One-hit wonders are awfully common, but one-album wonders are a bit more rare. And 1998’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill might be the best example.
This thing was a monster hit, a cultural touchstone, a Grammy winner for Best Album. And it was the last memorable thing Lauryn Hill ever did.
In fact, the only other solo album she ever released was a live recording of her appearance on MTV’s Unplugged. That was in 2002.
Neko Case is one of those artists who can’t quite crack my “must listen” list even though everything she does sounds great.
The major exception is her 2006 album Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, which broke through to hold a spot among my favorite albums of that decade.
But the albums she’s released before and since just haven’t had the same lasting appeal.
I discovered TV On the Radio through their 2008 album, Dear Science, which kicked my ass in all kinds of amazing ways.
I quickly sought out its predecessor, Return to Cookie Mountain, looking for more of the same, but was disappointed by the album’s less cohesive sound.
I stumbled upon a reference to George Winston’s December the other day and I was caught up in a memory as powerful as a tidal wave.
How can it be that I haven’t thought about this album for more than 20 years?
The album was released in 1982, when I was 10 years old, but I remember it best from my sophomore year in high school.
Am I mistaken, or was Aretha Franklin at death’s door a few years ago?
I guess she recovered nicely, because her 39th studio album, Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics is due out later this year.
At 72, here’s Aretha not just alive but belting out Adele’s ‘Rolling in the Deep’ with her typical style and power.
Meet Me In Montauk 