Joni Mitchell - Hejira - What a lovely and unexpectedly specific (?) album. I’ll admit my Mitchell awareness was pretty much limited to Blue, and I’d never heard this one. The most interesting thing about it, of course, is how much free reign she gave Jaco Pastorius with his bass parts.

Tame Impala - Currents - A bunch of listeners have been asking me to do an episode on Tame Impala, and while I’m not planning one anytime super soon, this album has more than a few songs that are strong enough to support an episode.

Sigur Rós - Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust - A band I knew of, but hadn’t really listened to closely, though I loved Jónsi’s music in the How To Train Your Dragon movies. A listener recommendation finally got me to sit down with it; this album is beautiful.

Yellow Magic Orchestra - Solid State Survivor - I enjoyed this Beyond the Bot video about the connections between Anime and Black culture, and it got me to finally sit down with YMO and dig into what they’re doing. You can hear echoes of this band in so much current stuff.

DANGERDOOM - The Mouse & the Mask - Like a lot of people, I’ve been listening to a lot of MF Doom since hearing the news of his death. I’d never heard this one, and while I was never the biggest Adult Swim guy, I still enjoyed all the crossovers and skits. Some genius-level phrasing, as usual from Doom.

David Bowie - Literally Every David Bowie Album - I’ve been doing a lot more proactive listening before each artist I tackle on Strong Songs, and that meant listening to the entire David Bowie discography in order. If you’ve never done that, I recommend it! Yes, even his self-titled debut.

Banjourou - Big String Theory - My buddy Andrew recommended this one, a straightforward record beautifully performed by Malian guitarists Djelimady Tounkara and Bouba Sacko along with vocalist Lafia Diabaté. Every time I listen to it, I feel good.

Laura Veirs - Judy Flame - I first heard Veirs’ singing as part of her Case/Lang/Veirs collaboration, and her solo record is just lovely. “Carol Kaye” legit made me tear up - what a wonderful song.

The Paris Monster - Lamplight - I’ve always loved drummer/vocalist Josh Dion’s music, and his project The Paris Monster doesn’t disappoint. Such a distinct sound on this record, and so many killer grooves.

Darlingside - Extralife (Again) - I believe I put this in my last newsletter as well, but I’ve still been listening to it, and I think you should, too. “The Singularity” is one of the most perfect songs I’ve heard in a long time.