It’s been a while since I’ve listened to an album, but I made up for it with three in one day!
\nApril 5, 2026, an Easter Sunday morning listen with Ian | I didn’t think I knew any of Gillian Welch’s music, though I knew her name. As it turns out, though, I realized am familiar with several of her songs from mixes/playlists made by friends. I loved everything about this album, including the title. I was hooked from the blue-grassy first song, “Scarlet Town,” and right on through. I am currently looking into tickets for when she comes to Lincoln later this summer.
\n[Recommended by my friend Bethany]
\nApril 5, 2026 | If I had to choose, this would be my favorite album of all time. We listened in the van on the way to visit my family. I had fun and learned so much asking Jason a ton of questions, mostly some variation of “What makes that sound?” or “What is this song about?” Lucky for me, he went through a huge U2 phase and had looked it all up years ago and knew the answers I was seeking. Now I really want to see Rattle and Hum again. [ETA: This is another Album of the Year winner.]
\nApril 5, 2026 | This was Jason’s pick for the return trip from my parents’ yesterday. I knew that Daniel Amos was a band and not a dude, but I didn’t think I knew anything beyond that. As we started listening, though, I thought it sounded a lot like some other Christian bands I had listened to in high school and college. Sure enough, Daniel Amos had an alter ego: The Swirling Eddies, and that’s the band I was familiar with. I also thought this album sounded a bit like The Choir and maybe a bit of Steve Taylor—and unmistakably more than a little like The Beatles (in their later years). I liked this one a lot. (For a proper review, Jason wrote a great one back in 2022.)
\n", "date_published": "2026-04-06T19:13:46-05:00", "url": "https://mrsopus.com/2026/04/06/snoap-nos/", "tags": ["lists","music"] }, { "id": "http://mrsopus.micro.blog/2026/03/26/093921/", "title": "SNoALP no. 15", "content_html": "March 25, 2026 | I have heard this album many times, as it is recorded as Album 4 in our van. I really like this album, though because there is such wistfulness to Mark Kozelek’s voice and his lyrics, I find that it’s not always a good choice to listen when I’m already feeling melancholy. That said, “Carry Me Ohio” is the song that consistently lingers in my head for days after (“Sorry that I could never love you back / I could never care enough in these last days”). This time through, I especially enjoyed the instrumental “Si, Paloma.” [Jason just heard me listening to a song and asked, “Have you heard about Mark Kozelek?” Yeah, that’s never good. Apparently, he’s quite an unsavory individual. So I won’t be seeking out any of his other music.]
\n", "date_published": "2026-03-26T09:39:21-05:00", "url": "https://mrsopus.com/2026/03/26/093921/", "tags": ["lists","music"] }, { "id": "http://mrsopus.micro.blog/2026/03/26/snoalp-no/", "title": "SNoALP no. 14", "content_html": "March 25, 2026 | I knew the name of the group because my friend recently told me how she impressed her daughter by recognizing their music. | I listened to this album while folding clothes, which seems like a really middle-aged mom way to do it (plus, I had to look up several words from the Apple Music description, which also made me feel old). I liked it, and I’m not sure how much more I have to say about it. I found the mix of languages (Korean and English) as well as the blending of genres (pop, rap, electronic) interesting. I would listen again, but I can’t really see myself becoming a Blink.
\n", "date_published": "2026-03-26T08:59:55-05:00", "url": "https://mrsopus.com/2026/03/26/snoalp-no/", "tags": ["lists","music"] }, { "id": "http://mrsopus.micro.blog/2026/03/19/snoalp-no/", "title": "SNoALP no. 13", "content_html": "March 18, 2026 | I have some friends who love Bon Iver, but I’d never really listened, and didn’t/don’t recognize any songs from this album. I am late to the party here. I found myself drifting off/getting lost in the music (how’s that for an oxymoron—found myself lost), letting my mind wander and forgetting that I was supposed to be listening. I consider that a good thing. I understand that Justin Vernon’s falsetto is the distinctive thing for Bon Iver, but I preferred the occasional times that he would dip down into the lower register.
\n", "date_published": "2026-03-19T10:54:24-05:00", "url": "https://mrsopus.com/2026/03/19/snoalp-no/", "tags": ["lists","music"] }, { "id": "http://mrsopus.micro.blog/2026/03/18/the-some-number-of-albums/", "title": "SNoALP no. 12", "content_html": "March 17, 2026 | I hadn’t heard of her before, but I looked the artist up after seeing her sit for a portrait on Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year (season 3 final). [As a side note that deserves its own entry, I have recently become obsessed with two British series: Portrait Artist of the Year and Landscape Artist of the Year.] | I had to keep reminding myself that this album was made before Covid because thematically it has a homey, we’re-in-this-together thing going on. Of course, musically it also had big choral arrangements and other elements that were not stripped down. I did like something about each of the songs, but there were a couple of standouts. My favorite song was probably “Honest,” but I also liked the take-the-world-by-storm, climactic-moment-of-a-Broadway-musical feel of “Sparrow” (I think I’m remembering that right).
\n", "date_published": "2026-03-18T12:21:33-05:00", "url": "https://mrsopus.com/2026/03/18/the-some-number-of-albums/", "tags": ["lists","music"] }, { "id": "http://mrsopus.micro.blog/2026/03/16/the-some-number-of-albums/", "title": "SNoALP no. 11", "content_html": "March 15, 2026 | I knew the name, but that’s about it. | A Sunday afternoon vinyl listening with Ian and Jason. I had some mental hurdles to clear, as this album transported me straight back to high school and Lite 96 FM, which I skipped more often than not (the radio station, not school). But I’m glad I gave this a listen: the Grammy-winning Album of the Year for 1980,* it truly is easy listening. And though it will never be a go-to genre for me, this “pinnacle of yacht rock,” as Jason described the album, was enjoyable on a snowy Sunday afternoon.
\n*I’m thinking of doing a sub-project, listening to Albums of the Year (Album of the Years? Albums of the Years?). I’ve got three already: 1980, 1984, and 2018.
\n", "date_published": "2026-03-16T10:03:47-05:00", "url": "https://mrsopus.com/2026/03/16/the-some-number-of-albums/", "tags": ["lists","music"] }, { "id": "http://mrsopus.micro.blog/2026/03/10/the-some-number-of-albums/", "title": "SNoALP no. 10", "content_html": "March 10, 2026 | I had heard the first song. | This album utterly destroyed me. I am unlikely to recover. Rarely have I had such a strong emotional reaction to music. Just devastating and so, so beautiful. The album was written after Bergman’s father and stepmother were killed by a drunk driver, and the grief and sorrow that suffuse the lyrics in every song are so tender. Bergman asks honest, raw questions, full of trust and heartache and without a whisper of bitterness. I can only pray that if (when) I experience deep mourning that I will be able to turn to the Lord, as Bergman has, to find solace. Mercy, indeed.
\nMusically, Bergman’s voice took a bit of getting used to; I wasn’t sure I liked it. But ultimately something shifted in my opinion, and I find her voice really works. What she’s doing musically is so interesting—folksy for sure, it has aspects of old-time gospel (I noticed especially on “The Gallows”) and I’m sure lots of other things that I can’t think of through my tears.
\n(For a great read, see Jason’s review of the album.)
\n", "date_published": "2026-03-10T21:10:04-05:00", "url": "https://mrsopus.com/2026/03/10/the-some-number-of-albums/", "tags": ["lists","music"] }, { "id": "http://mrsopus.micro.blog/2026/03/09/the-some-number-of-albums/", "title": "SNoALP nos. 8–9", "content_html": "Two more vinyl sittings with Ian. It was a good weekend.
\nMarch 8, 2026 | I knew this one (most of it, anyway) | Love this album, especially “Shout” and “Head Over Heels.” Listening to this, I had such strong nostalgia for babysitting the Maurstads’ and for my friend Anne’s basement – this album came out when I was twelve, so that tracks. Ian has been learning to play “Head Over Heels” on the piano, and I hadn’t remembered the intro, so it was fun to put together “Oh! That’s what he’s been playing!” (To clarify, he’s doing a great job; it sounds just right. I just didn’t realize that the intro belonged with that song.)
\nMarch 8, 2026 | I knew only two songs and recognized the cover art | Ian told me that he thought the first song, “Travelin’ Prayer” was “weird,” and when I asked him “How so?” his response was simply, “You’ll see.” Ha. I did, though: it’s a strange instrumental riff near the middle. We agreed that the song seems kind of mismatched alongside the rest of the album. I still liked “Piano Man” best, but I found a couple of new ones to like as well, especially “You’re My Home.”
\n", "date_published": "2026-03-09T18:50:29-05:00", "url": "https://mrsopus.com/2026/03/09/the-some-number-of-albums/", "tags": ["lists","music"] }, { "id": "http://mrsopus.micro.blog/2026/03/07/snoalp-no/", "title": "SNoALP no. 7", "content_html": "March 7, 2026 | New to me | This was my favorite listening experience yet – a Saturday morning listening to the vinyl with Ian. I had two initial thoughts: (1) I thought this was much older, and (2) Wall’s voice reminds me of Johnny Cash (Ian said Jason said the same thing). I would call this cowboy music, reminiscent of Marty Robbins. Ian says this is what he thinks of as country music (and modern country music he would call pop country).
\nFavorite: “Standing Here” (which cracked me up because it sounded a bit like he was doing an impression of Obama)
\n", "date_published": "2026-03-07T12:53:00-05:00", "url": "https://mrsopus.com/2026/03/07/snoalp-no/", "tags": ["lists","music"] }, { "id": "http://mrsopus.micro.blog/2026/03/06/snoalp-no/", "title": "SNoALP no. 6", "content_html": "March 6, 2026 | Band and cover art were familiar to me | This listening project for sure is going to reveal just how little I know about music that Everybody Else seems to know about. I’m just going to acknowledge that and carry on. I started making a list of bands or albums I’d like to include, and Coldplay was toward the top of the list. I did, of course, recognize Coldplay’s biggest hits, but I hadn’t really listened to any of their music on purpose. I wanted to see if I liked the band for myself and not just merging with other people’s opinions. As it turns out, I very much do like the band. This is the kind of music I can like on first listen and listen to again and again. And after a couple of albums that were not really my taste, it was really fun to listen to one that was.
\nI was most familiar with “The Scientist” and “Clocks,” and I am pretty sure I’ve heard “In My Place” and “Warning Sign” as well. My favorites from this listen were “Politik” (which I read was written the day after 9/11) and “In My Place.”
\n", "date_published": "2026-03-06T22:01:00-05:00", "url": "https://mrsopus.com/2026/03/06/snoalp-no/", "tags": ["lists","music"] }, { "id": "http://mrsopus.micro.blog/2026/03/06/new-project-the-some-number/", "title": "New Project: The Some Number of Albums Listening Project (SNoALP)", "content_html": "I am starting a new project of sorts–taking the idea from Kendra Adachi (the Lazy Genius) and adapting it. Kendra is purposing to listen to 300 complete albums in a year–half that are known to her and half that are new to her. I don’t think of myself as a person who knows music, but I see no reason why I couldn’t be.
\nMy first thought was that I would start with 100 albums, but then I realized that, as with all projects, a specific number quickly becomes my undoing. So I’m going to listen to some number of albums, which will be as many as I listen to for as long as it remains fun. That may be seven albums and I’ll feel done or it could be two a day for the next two years.
\nUnsurprisingly, in the early days I have been going pretty hard, and I’ve already listened to five. I’m learning a lot, both musically and about my tastes. It’s been so much fun.
\nMarch 4, 2026 | Mostly new to me as an album | Protest music that makes sense to me. Loose, wavy, smooth, musing/wandering. The world is not okay. It’s like he’s asking, “You see this too, right?” I feel this deeply.
\nMusically it feels very of a time and reminds me of tv shows and movies that I saw as a kid. The ones that came to mind for whatever reason: Three’s Company, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Sesame Street. Also, the flute made me think of Jethro Tull.\nSongs I already recognized: “What’s Going On” and “Mercy Mercy Me”; favorites from this \tlisten: “What’s Happening Brother” and “Save the Children”
\n[Recommended by Jason]
\nMarch 4, 2026 | Brand new to me, though I had maybe heard of the artist | I think this is the kind of album that I will like even more with familiarity. I had no reference for it except “country,” which I don’t particularly like. I did like this, though – maybe it leans more folk and/or pop than what I think of as country. I like Musgraves’s voice, and there are pieces of each song that were so perfect. My small criticism is that some of the lyrics seem too cute/clever (e.g., “You can have your space, cowboy” in the song “Space Cowboy” or “I don’t need a Superman to win my lovin’” in the song “Wonder Woman”), but most of those I can get over because of the catchy, light tunes and … I don’t know, just music that I liked. Also, thematically it skews younger than where I am in life, but that’s not a knock on the album. Musically it makes me think of a summer day.
\nI hadn’t heard ANY of the songs. My favorites on the first listen were “Mother” (good grief, this one got me in the feels), “Happy and Sad,” and “Love Is a Wild Thing.”
\n[Recommended by the Lazy Genius, Kendra Adachi]
\nMay 5, 2026 | Familiar to me | This is a longtime favorite, so all the songs were familiar, though I did listen all the way through, including the ones I sometimes skip. The title track remains one of my favorite songs of all time, and other favorites from this listen were “In Christ There Is No East or West” and especially “We’re Going to Make It.”
\nMay 5, 2026 | Songs familiar to me as singles, not as a whole album | Well, this put me right back in fourth grade (I remember someone brought it to music class when it was their turn to bring a song to dance to, but I don’t recall which song was actually played). My thought listening through this time was that I like the familiarity and the nostalgia more than I like the actual music. I was actively annoyed by some of the lyrics (e.g., “the doggone girl is mine”) and MJ’s voice, while distinctive and so easily recognizable, isn’t one I am particularly taken by. From a music history standpoint, I can recognize the album’s significance, but it’s not one I’ll reach for to play on repeat.
\nFavorites this time: “Human Nature” and “Beat It”
\n", "date_published": "2026-03-06T14:23:00-05:00", "url": "https://mrsopus.com/2026/03/06/new-project-the-some-number/", "tags": ["lists","music"] }, { "id": "http://mrsopus.micro.blog/2026/03/06/the-some-number-of-albums/", "title": "The Some Number of Albums Listening Project", "content_html": "March 6, 2026 | Completely new to me, hadn’t even heard of the artist | Oh. Oh dear. Um. Shoosh. That’s a lot. Ok, this was recommended to me by my young friend who is fourteen. I sincerely hope that a lot of the lyrics go over her head. Some of them are … “spicy” is putting it mildly. So the thing is that this kind of pop music may or may not have been my cup of tea thirty-five plus years ago, but at the age I am now (52), I just can’t really find anything to hold onto to catch or keep my attention—thematically, especially, but I don’t think it’ll really stick with me musically either.
\nI am glad I listened because it will be a nice connection and easy conversation for our next car ride. I’m curious to hear what she likes about it and why.
\nAs a catchy melody, I liked “Girl’s Girl” (though the lyrics are about wanting a friend’s boyfriend for herself). The song that I thought was worth an extra listen or three was “The Ambition,” which I like more each time I hear it.
\n[Recommended by a friend’s 14yo daughter]
\n", "date_published": "2026-03-06T12:39:10-05:00", "url": "https://mrsopus.com/2026/03/06/the-some-number-of-albums/", "tags": ["lists","music"] } ] }