than the average feature film when it ends you will be disappointed there wasn't more.

Wonder explores his main two sides, political activism and emotional maturity, to their fullest extent. The political side most ardently on Black Man, a song that argues for racial equality by listing the accomplishments of American men and women of all races and stating that we have all contributed to our society so we should all be treated equally. And on the emotional end Isn't She Lovely is the most beautiful and heartfelt love song ever written. Wonder wrote the song about his newborn daughter and her giggles can be heard in the recording. It is the sweetest thing I have ever heard.

#3

Joni Mitchell - Blue

Joni Mitchell's talent as a Singer cannot be overstated. She can jump octaves with apparent ease and move between smooth melodic phrases to cheeky staccato recitative in a heartbeat. She uses these beautiful vocal skills to lead us through ten confessional songs about heartbreak and breakups. As cliche as that sounds she has a beautifully poetic sense to her lyrics that help display a complex breadth of emotions.

Mitchell didn't just get more personal for Blue she also picked up some new musical tricks. She plays with open tunings on several songs l and makes notable use of the Appalachian dulcimer on Carey, California, and A Case Of You. Mitchell isn't quite in her jazz experimentation era yet, but a tendency for blues chords and improvised vocal flourishes show that it was always a part of her. Perhaps that buried sense of bluesiness trying to escape is reflected in the songs about trying to move on and escape.

#2

The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds

It's probably easy to look at Pet Sounds, see nothing more than some 60s pop rock and not think twice about it. What is it that has Pet Sounds always placing at or near the top.of these lists? Is it just some old men's nostalgia? Well, probably to some degree sure. But this is more than just an album with a disproportionate number of catchy hits on it. Brian Wilson was an eccentric perfectionist who constantly saw himself as being at war with The Beatles. The Beach Boys always had to be topping whatever The Beatles put out and they had recently released Rubber Soul, their first album that felt fully cohesive as an album. Brian Wilson stepped it up a notch adopting the theory of "the studio as an instrument". Every track on Pet Sounds is meticulously crafted from the writing to the performing to the mastering, and it manages to achieve a level of precision and perfection in every one of those fields that it cannot realistically be argued that it isn't a perfect album.

The albums arrangements feature some very interesting instrumentation, bike horns, and coke cans amongst the more traditional but still interesting tack piano, harmonium, and french horn. The album also features orchestral arrangements, but they are rendered in a more rock oriented style creating something in between doo wop and chamber pop. In terms of composition the tonality of most of the songs is vague. Few have a particular key and instead float around a tonal center. This contributes heavily to the albums dreamlike, hazy sound. The songs are so tight and focused though that the tonal vagueness just reinforces the emotional uncertainty of the lyrics. Meanwhile the drums, and instrument that you usually associate with, y'know keeping time, is used here to create texture rather than rhythm. The fills are used very tonally, almost like how Joe Morello approaches drum solos on Time Out.

Bringing it into the studio Wilson himself lead most of the production and was inspired by Phil Spector's wall of sound. What Wilson does that is not revolutionary by modern standard was make sure every song on the album was mastered in a way that made them sound like they all came from the same album. Compared to other albums from the era it made Pet Sounds seem more like a classical song cycle than a rock album. Nearly every artist followed suit which makes it impossible for us to really hear how unique Pet Sounds was at the time.

The only surprise about Beach Boys being at this place on the list is that it wasn't at number one.

#1

Marvin Gaye - What's Going On

"Mother, mother there's too many of you crying / brother, brother, brother there's far too many of you dying"

The opening line of this album is clearly as relevant today as it was in 1971. The whole album is writhing with fear and confusion over the state of the nation, Vietnam, the civil rights movement and the violent intersection between the two that saw US citizens shot dead in the street by their own government. Perhaps the fine line toed by What's Going On is best summed up by this quote from Four Tops singer and title track cowriter Obie Benson "My partners told me it was a protest song. I said 'no man, it's a love song, about love and understanding. I'm not protesting. I want to know what's going on.'"

The number one thing that What's Going On understands is that protest has to be an act of love. It doesn't spend as much time on the acts of police brutality as it does on the people actually affected. It talks about environmentalism because we need a planet for future generations to live on. Marvin Gaye sees everything that is going wrong and says 'we can get over this, it will be okay if we can work together to fix this'. Affected by the trauma his brother experienced in Vietnam Gaye made his protest album a concept album about a Vietnam veteran coming home only to find suffering and hardship.

Musically Gaye uses a lot of repeating motifs and lyrical phrases, especially the titular question of what's going on?, to link all the songs thematically. The songs all running together in a gospel soul song cycle.

[myzziep]

On this week's episode of Legacy, Myzzie P. and her guest star, Joe (The Don) will be reviewing the album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill by the one and only, Ms. Lauryn herself. They will be going through each and every song and sharing their thoughts on their interpretation of it all.

[o-the-mts]

50 Years, 50 Albums (1998): You've Come a Long Way, Baby by Fatboy Slim

I will turn 50 in November of this year, so my project for 2023 will be to listen to and review one album from each year of my life, 1973 to 2022.  The only qualification is that it has to be an album I’ve not reviewed previously.  1998 Top Grossing Albums of 1998: Believe – Cher The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill – Lauryn Hill Never Say Never – Brandy Ray of Light – Madonna Wide Open Spaces –…

[underachievers-please-try-harder]

Review // Lizzo - The O2 - 16 March 2023

Appeared in the Evening Standard. Read online.

Part performer, part life coach, Melissa “Lizzo” Jefferson was preaching the radical power of self-love long before it was in fashion. A decade on from her debut, the multiple Grammy-winner has now firmly infiltrated the mainstream with her agenda, influencing millions with her body-positive bangers.

Finishing up her European tour at the O2 Arena last night, the US singer-songwriter remained resolute in her mission to uplift and empower. Supported by an all-female backing band and the plus-size dance troupe she recruited on her Emmy-winning Amazon series Watch Out for the Big Grrrls, she delivered a set of relentlessly joyous disco-pop regularly interspersed with motivational speeches, both live and pre-recorded.

Subtle it wasn’t, and by the third time she’d told the crowd they were beautiful, more cynical audience members might have been forgiven for rolling their eyes. That it didn’t occur to those in attendance last night is testament to Lizzo’s immense charisma and the environment of pure fun she fostered.

The Eighties-inspired 2 Be Loved (Am I Ready) came complete with aerobics-style choreography, and Soulmate saw her twerking in blue diamante to bars delivered by her DJ, Sophia Eris. There were Chaka Khan and Lauryn Hill covers, featuring Lizzo’s powerhouse vocals embellished by exquisite harmonies from backing vocalists Little Bigs. During Coldplay she solo-ed on Sasha Flute (a flute that has its own Instagram account), while Naked saw her underscoring a woman’s right to bodily autonomy, projecting “My body my choice,” onto her flesh-coloured catsuit.

Interestingly, the night’s most powerful moments arrived when the music stopped. Moved to tears at the end of Special, she told the audience, “I’m milking this,” and enjoyed an arena-wide ovation that steadily grew in intensity. Then, following a barnstorming rendition of Truth Hurts, she spent upwards of eight minutes complimenting audience members on their outfits, before autographing a woman’s breast to provide a template for a tattoo.

This overwhelming atmosphere of love and acceptance more than made up for any of the less inspiring material from her latest LP, and succeeded in elevating Lizzo-classics like Juice and Cuz I Love You to another level entirely.

Which all augurs extremely well for this summer’s co-headline slot at Glastonbury. Because if performances like these prove anything, it’s that a good Lizzo show ranks up there with the very best of life’s natural highs.