“Rumors” by Fleetwood Mac (No. 51)
Rumors is an album I’m not really aware of being introduced to at any specific point. Fleetwood Mac’s defining album was just ever-present when I was growing up, I’m not sure if any of the songs on Rumors escaped heavy rotation on album oriented rock (AOR) stations like KSD...
More open source is good open source
A few days ago, Microsoft announced that it has released PowerShell under the MIT license for Linux (and Mac OS X). Perhaps surprisingly, this has brought a number of folks out of the woodwork to gripe about Microsoft… releasing something as open source. Microsoft isn’t perfect, not by a...
“Details” by Frou Frou (No. 52)
Were it not for Zach Braff, I might have missed out on Frou Frou, The Shins, and missed Colin Hay’s solo career. So it’s a damn good thing my friend Rikki suggested we catch Garden State when I was visiting Lawrence, Kansas many years ago. The first song on...
“Black Celebration” by Depeche Mode (No. 53)
No instruments were harmed in the making of this album. Well, no instruments were used in the making of this album, anyway. I kid, of course, but I remember debating fiercely with friends in the 1986-1987 time-frame whether Depeche Mode made “real” music because the bulk (if not all)...
“Bachelor No. 2 or, the Last Remains of the Dodo” by Aimee Mann (No. 54)
Bachelor No. 2 is the album that, if Interscope had its way, wouldn’t have been released at all. Instead, Aimee Mann bought the rights back and released it on her own through her website – a gutsy move in 2000, but it paid off for Mann and her fans....
“Duran Duran: The Singles 81-85” by Duran Duran (No. 55)
This next entry may be cheating, slightly. Does a box set count as an “album?” Let’s ask the judges if they’ll allow it. Oh, right. I’m the judge, so … yeah, I’m allowing it. My next pick is Duran Duran‘s collection, The Singles 81-85. I’ll be honest, Duran Duran...
“I’m Your Man” by Leonard Cohen (No. 56)
There are two kinds of people: Those who appreciate Leonard Cohen, and those who are wrong. I present as evidence Cohen’s eighth studio album, I’m Your Man. Released in 1988 with heavy use of synthesizers and drum machines/electronic drums, I’m Your Man should sound dated. Indeed, if you focus...
“Our Time in Eden” by 10,000 Maniacs (No. 57)
I like a lot of the Natalie Merchant-era 10,000 Maniacs catalog, her final studio album with the band is far and away my favorite. Our Time in Eden is a lush, mature album that sounds as fresh today as it did on its release in 1992....
“Apostrophe(‘)” by Frank Zappa (No. 58)
Great googly moogly! Frank Zappa‘s Apostrophe(‘) fills me with unmitigated joy every time I listen to it. Apostrophe(‘), particularly the “Yellow Snow Suite” on the first half of the album, is equal parts silliness and brilliant composition and execution. The first four songs on the album, “Don’t Eat the...
“Black Snake Diamond Röle” by Robyn Hitchcock (No. 59)
The first solo Robyn Hitchcock album, Black Snake Diamond Röle, literally opened a new world of music for me. A friend in high school declared that I’d like it, and handed me a cassette recorded from the LP. She was wrong, though. I didn’t like it, I loved it....