Author Archives

by

Song of the Day #4,536: ‘Allergic’ – Post Malone

The last Album of the Year nominee I’ll mention is Post Malone’s Hollywood’s Bleeding. This is Malone’s second straight nod in this category, after 2019’s Beerbongs & Bentleys. I guess the Recording Academy has a soft spot for auto-tuned hip-hop inflected pop songs.

I like Malone well enough based on his media appearances, and a few of his songs have worked for me (specifically, ‘Rockstar‘ and ‘Circles‘). But a quick dive into this album didn’t impress me. It’s a lot of the same mid-tempo, moody pop you find in ‘Circles,’ but with less success.

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #4,535: ‘In Too Deep [feat. Kiana Ledé]’ – Jacob Collier

Jacob Collier, a 26 year-old English musician, is the least likely artist to appear in this year’s Grammy Album of the Year lineup.

His Djesse Vol. 3 is the third installment in a planned four-volume collection, with each album representing a different part of the day. Volumes one and two were jazz fusion albums, while this one traffics more in R&B and funk sounds.

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #4,534: ‘Champion of the World’ – Coldplay

Coldplay made an unexpected appearance in this year’s Album of the Year Grammy nominations. The band hasn’t shown up in this category since 2008’s Viva La Vida, their only other nod for Best Album.

Four years after the release of 2015’s A Head Full of Dreams, an album the band said might be their last, they dropped Everyday Life, an album that sold relatively well and received critical praise, but was not expected to turn up on this category.

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #4,533: ‘Colors’ – Black Pumas

Black Pumas is a duo based in Austin, Texas, that writes and records soul music that would have felt right at home in the 60s and 70s.

The band formed in 2018, when producer Adrian Quesada sought a vocalist for some new tracks and was introduced to singer-songwriter Eric Burton, whose throwback vibe proved a perfect fit. The pair released their debut, self-titled, album in 2019.

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #4,532: ‘Born Tired’ – Jhené Aiko

The 2021 Grammy nominations were announced last week. I have little interest or investment in the Grammys, which are usually even more out of touch than the Emmys or Oscars. But that doesn’t mean I don’t root for my favorites to get some recognition.

Happily, three of my five favorite eligible albums showed up in the Album of the Year category: Haim’s Women in Music Part III, Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia, and Taylor Swift’s Folklore. Two others missed the cut: Miranda Lambert’s Wildcard and Fiona Apple’s Fetch the Bolt Cutters (which seemed like a shoo-in for this category right after its release).

Continue reading →