LWA Blog — life without algorithms

Happy 40th to R.E.M.'s legendary debut album, Murmur, release 40 years ago on this day, April 12th 1983. I remember reading about them and seeing this album high on Rolling Stone's College Charts. I didn't hear the music until Reckoning (their second album) came out (1984) and I saw them play So. Central Rain on Solid Gold. And I didn't start buying their records until Document came out (1987). By that time, I had five albums to catch up with and that was about when they became one of my favourite bands. I played all of those albums to death...

Happy 30th to this legend, Sugar's Beaster EP, released April 6 1993. I caught Sugar on this tour, they were devastating. I remember they hit the stage, never said a word to the crowd and just tore through these songs and most of Copper Blue. These six songs were apparently recorded during the Copper Blue sessions, but much more teeth and much darker. I love it. Definitely recommended.

When I was a teen, a local department store was getting rid of their vinyl stock and all of the records were marked down to $1 each. I bought a handful of titles without even knowing what they were, I just wanted more records. One of them was Ryuichi Sakamoto's Left Handed Dream. Thinking about it now, I can't imagine how that album ended up in their inventory. So weird, but I also bought a couple Adrian Belew solo albums (Lone Rhino and Twang Bar King) and a King Crimson album (Discipline). Maybe the buyer had a thing for Belew,...

I remember I kept hearing about the White Stripes. I liked them but people (internet randos, really) just kept talking and talking and talking about them. And all that hype just sorta turned me off, so I resisted. Then, Elephant came out. I resisted that for a little bit as well, until a friend told me to just give it a try, saying "dude, it's THAT good." And so I listened, and she wasn't wrong. And I succumbed and I'm glad I did, because it really is THAT good. Sometimes the hype is deserved. I know it's difficult to filter...

Behold our new brand ambassador, Scuba! Welcome to Team LWA, Scuba!