February is Music Writer Exercise Month #MWE • Page 2

tried to come up with a list, got to 21, got frustrated, and gave up

 

Targeting anything interesting this time out?

 

gonna bite the actual bullet and do some billy joel

 

Not listened to him extensively myself but 52nd Street is great

 

I might still make some tweaks, and the order is going to change, but here’s my preliminary list. Mostly trying to fill in some “how the hell have I not heard these yet?” gaps.

 

turned into the blinking meme at #2

 

Right?! I realized last week when I was doing my Weezer kick that I'd never actually listened to Maladroit. Decided to save it for MWE. That will probably be Day 1.

 

Paul's Boutique is gonna be a fun listen

 

a perfect album

 

I know many of the songs, but I've never sat down and listened to a Bruce Springsteen album, so going to do his whole discography.

I've also only ever listened to After Laughter from Paramore so going to throw theirs in as well. I think that takes up most of the month.

 

Some amazing picks here. Obviously amped about Prince.

Have you heard other Nina records? I like that one a lot but wouldn’t start there.

I feel like Armed Forces is absolutely the most up-your-alley Costello record too

 

Wait doesn’t everyone hate Maladroit? I’ve never listened

 

chris, no

it's their third best album

 

The Prince record was the first one I put on the list, per our exchange a few weeks ago.

I'm not super well-versed in Nina. I put that one on the list because it was the highest-ranked on the list NPR did a few years ago of "the 150 greatest albums made by women." But like I said, this isn't set in stone yet, so if you've got another rec, by all means!

Re: Costello, I'm only super familiar with This Year's Model and My Aim Is True, both of which I love. I figured Armed Forces was the natural next step. Butch Walker borrows so heavily from Costello that I feel like I should spend more time with the guy's music.

I remember this being the narrative when I first came to Weezer during the Make Believe era. Then the album kind of slowly gained esteem over time. Sort of reminds me of something like Pop by U2, which was pretty universally reviled when I first started listening to that band and has now been re-canonized as a flawed, misunderstood gem.

 

yes except there are no flaws and it’s perfect

 

Back in 2005, I remember the party line being "Everything after Blue and Pinkerton is complete dogshit."

 

party line is bunk

 

Clearly.

 

Personally I'd go with Nina in this descending order (since I'm not sure which you have or haven't heard):
Sings the Blues
High Priestess of Soul
Wild Is the Wind
Pastel Blues
I Put a Spell on You

AllMusic also rates Sings the Blues as her best.

That's a great looking list overall. Excited to see you post or tweet about your reactions as you go.

 

This makes me so much more interested in it. Haha

 

I'm always so tempted to do one of these but just know there are occasional days I can't fit in a record.

 

Sings the Blues it is! I’m excited.

In past years, there have definitely been days that I’ve missed, especially on busy weekends. I just catch up when I have more listening time. I’ve also seen people log a few early to give themselves some leeway during the month itself.

 

Alright I've been convinced. Want to give me 3?

@phaynes12 want to hit me with 3?

 

Sly and Curtis back to back is gonna be a party. You have a bunch of awesome ones ahead.