Diary of a Melomaniac
Before 11/2020, grades range from 5 to 3.5 stars. After that, grade range is: 10 (A+), 9.5 (high A), 9 (A), 8.5 (high A-), 8 (A-), 7.5 (high B+), and 7 (B+). Ungraded albums are noted as liked :-) (honorable mention), neutral :-|, and disliked :-(. At least 4 listens per graded album and 3 listens per ungraded album. Search "Grade Post" for more info. I sold/shelved ~10,000 albums after at least 3 or 4 listens, respectively, before starting this blog and will add entries for those as they arise.
Saturday, August 15, 2026
Friday, August 14, 2026
Kool Keith & H Bomb - 7th Veil [Sickbay EP, 2005]: liked
Two versions of "What's Up Now," together with "Frontin" and "Truth & Determination."
The Strokes - Future Present Past EP [Cult EP, 2016]: 7.5 (high B+)
Vinyl-only. I would buy the 10-inch vinyl, but used copies are being price-gouged, and I wasn’t clever enough to buy it on release.
Los Lobos - Ride This: The Covers EP: liked
Not really an “EP” since it’s 29 min 45 sec. Could be a notch higher, but I don’t think so at this point, and it’s #covers anyway, so I’m not going to sweat the distinction and play again to qualify to make that determination. The cover of the Richard Thompson song strikes me as misguided.
GloRilla - Glorious: liked
Possibly I’m one notch low on this, but it’s effectively vinyl-only anyway, like so many hip-hop albums are these days. Four plays, because Christgau A-listed it (albeit very low down). I'll give her her camel case.
Thursday, August 13, 2026
Wednesday, August 12, 2026
Serengeti - Shark Attack [EP]: liked
This is almost certainly at least a 7 (B+), possibly even an 8 (A-) or slightly higher. But it is not streamable more than three times for free, and I refuse to pay for digital tracks in almost all circumstances, so it will sit here at "liked" for now. Seven tracks at 20 minutes. He indicates that this is part of a full album to come on vinyl.
Bettie Serveert - Tom Boy [Matador, 1992]: notation
I'm a semi-completist with this band/her. This is a CD single/maxi-single with four tracks: the title track of the single (same version that appears on Palomine), the B-side of the single ("Smile"), a demo of a song that appears on Palomine ("Balentine"), and what appears to be a demo from the Palomine sessions that never made it onto the official release ("Maggot"). So the B-side is the real draw here, but I did not get a copy of this just for that.
Monday, August 10, 2026
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