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Album Ratings 2027
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Last Active 10-23-20 2:50 pm
Joined 06-09-09
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| Music Snapshots Vol. 1
Music Snapshots will be a series that focuses on specific moments/snippets in songs that I love, highlighting what makes them so special for me. Feel free to share your own favorite moments from songs you enjoy. | | 1 |  | Marvin Gaye
What's Going On
"What's Going On" (0:07 mark)
There’s a story Bruce Springsteen tells about hearing Bob Dylan for the first time with his song “Like a Rolling Stone.” In this retelling, he distinctly recalls “on came that snare shot that sounded like somebody kicked open the door to your mind” and from there he was hooked on Dylan for life. I feel the same sentiment Bruce describes when the opening saxophone of Marvin Gaye’s seminal song “What’s Going On” comes on. The purity and clarity captured in that one perfect note is so stirring to my senses every time I hear it. It’s a glorious opening statement for a certified classic album. A quintessential moment in soul. | | 2 |  | M83
Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
"Wait" ((4:08 - 4:21 mark)
“Wait” makes me feel like I’m floating on my back in the ocean. There’s a tranquility that sweeps over me throughout the majority of the song. Maybe it’s the simplicity in the lyrics, as there are only 15 lines in the entire song, most of which are simply the repetition of “No time.” Maybe it’s Anthony Gonzalez’s vocals which wade between breathy hushes and stronger cries. Gonzalez has talked about trying to find confidence in his singing and you can feel that dynamic most on “Wait.” The song’s crescendo after the final “No time,” where Gonzalez introduces this shrill, high-pitched wail on top of the crashing cymbal, is where the song elevates to a higher plane. It has such a cascading effect that sounds like birds are raining from the sky. It’s a cinematic release that sweeps over me every time. | | 3 |  | Darrell Banks
Here to Stay
"“When a Man Loves a Woman” (0:17 mark)
I discovered Darrell Bank’s interpretation of “When a Man Loves a Woman” in college by chance. I had only ever heard Michael Bolton’s rendition up until that point and in my naivety I thought it was the only version out there. I couldn’t be happier to be wrong, as Banks’ version delivers one of the most powerful vocal performances I’ve ever heard. I really like the sequencing of the opening line (the title of the song) with the female backing vocalists kicking it off, the male backing vocalists following suit and then Banks bringing up the rear. Banks comes in with such high voltage explosiveness that blows your hair back and as soon as his voice arrives, I immediately forget about Bolton. When I think of soul, this song immediately comes to mind. | | 4 |  | Titus Andronicus
The Monitor
“A More Perfect Union” (1:38 - 1:56 mark)
“A More Perfect Union” kicks off The Monitor with a sense of urgency, weaving in the first of many political snippets from Civil War times to paint the story that will be told throughout the entire project. The song soars with Patrick Stickles’ line “Cause tramps like us, baby, we were born to die” which melds into a searing guitar riff. It’s a clever homage to Springsteen. As someone who has heard “Cause tramps like us, baby, we were born to run” from “Born to Run” ad-nauseam, it’s a humorous twist on a classic line, made even funnier with Stickles’ grating, intoxicated voice. The guitar lick adds an element of verve that sets the tone for not only the remainder of the song, but for the entire album. | | 5 |  | Nick Cave and Warren Ellis
Carnage
“Albuquerque” (1:31 - 1:46 mark)
A more recent addition comes from Nick Cave and Warren Ellis’ Carnage. “Albuquerque” is one of the quieter songs on this album, but it provides the most dramatic moment. As Cave laments over a period of stasis as a result of the pandemic, he utters the line “And we won’t get to anywhere, any time this year, darling.” The quiver in Cave’s voice on this particular utterance of the word “darling” gets me every time. There’s such a gravity behind the emphasis of each syllable. One word provides a solemn acknowledgement of impending isolation and a somber acceptance of those elements that are out of your control. It’s delivered as if Cave is speaking directly to the listener. We won’t get to anywhere, not for some time. Then the piano and strings come in, which make me crumble. “Albuquerque” truly feels like a devastating snapshot in time that’s laced with uncertainty. | | 6 |  | Waxahatchee
American Weekend
“I Think I Love You” (2:43 - 2:55 mark)
“I Think I Love You,” the penultimate song on American Weekend, is the most emotionally gripping tune on the album. The production is so sparse and lo-fi, which really adds to the loneliness and isolation seeping through the song. It feels like Katie Crutchfield penned and recorded this alone in a room at 3:00 in the morning after a troubling night of rumination. Towards the end, Crutchfield utters, “I want you so bad it’s devouring me and I think I love you, but you’ll never find out.” The whispery crackle in her voice sounds so defeated to the point that it sounds like she’s choking up as she comes to terms with the notion that the person she adores will never know her true feelings for them. It’s a very relatable line made even more powerful by Crutchfield’s distressing yet enduring performance. | | 7 |  | The Lemon Twigs
A Dream Is All We Know
“My Golden Years” (2:14 mark)
The final leg of this song is where the magic all comes together. When that outro kicks in with the band’s harmonies blending together with Brian D’Addario’s falsetto, it is pure bliss. The first time I heard it, I was blown away. Now, every time it comes on (and I’ve been listening to it nonstop over the past few days), I feel like singing from a mountaintop, blazing a trail on the open highway, and running through a summer rainstorm. This vibrant ode to decades past will be the anthem that propels me through the Summer. | | 8 |  | The Killers
Hot Fuss
“Jenny Was a Friend of Mine” (1:09 - 1:20 mark)
What I love about this song is the sonic tweaks the band makes to push the storytelling forward. The verses, which focus on the narrator’s recalling of the events that took place leading to them being questioned for committing a crime, place more emphasis on the bass and heavy synth work, painting the scene and the tone of the argument that ensued perfectly. When the chorus hits the synths disappear entirely, replaced by a guitar and more emphasis on the snares. Brandon Flowers switches up his vocal delivery as well, focusing more on shouting during the verses before dropping down his register in the chorus. It creates a sense of foreboding as his narrator seemingly dares his interrogators to ask him questions related to what transpired. There’s this grim sense of danger that’s presented, the veil being pulled back to reveal the true monster that is being probed for answers. | | 9 |  | The Low Anthem
Oh My God, Charlie Darwin
“Don’t Tremble” (3:41 - 4:04 mark)
My love for this song comes from the ending, particularly the last set of lines. After singing a couple of sweet lines about how breathtaking this person is that the narrator has affection for, Miller finishes with “If your heart is unemployed/do not rush but do not stall/Cause I’ll be waiting…I’ll be waiting.” Maybe my ears are playing tricks on me, but there is the subtlest shift in the guitar strumming that makes the sound feel more full and the harmonica comes in for the final time, the strongest it’s sounded on the entire song. It’s a clever nonverbal method of driving home a particular emphasis on Miller’s final message, that while he does not want the woman he clearly adores to feel rushed in deciding whether or not they should be together, he wants to make it clear that he will be waiting for her. This one always hits me hard on.a personal level. | | 10 |  | Young Fathers
Heavy Heavy
Geronimo (2:21 - 2:29 mark)
Heavy Heavy was my second favorite album to come out in 2023 and while I love almost every song on there, I would consider “Geronimo” to be the centerpiece of this stellar project. The first two thirds of the track have this deceptive lightness to it, as the percussion, the xylophone and even the background singers are nowhere near the foreground of the mix. That all changes in the outro of the song, where the percussion thunders thunders in and Graham Hastings begins emphatically shouting “Get off!” repeatedly before closing it with a powerful, harsh “Oh!” while the background vocalists complement his energy perfectly. It’s a wilder finish that serves as an emotionally charged punctuation mark to a great song. | |
Hawks
01.23.26 | Very cool list. | Calc
01.23.26 | like this idea. I immediately thought of 0:50-1:21 of Goldie's Torn Locks by He is Legend. You can't just stack filthy riff upon filthy riff like that. automatic involuntary stank face when that part comes on. | RVAHC13
01.23.26 | Yes on 4 and 7
| Josh D.
01.23.26 | This is a good idea, I should make these. |
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