Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star is the only studio album by Black Star, a hip hop duo consisting of emcees Talib Kweli and Mos Def. The album was released on September 29, 1998, to critical acclaim. The title is a reference to the Black Star Line, a shipping line founded by Pan-Africanist Marcus Garvey. The album deals with modern-day issues, philosophical ideas, and life in Brooklyn, New York City, as the two artists know it.
The Rising is the twelfth studio album by American recording artist Bruce Springsteen, released on July 30, 2002 on Columbia Records. In addition to being Springsteen's first studio album in seven years, it was also his first with the E Street Band in 18 years. Based in large part on Springsteen's reflections during the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, the album predominantly centers upon themes of relationship struggles, existential crisis and social uplift.
Robert Thomas Christgau is an American essayist and music journalist. One of the earliest professional rock critics, he spent 37 years as the chief music critic and senior editor for The Village Voice, during which time he created and oversaw the annual Pazz & Jop poll. He has also covered popular music for Esquire, Creem, Newsday, Playboy, Rolling Stone, Billboard, NPR, Blender, and MSN Music, and was a visiting arts teacher at New York University.
69 Love Songs is the sixth studio album by American indie pop band the Magnetic Fields, released on September 7, 1999 by Merge Records. As its title indicates, 69 Love Songs is a three-volume concept album composed of 69 love songs, all written by Magnetic Fields frontman Stephin Merritt.
Pazz & Jop is an annual poll of musical releases compiled by American newspaper The Village Voice, publishing lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and each year between 1974 and 2017. The polls are tabulated from the submitted year-end top 10 lists of hundreds of music critics. It was named in acknowledgement of the defunct magazine Jazz & Pop, and adopted the ratings system used in that publication's annual critics poll.
Wild Gift is the second studio album by American rock band X, released in March 1981 by Slash Records. It was very well received critically, and was voted No. 2 for the year in The Village Voice Pazz & Jop Critics Poll. In 2003, the album was ranked No. 333 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Irish Heartbeat is the eighteenth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and is a collaboration with the traditional Irish musical group the Chieftains, released in 1988. It was recorded at Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin, Ireland, and reached number 18 in the UK album charts.
The Ghost of Fashion is the third album by indie rock band Clem Snide. The song "Ice Cube" was released as a single in Europe, and the song "Moment in the Sun" was used as the theme song during the second season of the NBC television program Ed, later spawning an EP of the same title.
Squeezing Out Sparks is the fourth studio album by English singer-songwriter Graham Parker and his band the Rumour. The album was released in March 1979. Although the Rumour were not credited on the cover, their name was included on the album label.
"I Wonder If I Take You Home" is a song recorded by Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam with Full Force in 1984. Record Producer Kenny Beck discovered the song in a "discard bin" at Personal Records while looking for songs to include on his debut album with the label. He was so impressed that he created a compilation break-dancing album, CBS/SuzyQ, just to include the song. He released the album in Europe on CBS Records, and it immediately gained popularity as a dance hit with club DJs there. Soon American DJs began playing the song in the United States on Columbia Records. After the song received heavy play from these DJs, "I Wonder If I Take You Home" reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart for one week in June 1985. On other US charts, it peaked at No. 6 on the R&B chart and reached No. 34 on the Hot 100. The single was certified as gold in the U.S. by the RIAA. Overseas, it charted at No. 12 on the UK Singles Chart.
Totally Krossed Out is the debut studio album by American hip hop duo Kris Kross. It was produced and largely written by Jermaine Dupri and released on March 31, 1992, by Ruffhouse Records and Columbia Records. After developing a musical concept for the duo, Dupri spent two years writing and producing the album.
Real People is the fourth studio album by American R&B band Chic, released on Atlantic Records in 1980. It includes the singles "Rebels Are We", "Real People", and "26".
Seasick is the debut studio album by the American indie rock band Imperial Teen, released on May 7, 1996 by Slash Records. The album received generally positive reviews from critics.
Volume One is the first album by She & Him, a collaboration between M. Ward and actress Zooey Deschanel. It was released by Merge Records on March 18, 2008.
Who's Landing in My Hangar? was the 1981 debut studio album by American rock band Human Switchboard. It was voted the 11th best record of the year in The Village Voice's annual Pazz & Jop poll of American critics.
"The Best of Me" is a song by American recording artist Mýa Harrison. It served as Harrison's first single from her second studio album Fear of Flying (2000) and featured Yonkers rapper Jadakiss. The song was written and composed by the latter and Harrison along with Teron Beal, Jimmy Cozier, Swizz Beatz and Mashonda Tifrere. The lyrics of the street savvy anthem speak of a woman holding off being intimate or physical with a guy.
Actor is the second album by musician St. Vincent, released by 4AD on May 4, 2009, in the United Kingdom and a day later in the United States. The first single released was "Actor out of Work" that April. Annie Clark was influenced by scores to films by Disney and Woody Allen. To prevent writer's block, Clark watched films without the sound and composed music for her favorite scenes. After arranging the music using GarageBand, she then wrote lyrics and added gentle vocal melodies.
Whokill is the second full-length release by Merrill Garbus' project Tune-Yards. It was released on 4AD Records on 19 April 2011.
"Seasons " is a song by American synthpop band Future Islands. It is the opening track on their fourth studio album Singles, and was released as the album's lead single on February 4, 2014. The song received much critical acclaim, topping The Village Voice's annual year-end Pazz & Jop critics' poll and also being named the best track of 2014 by publications such as NME, Pitchfork Media, and Spin.
Halo is the seventh studio album by Argentine singer-songwriter Juana Molina, released on May 5, 2017 by Crammed Discs.
