albums i listened to all the way through

posted this week and every week (12)

Apr 20, 2025

After a rousing conversation with Henry Beguiristain last week about the crimes committed against U2 in the late 90s and early-2000s, I decided to give his band, Aloud, my full and undivided attention.

That was absolutely the right decision.

This past week, I was lucky enough to hear Aloud’s first EP The Sooner It Comes (2003) about fifty times—in a row. I’m not joking. I could not let this little EP out of my grip. Honestly, I’m kind of obsessed with it. The harmonies with Jen on “Mind Relaxer” are out of this world. If you haven’t listened to Aloud yet, I seriously recommend you do that as soon as possible. (I hope you forgive my over-the-top fangirling, Henry.)

See, I have a soft spot for great music released between 2000-2005. (I’ll let you all decide whom exactly I mean by that.)

Sure, I was barely alive then. I was a crawler. I was a mouth-breather. Then, by 2004, some kind of strange amalgamation of anxious, loud, and weird, as evidenced by some recently digitized home videos. (Please tell me why a six-year-old girl not only knew who Ronald Reagan was BUT ALSO knew enough to use his name in vain as she dove head first into blow-up pool.) At the time, I was more interested in whatever Radio Disney was spinning than listening to anything of substance.

Still, something about this era of music appeals to me more than any other. Many of my favorite artists and bands made some of their best stuff in this era—The Shins, Pavement, Rilo Kiley, Sonic Youth (fight me on this), Queens of the Stone Age, Smog, Interpol, LCD Soundsystem, Beck, and plenty more where that came from.

I think this micro-obsession began when a friend of mine introduced me to one of the best bands you’ve probably never heard of—Eleven.

Eleven is the supergroup to beat all supergroups, in my humble opinion, other than maybe Dolly/Linda/Emmylou. Some of you may already know them from their stint playing with Queens of the Stone Age in 2005 or the fact that frontman Alain Johannes and drummer Jack Irons were both founding members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers before they left for greener pastures (sorry, RHCP fans).

Their sound is hard to explain, so I’ll just leave a little snippet from Howling Book so you get the idea.

I mean—wow. I eat it up every single time.

So, hopefully you all understand why this era of music is so compelling to me. There was a lot of interesting stuff happening aside from teeny bop pop, hip-hop, and club music. I guess I don’t need to tell most of you that (seeing as though most of you weren’t children in 2003), but it bears repeating.

You all may have noticed I have a tendency to long for eras I never actually lived through. I can’t quite explain why. I’ve always found easy friends in adults and struggled to connect with my immediate peers. I think this can act as a secret superpower, depending on the context. I also think it can isolate me and place me in a perpetual “teacher’s pet” phase, so to speak. My dead dad was significantly older and a middle school teacher, so the psychology of that speaks for itself.

Still, I’ve never known how to fully connect with my peers. Sure, I’ve had close friends, but never felt like those friendships could sustain me for a lifetime. I’ve felt simultaneously ahead of the curve and behind the times my whole life.

I’m not one of those people who thinks there’s no good music these days. I beg to differ. I think there are entire worlds of incredible, cutting edge acts out there making great music. Robber Robber is a great example of this phenomenon. I saw them play in NYC this past week and felt a supreme rush of adrenaline and dopamine (in a good way).

I can’t quite put my finger on it, but for some reason, I find myself stuck in an endless time loop of “You’re an old soul stuck in a young body.” I thought I’d grow into this peculiarity as an adult but have yet to really embrace it. Sometimes, I still wish I was cool to those I went to high school and middle school with. “Cool” is subjective, but I’m really afraid I’ll be 80 in the nursing home with other 80-year-olds and have nothing to bond with them over other than the impending climate crisis or our grandkids and those damn holograms they call entertainment.

Who the fuck knows.

These are just the ramblings of an old soul. I know I’m where I’m supposed to be in the space time continuum. I just wish my soul could act its age once in a while.

I don’t know when this weekly newsletter about music turned into my diary, but here we are. Also, you can send any U2 hate directly to your diary. Yes, yes. U2 is pop commercial garbage post-2004. I get it. I also don’t care. I’m a U2 apologist and defender. Sue me.

Here are the albums (and EPs) I listened to all the way through this past week: