Album: Greatest Hits Artist: Spice Girls I don’t think there’s ever been a girl group as influential as the Spice Girls. Their massive success in the late 90s has inspired the emergence of other pop acts over the last two decades such as *NSYNC, The Pussycat Dolls, and, more recently, Fifth Harmony. It’s easy to… Read more »
Album: Loose Artist: Nelly Furtado Growing up, I struggled immensely with my personal style. In retrospect, I think it’s a miracle I had the courage to show up to school every day considering all the colours, designs, and materials I’d throw together in hopes something would stick. My insecurities did eventually catch up to me,… Read more »
Artist: Marvin Gaye Album: Marvin Gaye’s Greatest Hits If I had to credit any one performer with setting the precedent for soul, R&B, and what we now know as quiet storm, it would have to be the late Marvin Gaye. There’s undoubtedly something to be said about his ability to freshen up the sounds of… Read more »
Album: Swamp Ophelia Artist: Indigo Girls Folk music fascinates me a great deal because of how differently every culture known to humans has interpreted it. The bouncy accordion and heartfelt gusle I’m used to hearing in traditional Montenegrin songs at home are absent in the Canadian repertoire. Instead, the acoustic guitar and harmonica offer us… Read more »
Album: Ricky Martin (1999) Artist: Ricky Martin Milica Markovic How can I talk about Spanish-language music without mentioning the King of Latin Pop himself? Enrique Martìn Morales (also known as “Ricky Martin”) is one of the artists who introduced me to this festive genre through various party mixes from the late 90s, and the fun… Read more »
Album: A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular Artist: Hooverphonic I first learned about the trip hop group Hooverphonic when I looked up the soundtrack to the 1996 drama Stealing Beauty, only to coincidently discover their tongue-twister album, A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular, in the comfort of my own basement. With a title like that, I had… Read more »
Album: Crime of the Century Artist: Supertramp As much as I love rock music, I’ll admit that it can get stale without some creative risk-taking. I sometimes wonder if new or aspiring musicians are intimidated by veterans of the genre because they fear they can’t emulate that level of impact on our culture. I think… Read more »
Album: Butterfly Artist: Mariah Carey Thanks to her multi-octave vocal range, Mariah Carey has maintained her status in the renowned vocal trinity alongside Charlemagne native, Céline Dion, and the late Whitney Houston for approximately three decades. Music listeners have yet to officially decide on replacements for the current generation. Given the overwhelming praise artists like Beyoncé, Lady… Read more »
Album: Homage Artist: James Ehnes The last time I received a physical album was on my sixteenth birthday. Aware that I was still studying violin performance, one of my family friends gave me Brandon-born violinist James Ehnes’ Homage to enjoy and gain inspiration from. Unlike most artists who release albums to commercialize their music, Homage… Read more »
Album: Metamorphosis Artist: Hilary Duff Milica Markovic Hilary Duff’s Metamorphosis was the first album I asked my mother to purchase for me when I was a child, so it holds a special place in my heart. In the late 90s and early 2000s, I was an avid Disney Channel viewer; Lizzie Maguire, in which Duff… Read more »