2024 Album-A-Day: Week 29

So. Um. Biden's out. That's. A thing. Don't want to freak out or anything. Let's just focus on this for now. Click here for the playlist, and recommend albums you want me to hear in the comments.

July 15th: Urban Hymns by the Verve

Yet another Britpop album, this one is actually fairly distinct. On this album, every song has this lush production, somewhat like Air or Zero 7 or even Portishead, with Britpop's usual candid lyrics. The most famous example, and their biggest hit, is "Bittersweet Symphony," which is more proof of my thesis that even overplayed singles work in the context of the albums they come from. Songs like "The Rolling People" and "Velvet Morning" and "The Drugs Don't Work" are also a lot of fun, and I ended up liking this album more than I expected to. My favorite is "Weeping Willow."

July 16th: Selling England by the Pound by Genesis

Finally educating myself on the good years of Genesis, after only knowing Phil Collins-led songs for a long time. This album is some really good prog rock, as a big fan of Rush and Yes. It's got everything you need: unconventional song forms, guitar-and-bass shredding, Peter Gabriel doing voices, Phil Collins being obviously awesome at the drums, and stories that I couldn't quite follow but I'm sure I'm going to love them upon relisten. My favorite was "Firth of Fifth"

July 17th: Bonny Light Horseman by Bonny Light Horseman

Anais Mitchell, creator of the great folk musical Hadestown, and two other prominent folksters, form the supergroup Bonny Light Horseman, which is also the name of the album and the first song. That first song establishes the general sound, with lush harmonies and great guitar and banjo tones. Anais, as the member I was most familiar with beforehand (watch this video if you want to know why she rules), so naturally she was the one that stood out to me. Her voice can go from angelic and gentle to a powerhouse in no time at all, and it's as natural as riding a bike. My favorite track was "Magpie's Nest"

July 18th: Mothership Connection by Parliament

After I checked out Funkadelic for the project, it was natural to listen to Parliament. This side of the collective is far more radio friendly than the wild and dark Funkadelic, and this produces their biggest song, "Give Up the Funk," which is the kind of undeniable groove that can only happen when you have Bootsy Collins playing. The groove is consistent throughout the album, with "Mothership Connection" and "Night of the Thumpasaurus People" also showing their skills with rhythm. My favorite was "Supergroovalisticprosifunkstication."

July 19th: Nilsson Schmillson by Harry Nilsson

Finally doing my due dilligence as an power pop nerd, and getting into Nilsson. This album has a few songs I already knew, including "Gotta Get Up," which I love, "Coconut," which will never leave my head, and "Jump in the Fire," which I knew for a long time but never knew it was Harry Nilsson. It turns out: I really like Harry Nilsson. Nilsson strikes me as something of a pop traditionalist, with lyrics being straightforward and about big emotions and powerful instrumentation. Also, his voice. It's like an orca. My favorite that I hadn't heard was "Early in the Morning."

July 20th: Bad Brains by Bad Brains

I have to respect any band that starts out as jazz fusion and then switches to punk rock on a whim, becoming one of the most influential bands in Washington DC history in the process. For the most part, these are short and ruthless punk songs, with really dark lyrics, such as "Banned in DC" and "Pay to Cum." The exceptions are three wholly reggae songs, which are also the longest songs on the album. Many punk bands were reggae influenced, such as the Clash, but Bad Brains are legitimate Rastafarians, so they're the real deal. My favorite song was "Big Take Over."

July 21st: The Real Thing by Faith No More

Yet another Mike Patton project, this time a band he was the replacement singer for. Faith No More is a somewhat more conventional band than Mr. Bungle, but still far from what you would call traditional. This was part of the late 80s-early 90s funk metal scene, and helped plant the seeds that would become nu metal, for better or for worse. I already knew "Epic," which is a classic, but I also love "Zombie Eaters," "Underwater Love," and "Falling to Pieces." Also, there's a very faithful cover of "War Pigs" on here, and I don't know if it's better than the original, but it's at least as good. Immediately after that, the album closes with a jazzy song called "Edge of the World," as if Mike Patton is reminding you how weird he is. My favorite track was "Zombie Eaters."