Since we’re firing this thing up a bit more lately, let’s get to some decent albums to get you through those weary, daylight-filled spring days. A little selection of tunes to mourn the winter and celebrate the coming summer.
Blur - Modern Life is Rubbish. Of the Blur canon, this one often gets overlooked. What shouldn’t get overlooked is that Blur really haven’t put out a bad album in their career. Sure, some are better than others, but all are solid. Modern Life clocks in at 69 tracks (they did that dead-air thing on tracks 17-68) and has some peppy, Britpop-ish jauntiness that will help get you through that daylight savings thing. The most underrated Blur album out there.
The Florestan Trio - Trio in C Major for Piano, Violin and Cello, Op. 87: I-IV and Trio in C Minor for Piano, Violin and Cello, Op. 101: I-IV. I’ve got news. Brahms is sick. I never knew! Don’t sleep on Brahms, dudes. That cat put together some fucking fine symphonies, and some excellent chamber music to boot. He never wrote in the brash glory of Bach, the perfect pitch of Mozart, the stately grandeur of Beethoven, but he had a consistency and steadiness that is quite amazing at times. The Trio’s performance here is personal, rich, and powerful.
The Kinks - Word of Mouth. An early 80s Kinks album. There’s definitely filler here, but some great tracks as well. Summer’s Gone, Do It Again, Living on a Thin Line, all solid tracks. Good Day is a sweet track. Kudos for the hilarious album cover. Who ordered the code comedy?
