Music nerds love ranked lists. Music nerds love thoughtful commentary. Music nerds love carefully curated playlists. Catalog Crawl provides all of these things and more. In these features, Strange Currencies takes an exhaustive look at the discographies of our favorite artists – the ones who reside at the core of our music obsession.
- Catalog Crawl: Blurby Matt RyanAmong the defining British bands of their generation, Blur have crafted an immaculate discography during their three-decade-plus run. Explore it with this ‘Catalog Crawl.’
- Catalog Crawl: Bob Dylanby Matt RyanFrom wide-eyed Woody Guthrie acolyte to Nobel Prize recipient, Bob Dylan has embodied every conceivable archetype — and several inconceivable ones — over the course of a highly-public career that now spans parts of seven decades. Throughout every unexpected twist and turn, Dylan has not only remained a master songwriter — really, the best to ever do it — but a compelling album artist as well. Explore his rich discography in this ‘Catalog Crawl.’
- Catalog Crawl: Charles Mingusby Matt RyanImposing, irascible, and utterly brilliant, Charles Mingus redefined the parameters of jazz over the course of a forty-year career. Explore the vast riches of his discography in this “Catalog Crawl.”
- Catalog Crawl: Creedence Clearwater Revivalby Matt RyanAside from The Beatles — and even that is a maybe — has there ever been a rock band more capable of uniting such a disparate audience as Creedence Clearwater Revival? Explore the legendary American group’s discography in this Catalog Crawl.
- Catalog Crawl: Frank Blackby Matt RyanBetween his two recording stints with alterna-rock icons Pixies, Frank Black assembled a thoroughly impressive and varied solo discography. Explore it in this ‘Catalog Crawl.’
- Catalog Crawl: Guided by Voicesby Matt RyanProlific to a point of absurdity, Guided by Voices has crafted one of the most generous bodies of work in the history of popular music. Take a tour through the band’s discography in this inaugural installment of “Catalog Crawl.”
- Catalog Crawl: Hamilton Leithauser and The Walkmenby George BudneyScrappy underdogs among the plethora of early-aughts New York rock bands, The Walkmen crafted one of the most consistently-excellent catalogs of their era. We examine their discography – plus the solo work of Hamilton Leithauser – in this “Catalog Crawl.”
- Catalog Crawl: Kraftwerkby Matt RyanWhat The Beatles represented for guitars and drums, Kraftwerk meant the same for synthesizers and computers. The Düsseldorf group didn’t invent electronic music, but they did perfect it. Explore their superlative body of work in this ‘Catalog Crawl.’
- Catalog Crawl: PJ Harveyby Matt RyanBrilliant and ever-changing, PJ Harvey has been a force to be reckoned with over the course of her thirty-plus-year career. Dive into her superb discography in this “Catalog Crawl.”
- Catalog Crawl: R.E.M.by Matt RyanIs R.E.M. the greatest of all American rock bands? See how their discography adds up in this ‘Catalog Crawl.’
- Catalog Crawl: Sleater-Kinneyby Matt RyanSleater-Kinney are one of the greatest American rock bands ever, full stop. Dive into their discography with this ‘Catalog Crawl.’
- Catalog Crawl: The Beach Boysby Matt RyanIn honor of the impending premiere of our latest venture, Talkin’ Down the Highway: A Beach Boys Podcast, we’re doing something that we, surprisingly, haven’t already done: ranking the entire Beach Boys catalog.
- Catalog Crawl: The Kinksby Matt RyanSurpassed only by The Beatles among their British Invasion contemporaries, The Kinks crafted a fascinating discography over the course of a thirty year recording career. Get to know it with this ‘Catalog Crawl.’
- Catalog Crawl: The Mountain Goatsby Matt RyanNow over thirty years into a career that shows no sign of slowing down, John Darnielle’s Mountain Goats have amassed an impressive body of work. Get to know it in this ‘Catalog Crawl.’
- Catalog Crawl: The Mountain Goats (EPs)by Matt RyanDidn’t get enough of the Mountain Goats in our previous ‘Catalog Crawl’? Dive into the group’s excellent catalog of EPs in this addendum.
- Catalog Crawl: The Whoby Matt RyanNo band of the British Invasion were as explosive, as unpredictable, or as lethal as The Who: a group that ruled through brute force, and a musical alchemy that could blow any of their contemporaries away. Discover their discography in this ‘Catalog Crawl.’
- Catalog Crawl: They Might Be Giantsby Matt RyanUnderground curiosity turned beloved institution, They Might Be Giants have crafted a remarkable discography over a career that spans nearly forty years. Dive into it with this ‘Catalog Crawl.’
- Catalog Crawl: Tom Waitsby Matt RyanDurable yet ever-changing, Tom Waits stands among the finest of all American songwriters. With a catalog that now spans parts of six decades, discovering his work can be a tall task. Get acquainted with it in this “Catalog Crawl.”