Pinup Girls and Their Influence on Mid-Century Album Art
It would be a sorely missed opportunity to not wrap up June’s “Mid-Century Kitsch Month” without focusing on what is possibly the kitschiest paRead More…
Year: 2021
In the Wilderness: Weezer, 2001-2010
In the Wilderness is a feature in which a group of Strange Currencies contributors examine an overlooked or under-appreciated period of an artisRead More…
Ichiko Aoba – 0
Ichiko Aoba 0 Speedstar Int’l – 2013 Rating: 9.1 Ichiko Aoba’s fourth album is a minimalistic beauty: a near-masterpiece that matchRead More…
Marty Robbins – Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs
Marty Robbins Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs Columbia – 1959 Rating: 9.3 Marty Robbins personified – and perfected – the “singiRead More…
Animal Collective – Feels
Animal Collective Feels FatCat – 2005 Rating: 9.3 Animal Collective’s sixth record found the Baltimore-based group striking a perfeRead More…
Joe Meek – I Hear a New World
Joe Meek & The Blue Men I Hear a New World: An Outer Space Music Fantasy Triumph – 1960 / RPM – 1991 Rating: 8.6 Though it wasnRead More…
Martin Denny – Hypnotique
Martin Denny Hypnotique Liberty – 1958 Rating: 8.8 Martin Denny’s fifth LP synthesizes the novel stylistic elements of his 1957 lanRead More…
Julie London – Julie Is Her Name
Julie London Julie Is Her Name Liberty – 1955 Rating: 8.7 Julie London’s 1955 debut is a stark and intimate recording. Though fittiRead More…
Episode 12 – Defining “Kitsch”
In this episode of the Strange Currencies Podcast, Matt and Glenn discuss the concept of musical “kitsch.” Join them as they talk about exotica, Read More…
Russ Garcia – Sounds in the Night
Russ Garcia’s genre-defying 1957 release Sounds of the Night is an enveloping classic; one begging for rediscovery, but also content to stand aRead More…