Liner Notes

July 1, 2026

What to listen to

Mary Margaret O'Hara · 1988 · She sang like a woman trying to remember a song she'd only ever heard in a dream.

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Past Notes Page 1 of 73

Mary Margaret O'Hara · 1988 · She sang like a woman trying to remember a song she'd only ever heard in a dream.

Tribal People, Vol. 1

Malcom Myers · 1974 · A percussion-and-synth ritual built to be ignored, which is why listening close feels like stealing a secret.

A Girl Called Eddy

A Girl Called Eddy · 2004 · She sat on the follow-up for fifteen years. This one record made the wait almost worth it.

Wild Strawberries · 1994 · You pulled this CD from a sale bin in 2001 and it sounded good. Tonight, with the right headphones, it sounds like a secret.

So Good It Hurts

Mekons · 1988 · Recorded in a freezing Leeds warehouse with no heating because the guitarist said it made the guitars sound wrong — and he was right.

Natalie Prass · 2015 · The producer of the album also runs Spacebomb Records, and this is what happens when you let a 23-year-old with punk roots write a soul record for a 40-piece orchestra.

Bach: Cello Suites (remastered)

Yo-Yo Ma · 1983 · Solo cello. No overdubs. No audience. Just Bach and a man who has spent forty years trying to get it right.

Tutti! Orchestral Sampler

Reference Recordings · 1997 · A record store demo disc that actually has musical integrity.

Kadhja Bonet · 2016 · She plays harp and sings like a lost session singer from 1972—but the record came out in 2016.

80's Hits Remixed (Best 80's Top 40 Hits - Club, Dance, House & Techno Remix Collection)

RTS · 1999 · This compilation reveals that the 80s were built for house music—you just had to strip away the MTV gloss.

And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out

Yo La Tengo · 2000 · They made an album that sounds like the moment after you've finally stopped talking.

Twin Peaks Soundtrack

Angelo Badalamenti · 1990 · Badalamenti's score is the third character in Twin Peaks, breathing humidity and dread.

Songs of Leonard Cohen

Leonard Cohen · 1967 · The voice you either fall into or never understand — but the writing is beyond question.

Pieces of a Man

Gil Scott-Heron · 1971 · Bernard Purdie, Ron Carter, and a man who refused to sing.

Led Zeppelin II

Led Zeppelin · 1969 · It's the sound of four guys who could barely catch their breath, and that's exactly why it's untouchable.