Water cooler: Quarantine gives you a chance to dive into entire albums while at home
With quarantine forcing us to forgo regularly scheduled activities, this is a great opportunity for music lovers to take a deep dive into some of their favorite artists. Do yourself one better and indulge in uninterrupted listening of your favorite albums.
The origin of “the album” as a complete package goes back to 1948 when Columbia Records began releasing work on the newly developed “long-playing” (popularly known as LP) album which allowed artists to release up to 52 minutes of music. Despite that, the vinyl single (or the “45”) dominated market sales until the mid-sixties when early versions of concept albums became king of the counterculture music scene.
With that in mind, here are a few suggested albums to get you started, beginning around when LPs became available through the end of the 20th century.
1950s
Frank Sinatra, “In the Wee Small Hours,” 1955: Dreamy, swaying songs focused on themes of loneliness, failed relationships and introspection.
Elivs Presley, “Elvis Presley,” 1956: A solidification of the new rock ‘n’ roll scene and aesthetics using a mix of rhythm and blues covers as well as the more country-style Sun Studio sessions.
Bo Diddley, “Bo Diddley” 1958: Quintessential rock sounds ahead of their time in transitioning blues into rock ‘n’ roll.
The Dave Brubeck Quartet, “Time Out,” 1959: An experiment that incorporated rare time signatures and a mix of jazz from both coasts.
1960s
Miles Davis, “Sketches of Spain,” 1960: Fusions of flamenco, European classical and jazz orchestration.
The Beach Boys, “Pet Sounds,” 1966: Wistfulness and whimsy come together in this mixture of Wall of Sound recording style, baroque pop orchestration and avant-garde surf rock.
The Beatles, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” 1967: A legend of artistic and technological innovation, blending counterculture, high art and progressive rock.
The Jimi Hendrix Experience, “Are You Experienced?” 1976: A staple of psychedelic music but with Hendrix’s signature hard rock flavor.
1970s
Marvin Gaye, “What’s Going On,” 1971: Motown transforms into psychedelic soul with this socially conscious album..
Led Zeppelin, “Led Zeppelin IV,” 1971: Defining sounds of hard rock blended with folk mysticism and countercultural hedonism.
Blondie, “Parallel Lines,” 1978: Art pop blends with dance rock in this shift from new wave into pop, especially considering the upbeat disco influences in “Heart of Glass.”
Michael Jackson, “Off the Wall,” 1979: Crisp funk and disco beats produced by Quincy Jones with themes of liberation, romance and indulgence.
The Clash, “London Calling,” 1979: Post-punk that integrates ska, R&B, surf rock and even lounge jazz that explores themes of adulthood, social displacement and race relations.
1980s
Talking Heads, “Remain in Light,” 1980: Blends of African polyrhythms, electronic music and looping instrumental grooves.
Prince and the Revolution, “Purple Rain,” 1984: The evolution of baroque pop rock that created dense sounds with layers of instrumentation, full band performances and synthesizer.
The Jesus and Mary Chain, “Psychocandy,” 1985: Traditional pop songs that evoke sounds of the Phil Spector groups of the ‘60s but slathered in the noisy, abrasive droning of shoegaze.
The Smiths, “The Queen Is Dead,” 1986: Alternative rock that plays with the ideas of self-deprecating and cultural mockery, blending them into both melancholy and sprightly melody for a truly meta-pop flair.
Public Enemy, “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back,” 1988: Fast, energetic hip hop that blended elements of early funk, avant-garde jazz and powerful, political lyrics.
1990s
My Bloody Valentine, “Loveless,” 1991: Shoegaze in full form with distorted pop sounds and post-modern attitude.
Nirvana, “Nevermind,” 1991: Grunge packed with a unique blend of charisma, heavy intensity, catchy melodies and polished sound.
TLC, “Crazysexycool,” 1994: Quintessential sounds of ‘90s R&B and hip hop blended with soul.
The Notorious B.I.G., “Ready to Die,” 1994: East Coast rap that is aggressive and laid back at the same time, featuring some of the most widely known rap lyrics and sampling.
Weezer, “Weezer,” 1994: Surf rock revival that helped define the garage and pop punk sounds of the ‘90s.
Brain train
Test your knowledge with today’s trivia question
What is the best selling music single of all time?
- “Shape of You” Ed Sheeran
- “White Christmas” Bing Crosby
- “Bad Guy” Billie Eilish
- “Candle in the Wind” Elton John
Monday’s answer: 32,292
Reel talk
Go around the world with international cinema. All of these are available for streaming on Kanopy, free with your library card.
“8 1/2”: Slick Italian surrealism and post-modern drama. Directed by Federico Fellini. 1963. 138 minutes.
“The 400 Blows”: Transcendent New Wave French cinema about coming of age and petty crime. Directed by François Truffaut. 1959. 99 minutes.
“Breathless”: Quintessential French New Wave. Punky, intellectual and sexy. Directed by Jean-Luc Godard. 1960. 90 minutes.
“Bicycle Thieves”: Heartwrenching post-war Italian neorealism. A tale of unadulterated humanism. Directed by Vittorio De Sica. 1948. 89 minutes.
“Cleo from 5 to 7”: Refreshingly feminine and playful French New Wave. Directed by Agnès Varda. 1962. 90 minutes.
“Seven Samurai”: If you’ve seen “A Bug’s Life,” you already know the story. Lush rural visuals, folk storytelling and classic expressionism. Directed by Akira Kurosawa. 1954. 207 minutes.
“Suspiria”: Lavish and poppy Italian horror, dripping with saturated colors and dubbed drama. Directed by Dario Argento. 1977. 92 minutes.
“Ugetsu”: A terrifyingly dreamy Japanese ghost story, perfectly crafted. Directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. 1953. 96 minutes.
“The Conformist”: Striking and expressive Italian cinema with pop-art influences. Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci. 1970. 113 minutes.
“Knife in the Water”: Haunting, nuanced, surreal and striking Polish drama. Directed by Roman Polanksi. 1962. 94 minutes.
Listen up
Over the weekend, Global Citizen launched a multiplatform, eight-hour stream and broadcast called “One World: Together At Home” to raise funds and awareness for healthcare workers and WHO efforts.
The program featured musical performances and celebrity appearances from their homes around the world, as well as documentary videos interviews and PSAs about the coronavirus pandemic.
Celebrity appearances included John Legend and Chrissy Teigen, Matthew McConaughey, Sarah Jessica Parker, Becky G, Laverne Cox, Don Cheadle and Samuel Jackson.
Musical performances featured Jennifer Hudson, Charlie Puth, Annie Lennox, Sheryl Crow, Ellie Goulding, Jack Johnson, Kesha, Cassper Nyovest, Billy Ray Cyrus and John Legend.
The event culminated with a two-hour television broadcast segment, which was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert and broadcast simultaneously on NBC, ABC and CBS as well as various online platforms. Lady Gaga was first to perform, beginning with “Smile.” Stevie Wonder followed with a tribute to Bill Withers, performing “Lean On Me” and “Love’s In Need of Love Today.”
Paul McCartney performed “Lady Madonna,” followed later by Elton John performing “I’m Still Standing,” The Rolling Stones performing “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” Keith Urban performing “Higher Love,” Billie Joe Armstrong performing “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” and Taylor Swift performing “Soon You’ll Get Better.”
The full program can be watched at globalcitizen.org/en/connect/togetherathome or on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=28555&v=87-ZFjLfBAQ&feature=emb_logo)on the Global Citizen channel.