Listening to 7 New Albums in One Night

myra dodd
16 hours ago
4 min read

Follow me on a hell night as my fire alarm runs out of batteries in the dorm.

I spent the weekend hanging out with my family in the suburbs, returned around 8 pm, took a midterm, and then disaster struck. I began to hear a loud beeping once every 30-45 seconds and quickly attributed it to the fire alarm. It is 11 pm, and after texting my RA, I gear up to embrace my fate as I realize there is nothing that can be done until morning. I am in no way a deep sleeper and was well aware that I was not in for a restful night. So, my solution was to listen to the seven albums I hadn't heard from a list my friend made of albums he likes. I tried to do at least one productive thing during each album to make my night memorable and efficient.

AAA - HYUKOH

Started: 11:08 pm

Highlights: Kite War, Y

I'm genuinely horrified I didn't find this before now. Even more horrified that two of my friends had listened and not thought to recommend it. Sophisti-pop is not a genre you see pop up much, but when it does, it is one of my favorites. Floating into the Night, Hats, and early Sade, all among some of my favorite albums, I didn't know how much I needed more. One of my favorites first listens in a while. Scratched an itch I didn't know I had, and it made me momentarily forget about the beeping. I assume this is a relatively high point in the night.

Caveman Wake Up - Friendship

Started: 11:53 pm

This is a lot more chill than a lot of Alt country albums I've heard as of late. The word "smooth" comes to mind, which is not one I typically associate with the genre. Near the end of the album, the beeping finally stopped, but by this point, it doesn't matter. I'm determined.

Fresh - Sly & The Family Stones

Started: 12:40 am

Blackboard went down toward the end of this while I was trying to submit an assignment, which complicated everything. I have not a single memory related to this album. I had descended into a deep state of stress.

Mk.Gee - Two Star & The Dream Police

Started 1:22 am

Highlights: Dream Police, I Want

Blackboard is back, congrats to me. This one flew by. I saw people comparing to Quadeca, Dijon, and The Blue Nile, and Bon Iver, so my expectations were kinda all over the place. Sounded a lot more Quadeca than I wanted at first, but thankfully it fell most along the dreamy lines, which I should have been clued in by the name. I can feel this will grow a lot on me and have already revisited a couple of the songs since.

Curtis - Curtis Mayfield

Started: 1:58 am

Highlights: Miss Black America, The Other Side of Town

Definitely the most classic album I've heard yet tonight. Although I really don't think funk is the best genre at 2 am, the orchestral arrangements were dazzling in a way I wasn't expecting. I embarrassingly do not know much about Curtis Mayfield and was surprised to learn that this predated Marvin Gaye's What's Going On. The similar subject matter and genre are hard not to put together. This is fantastic, deserves way more praise than I see it getting in similar circles. I am astounded that this is a debut. Definitely one of my favorites among the 70s soul scene that I've heard.

Let God Sort Em Out - Clipse

Started- 2:43 am

Highlights: The Birds Don't Sing

This was definitely the album I was most looking forward to as I had been looking for the right time to listen to forever. Unfortunately, this is when the fire alarm started to beep once again at 3 am. Which was a fun surprise, as I didn't know it could come back. My mood tanked a bit because of this, and I am happy to report that although my first listen was soiled, my second listen the next day was much, much better.

Phonetics on and on - Horsegirl

Started 3:28 am

Highlights: 2468

The biggest plot twist of the night was finding out that Horsegirl was women. I had never listened (clearly), but in the realm of band names, I couldn't believe it. I was pleasantly surprised, and the more classical indie rock sound was welcome at 3:30 am. Unfortunately, the beeping is still here, but everything else is over.

I am usually an album a day person but wow it was really fun to have a set schedule one into the other. I was capitalizing on my love of music for 5 hours straight, all while knocking out a bunch of tasks I had been meaning to do. I definitely plan on creating more line ups like this soon. Hopefully starting before midnight. Also, if you can believe it, the beeping did not stop through the few hours I did sleep, and I do remember waking up two separate times because of it.