Rate-A-Record: A Plethora of Pop Series
Spin two records and rate which you like best
As I often do, I woke in a cheerful mood this morning. The sun was already sending its warmth from a clear blue sky, and the girls were still asleep. Grabbing a freshly brewed coffee, I headed back upstairs to my writing room.
Instead of jumping back into one of three open and unfinished pieces, I decided to enjoy the quiet and read fellow Medium writers for an hour. It’s four hours later now, and I’m still reading.
As I was scaling down the list of articles recently published by Paul Combs, I saw his “Rate-A-Record” piece. I dove in, dialed up the speakers, and played the tracks. Then, as requested gave my ratings on both singles.
The rating scale seems random and makes no sense, but what makes sense these days?
After reading Paul’s piece, I jumped to the original prompt offered up by Terry Barr. From there, I followed the song trail of others who joined the game.
So, without further babble. Here are my two records for rating. Please play both tracks, then contemplate and rate. The scale runs from 35–98. Leave your marks in the comments, and if you’ve got a couple of songs to put up for scrutiny, join the challenge!
For my selections, I first wanted to offer songs released close to each other by date, but I found that I’d compare tracks with similar vibes instead. I also chose female artists for both selections to keep as much balance as I could.
“My Silver Lining”- by First Aid Kit.
The duo, sisters from Sweden, came to my attention in 2014 with their album, “Stay Gold .” The pair hit hauntingly folk-country notes that swing into pop. The ladies have been a mainstay on my playlist ever since.
The sister’s inspirational idol is Emmylou Harris, and they even have a single on the album dedicated to and named for the legendary singer “Emmylou.”
“Dog Years”-by Maggie Rogers.
Maggie caught her chance for exposure after playing her song, “Alaska” for Pharrell Williams during a master class at NY’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, where Rogers was a student since 2012. Williams was awestruck by Rogers’ song, and the rest, as they say, “is history.”
Maggie Rogers is everything you expect a unique artist to be; she’s peculiar, funky, and a little magical.
For more musical head-to-heads, check out the original prompt from Terry.
Follow Plethora of Pop for more and to submit your tracks.
Are you feeling charitable? If you want to donate to my coffee fund, Click on the link here or if you want to look at my wish list, click here.
If you aren’t a Medium member but enjoy my work, or have your own stories to tell, you can bump up to full membership for only $5 and have access to the complete library of writers and their stories, articles, and more! I receive a small percentage of any new memberships through this link.
Come say Hi, on Twitter
Freelance Writer for Hire. Email me [email protected]