The Playlist Posts

As I've said on many episodes of 50 For 50, when we start our research on an artist and the album we're going to discuss, I try and listen to that artist's entire discography. The easiest way for me to listen to music attentively is during my dail…

When it came time to choose our Top 5 (full episode below) for Luther Vandross, I had to figure out a way to show my love for the last two albums of Luther's career, but also to not come off as a fake Luther fan. I know that most people would find L…

If you haven't heard our episode of The Cool Check-In on The New Kids On The Block, definitely check it out. Mike and I talked about how we became fans of the New Kids when it wasn't necessarily the cool thing for male teenagers to do. We also talke…

Whitney Houston's career of hits spanned from her debut album in 1985 all the way through her last album in 2009. While the quality of her albums and their consistency could be debated, what isn't an argument is the amazing number of hit records tha…

Has anyone transitioned from young artist to star to everyone's favorite auntie better than Mary J. Blige. I remember when she hit the scene in the early 90s and wore the ball cap and jersey better than anyone. Snap your fingers and she's wearing go…

There are few artists who came around in the 2000s who have connected with me as a music fan like the artists of my youth did. One who did is Shaffer Chimere Smith, better known as Ne-Yo.  Ne-Yo's strength was as a song writer for others, but I'd s…

At one point, Kanye West was near the top of my mountain of music artists. Kanye was the underdog, the up and comer, the guy who had to produce first to get a chance to rock the mic. His big brother Jay-Z was pretty much a titan of the game since hi…

One thing I marveled at when we did our 50 For 50 deep dive on Alanis Morissette was her longevity. While she didn't keep making the same juggernaut albums from her younger days, she kept making music. A lot of it. And I got to listen to it; a lot o…

Mike and I have known each other for almost half our lives. We met in the early 2000s through the internet. Now, that might not sound like a big deal in 2026, but back in the day, it wasn't that casual to consider someone you'd never met in person t…

It's funny which artists you gravitate to when you're young. I don't know why Huey Lewis & The News was my cup of tea as a youngster in the mid-80s. I know my dad played Huey a bit inside the house. He recorded their videos on MTV and VH-1. But he d…

I was a young teenage hooper playing one-on-one against my buddy George in his drive way. Even though we were the same age, physically, George was two years ahead of me. Just dipping his shoulder and going through my chest. He had his boom box out a…

As I said on our episode about The Beastie Boys, I learned so much about a group that I knew so little about. So much so that I would consider myself a huge fan now. I love their story. I love their place in history. And I love how they took account…

Trying to condense LL Cool J's career into a podcast was hard, but I think Mike and I did a great job at telling our story as it relates to our LL fandom alongside his journey. What was also hard was putting together a list of our favorite LL songs…

Janet Jackson's career spans so many years, that if she was coming out with an album this year, she could literally call it "40 Y.0."Just like most artists, her discography is up and down. She has iconic, must-have, era-defining albums, and she has …

Trying to whittle down your favorite songs of one of your favorite artists to just five can be torturous. Obviously, not physically torturous, but maybe mentally so. Mike isn't the biggest Tupac Shakur fan, though he did enjoy a lot of his music. M…

Our Amy Winehouse podcast was the hardest one from an emotional perspective so far. After watching the A24 documentary (really good) and the biopic that came out a couple of years ago (pretty bad), and listening to all of her music, I was just sad t…

If you heard our Top 5 on Lauryn Hill and the Fugees, I chose a song as my top choice that isn't out there on streaming for some reason. However, it is on YouTube and I've embedded it below, Rumble In The Jungle from 1997.  I wanted to take this …

When Mike and I started our conversation about Lionel Richie on our 50 For 50 podcast, I asked Mike if he thought Lionel was a bit corny. And that wasn't meant as a dig at Lionel. I think it's something that's unique about the man. When everyone was…

One of the things Mike and I wanted to do with this 50 For 50 project is also create a space to celebrate music. And what better way to celebrate music than to create playlists of all the music we're talking about. As part of our discussion about Ne…