Nirvana In Utero DGC · September 1993 On September 21st, 1993, In Utero, Nirvana’s third and final studio album rocked the world and changed the name of grunge forever. Unapologetic in its creation, both the process and the product rebelled against the corporate environment the band had fallen privy to after their initial commercial success. Despite immense […]
Kanye West 808s & Heartbreak Roc-A-Fella Records · November 2008 Look, it’s difficult to talk about Kanye nowadays. Even as a card-carrying Kanye apologist I have to admit that he’s said and done things that are unforgivable. But this isn’t the time and place to hash those issues out. This isn’t a political think-piece. This is […]
WRBB’s Juliana Van Amsterdam sits down with composer and jazz vocalist Amanda Ekery. I spoke with Amanda Ekery, a talented composer and jazz vocalist, one early morning to discuss her latest album release and her thoughts on sexism in the jazz industry. Ekery was gearing up to celebrate the November 3rd release of Keys with […]
The Beatles The White Album Apple Records · 22 November 1968 It’s June 1, 1967: The Summer of Love. The Beatles released arguably the most important album to change rock history and pop culture. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was a concept album filled with revolutionary songwriting collaborations within the band, powerful stories of family members […]
Beyoncé I Am… Sasha Fierce Columbia · November 2008 No Beyoncé album is as paradoxical as her third studio album I Am… Sasha Fierce. Despite receiving mediocre reviews, it still went #1 on the US Billboard 200 and went triple platinum, selling 3.25 million units. With four out of nine singles from the album making it […]
Lady Gaga The Fame Interscope Records · August 2008 As Lady Gaga stars in her first feature film “A Star is Born,” let us not forget a star was born 10 years ago when The Fame changed the sound of pop music forever. I remember sitting in the back of my mom’s Honda Pilot at 10 years […]
Lauryn Hill The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill Ruffhouse Records · August 1998 Twenty years ago, Lauryn Hill found herself at a crossroads. She was 22, pregnant with her first child and faced the daunting task of having to restart her career as a solo artist. The Fugees had just broken up after winning two Grammy awards […]
N.W.A Straight Outta Compton Ruthless Records · September 1988 “You are now about to witness the strength of street knowledge.” Dr. Dre’s opening words on N.W.A.’s debut is a proclamation that bites just as hard today as it did thirty years ago. Hip hop had just hit its teen years: DJ Kool Herc’s seminal 1973 block party […]
Radiohead Hail to the Thief Ocean Way Recording / Canned Applause · June 2003 15 years after politically charged masterpiece Hail to the Thief was released, Radiohead’s social commentary has never been more relevant. The paranoia, cynicism, and hopelessness that tied the album to the Bush administration’s perniciousness seem like small fry compared to the ever-looming doomsday […]
Panic! at the Disco Pretty. Odd. Decaydance and Fueled by Ramen · March 2008 It’s been a decade since the pop-punk powerhouse Panic! At the Disco released Pretty. Odd., their divisive, psych-pop-inspired sophomore album. Ten years ago, Panic! At the Disco was coming down from their breakout fame after A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out went platinum, […]
