HeyJaredMatt Berenson's Newsletter for Music Obsessives
A newsletter about the best bands and songwriters of the last 60 years you may not already know.
- Indexed issues, last 90 days
- 8
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- Sep 20, 2026
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- Jul 12, 2026
Latest issues
Wilco Albums: Ranked (opens the original)
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On the 25th anniversary of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot’s initial release for free streaming online (before it was picked up by Nonesuch and given an official cd release the following year), I have decided to take the opportunity to rank Wilco’s 15 albums (including the two with Billy Bragg, but excluding the Kicking Television live album and singer/songwriter Jeff Tweedy’s five solo albums) in reverse order, worst to best.But first, a quick story recounting my personal encounter with Tweedy in a record
Posthumous Prince: The Best of (opens the original)
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Since Prince passed in 2015, a combination of Warner Brothers and his estate have released over 100 unreleased recordings from his vault, almost all of which he recorded in the 1980s and early 90s, his peak period. Most can be found on the deluxe editions of 1999, Purple Rain, Sign O’ the Times, and Diamonds and Pearls. Eight more can be found on an album of recordings from the vault that was released just a week ago called Timeless.The 25 best of these songs are ridiculously great. Two full alb
The A, B, C’s of Rock ‘n’ Roll (opens the original)
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Following is a list of my favorite rock bands (as opposed to singer/songwriters or artists in other musical genres) in alphabetical order. I have limited myself to one band per letter, which was an excruciating Sophie’s Choice for me in a few cases. Wait until you get to the letter X and see that I didn’t choose the band X!A— the only bands who have more than one album I love that begin with the letter “A” are as follows: ABC, AC/DC, the Allman Brothers Band, the Auteurs, the Apples in Stereo, A
Hot take: Phoebe Bridgers is Overrated, and Johanna Samuels is Underrated (opens the original)
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Before I begin to make my case, I should start by saying that I know it’s a bit of dick move pitting two talented female singer/songwriters against each other as if we’re back in high school, and either one of them is trying to win a popularity contest. Also, I only chose these two, because they both have new albums out this week (Bridgers’ Lost Weekend and Samuels’ Sorry, Kid,) and it quickly became clear to me that I strongly prefer the latter, even though the former is getting most of the att
Singer/Songwriters with Ten or More Great Albums (opens the original)
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Quick intro: the only rules I should have included in my “Bands with Ten or More Great Albums” piece from last week that apply equally to this one are that I’m not counting live albums or albums of covers, only studio albums containing original material.Following is a list of singer/songwriters who have ten or more great albums of original material (in chronological order), along with an additional section about the other singer/songwriters I considered who just missed:Matt B
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