Dear listeners,
The music video for “Yes, And?” Ariana GrandeThe first new solo single from in over three years, it begins with a close-up shot of a ruby red business card bearing the phrase “ag7.” In modern pop parlance, this is a way of hinting that her seventh album is coming soon.
I've long felt that the seventh album (if an artist is lucky enough to make it that far) is a pivotal moment. Sometimes it is the perfect time for a sonic and aesthetic reinvention, in the style U2The glamorous 1991 album (and my favorite in their discography) “Achtung Baby”. It can also be a chance for a pop star to show off her newfound maturity, as Virgin made on his great seventh studio album, “Ray of Light.” The seventh album is often when the brightest artists shift gears to a level of mastery that seems effortlessly freshly made: Consider Bob DylanThe seventh album, none other than “Blonde on Blonde”.
Does Grande's seventh LP deserve mention among those classics? Who can say? All I know for now is that the idea of one of our biggest pop stars getting ready to join the Septet Club got me thinking about some of my favorite seventh albums of all time. Naturally, this required a seven-track playlist.
Each of the aforementioned legends makes an appearance, along with some of my indie favorites, Guided by voices and Sleater-Kinney. Plus, one of pop's reigning superstars, who released a particularly imperial seventh album in 2022 – the whole world is silent until you guess who.
Listen on Spotify while you read.
1. U2: “Until the end of the world”
After their polarizing sixth album, “Rattle & Hum,” U2 retreated from the overexposure of the ’80s and re-emerged with a new ’90s rebrand in “Achtung Baby,” a Brian Eno-produced triumph that added some irony. necessary to the band's outlook and made Edge's guitar shine like a newly invented form of synthetic glass. It is my professional opinion that this song rules. (Listen on YouTube)
2. Madonna: “Nothing really matters”
Madonna was a new mother about to turn 40 when she released “Ray of Light,” a mid-career commercial hit that landed her back on the radio (along with devotees half her age) and also earned her (somehow) his first Grammy in a musical band. category. “Ray of Light” is a deeper, stranger album than its mainstream success suggests; This underrated sixth single is more representative of her searching electro-pop sound. (Listen on YouTube)
3. Bob Dylan: “Stuck inside the cell phone with the Memphis blues again”
Dylan's 72-minute double album from 1966, “Blonde on Blonde,” is one long, continuous outpouring of greatness: a songwriter who had comfortably come into his own voice, making the English language bend to his will while backed by by a band from Nashville. session musicians who demonstrated simple talent. One line from this one that never fails to make me laugh: “He just smoked my eyelids and slapped the cigarette.” (Listen on YouTube)
4. Guided by voices: “Gold star for Robot Boy”
Superhumanly prolific indie-rock band Guided by Voices are now rushing to release their 40th album (their 39th, “Nowhere to Go but Up,” came out in November 2023), but it took seven tries to pull it off with the gloriously rudimentary “Bee.” Thousand”, possibly the first of several masterpieces of the nineties. (Listen on YouTube)
5. Sleater-Kinney: “Entertain”
I've found myself listening to a lot of old Sleater-Kinney records lately, in anticipation of the group's eleventh album, “Little Rope,” out next Friday. My favorite remains the group's seventh, 2005's “The Woods,” in which Corin Tucker's commanding voice, Carrie Brownstein's caustic wit, and Janet Weiss' trembling drums sound monumental. (Listen on YouTube)
6. Beyoncé: “America has a problem”
Three albums after “4,” Beyoncé outdid herself once again on “Renaissance,” her sprawling 2022 odyssey through the history of black dance music. Since seeing her Renaissance World Tour, I can only imagine her singing this particular song dressed as a couture bee. (Listen on YouTube)
7. The Beatles: “Tomorrow never knows”
Is “Revolver,” wildly inventive and endlessly ambitious, the best seventh album of all time? Discuss. All I know is that Don Draper was not prepared for this. (Listen on YouTube)
Oh, mom, could this really be the end?
Lindsay
The Amp Playlist
Listen to it on Spotify. We update this playlist with each new newsletter.
“7 Great Songs from Great Seventh Albums” Tracklist
Track 1: U2, “Until the End of the World”
Track 2: Madonna, “Nothing Really Matters”
Track 3: Bob Dylan, “Stuck Inside the Cellphone with Memphis Blues Again”
Track 4: Guided by vocals, “Gold Star for Robot Boy”
Track 5: Sleater-Kinney, “Entertain”
Track 6: Beyoncé, “America Has a Problem”
Track 7: The Beatles, “Tomorrow Never Knows”
Extra tracks
The match It only made it to album six, but we spin “The Magnificent Seven” anyway.
Plus, it's a great week for new music on our Friday playlist. Listen to new songs from the aforementioned Ariana Grande, Lil Nas X, Waxahatchee and more.
