Emily's Albums A to Z

Listened: Friday April 29

Imogen Heap is another artist I’m so sorry I missed when this album came out. My friend Leslie suggested we check her out at Coachella 2006, and it was a great performance, despite sound issues that clearly upset her, but she soldiered on with the proverbial stiff upper lip. Even after this though, I still didn’t really get into her album until the album blogging project.

After finally really absorbing this album, I don’t understand how she didn’t become wildly famous in 2006. Her music seems so interesting, yet very accessible. I think she might have been ahead of her time; if Speak For Yourself was released today I think things would have been different. But maybe it’s better this way; she really seems like someone who does art for art’s sake, and that might be trampled upon if given too much attention all at once.

I need to pick up her new one, Ellipse, and see where she’s taken herself.

Listened: Friday April 29

It’s only fitting that there’s a dog on the front of Spanish Dance Troupe – I can’t help but get down to “Poodle Rockin'” every time I listen to this album, even though it’s a totally bizarre song. The entire album is much more cohesive and pop oriented than previous releases, which in some ways is less fun, but is still really well done.

When SDT came out in 1999, I was in college, and naturally I went to an in-store performance of theirs at Mod Lang. It was pretty hilarious to see all 5 or 6 of the band members crammed into the infamously pack-ratty space, trying to play their instruments. I still have (analog) pictures of this, which are some of my earliest pictures of a show. My copy of SDT is also autographed!