2026: January | February | March
By the Numbers
1,229 plays across 966 unique tracks by 618 distinct artists — about 11% below a typical month over the past year. About 112 hours of music (6697 minutes). Busiest day was April 25th with 95 plays.
Deep Dives
While Roberta Flack remained in high rotation (box sets will do that), instead we’ll focus on a pretty common occurrence: the moment I realize, wait a minute, I thought I had that album.
We’ve been fans of Rhiannon Giddens for decades–from her time in Gaelwynd (a Celtic band, where her voice and fiddle playing far outpaced the rest of the band–they were good, she is raw and luminescent) through years with The Carolina Chocolate Drops, certainly enhanced by memories of m dancing in front of their stage on a few occasions.
[your thoughts here]
Carolina Chocolate Drops
16 plays across 8 tracks.
Genuine Negro Jig (15th Anniversary Edition)
16 plays · 8 tr
A great album, with all three of them (Giddens, Dom Flemons, and Justin Robinson, with a lot of help from Súle Greg Wilson) in top form. This album was much loved, and critically acclaimed, winning a Grammy. It deserved all the love, and more, making a profound statement about the continuity, form, and vitality of African-American folk traditions.
Top Artists
This is actually somewhat surprisingly static–the Hania Rani and Gaia Banfi entries are new, but we were pushing through some long albums this month.
- Roberta Flack · 58 plays across 28 tracks (2nd time in top 10)
- Iron & Wine · 29 plays across 24 tracks (4th time in top 10, 4 months running)
- Mogwai · 23 plays across 22 tracks (4th time in top 10, 4 months running)
- Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway · 19 plays across 9 tracks
- Art Tatum · 18 plays across 16 tracks (4th time in top 10, 4 months running)
- Carolina Chocolate Drops · 16 plays across 8 tracks (2nd time in top 10)
- Hania Rani · 15 plays across 7 tracks
- Gaia Banfi · 14 plays across 4 tracks
- Jason Moran · 13 plays across 7 tracks
- Hurray For The Riff Raff · 12 plays across 7 tracks (2nd time in top 10)
Top Albums
I can’t make up my mind about Ami Taf Ra. The album vascillates between deep, jazzy grooves with cosmic implications and things that veer towards self-indulgence. But when it’s good, it’s very, very good. And welcome back, Jill Scott. It’s been too long.
Roberta Flack
With Her Songs: The Atlantic Albums, 1969-1978
72 plays · 35 tracks
Jill Scott
To Whom This May Concern
16 plays · 8 tracks
Carolina Chocolate Drops
Genuine Negro Jig (15th Anniversary Edition)
16 plays · 8 tracks
Hania Rani
Sentimental Value
14p · 6tr
Madala Kunene & Sibusile Xaba
kwaNTU
11p · 7tr
Art Tatum
Jewels In the Treasure Box
9p · 8tr
Annahstasia
Tether
9p · 8tr
Jason Moran
Jason Moran plays Duke Ellington
11p · 6tr
Ami Taf Ra
The Prophet and The Madman
12p · 5tr
Gaia Banfi
La Maccaia
14p · 4tr
Various Artists
For the Birds: The Birdsong Project, Vol. I – V
9p · 6tr
Top Tracks
- Ami Taf Ra — God (The Prophet and The Madman) · 5 plays
- Gaia Banfi — Congelati (La Maccaia) · 5 plays
- Bien et Toi & Paris Texas — So Long · 4 plays
- Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway — I (Who Have Nothing) (With Her Songs: The Atlantic Albums, 1969-1978) · 4 plays
- Roberta Flack — No Tears (In the End) (With Her Songs: The Atlantic Albums, 1969-1978) · 4 plays
+ 38 more tracks at 3 plays
First Encounters
Artists whose first-ever play in the library happened this month. Again this is dominated by known artists with new collaborators. Shrug.
- Ana Tijoux & Hordatoj · 4 plays across 2 tracks · from SERPIENTE DE MADERA – EP
- Bien et Toi & Paris Texas · 4 plays across 1 track
- Big Joe · 3 plays across 1 track · from Black Man’s Pride 3 (None Shall Escape The Judgement Of The Almighty)
- Bill Callahan & Bonnie “Prince” Billy & Matt Kinsey · 3 plays across 1 track · from Blind Date Party
- Izethekeli Band · 3 plays across 1 track · from Cultural Crossroads
Anywhere, Anytime
35 of my 5★ tracks surfaced this month. Five whose most recent play was way back in August 2023.
- Walking & Falling — Laurie Anderson (Big Science)
- Love & Affection — Joan Armatrading (Joan Armatrading: Classics Volume 21)
- Maggot Brain — Parliament Funkadelic (Maggot Brain)
- Ghost Dance — Patti Smith Group (Easter)
- My Secret Bliss — Afro Celt Sound System (Anatomic)
From the Vault
Tracks I hadn’t reached for in over a year, returning this month. These all were last played in 2014.
- First Week / Last Week…. Carefree — Talking Heads (Talking Heads 77)
- Identiy — Slow Earth (Nothing But … The Sound of Summer 2013)
- Batcat — Mogwai (Live @ The Regal [110223])
- @ World Cafe — Jonatha Brooke (NPR Topics: Studio Sessions)
- Helpless Dancer — The Who (Quadrophenia)
- Fin — Dva (Live @ Trans Pecos)
- On The Air — Peter Gabriel (Peter Gabriel 2)
- Blame It On My Youth – Meditation — Keith Jarrett (The Melody At Night, With You)
- Skies On Fire — Paper Aeroplanes (OK! Good Records: SXSW Sampler 2014)
- Fake Fur Coat — Tweedy (Sukierae)
Coda
It’s been a while since I published one of these, but I’ve ran the routine for April through August, so we’ll see how those look, and if the consistence between March/April survives, or was an oddity.