80 Artists Pick Overlooked Albums in New Book 'On the Records' — SkimNews
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- 'On the Records,' compiled by music industry vet Brian Beck and editor Piotr Orlov, collects essays and conversations from 80 artists about the overlooked albums that shaped them; it releases Nov. 17.
- Dolly Parton contributes an essay on 'Mama Sings,' a posthumous collection of traditional songs recorded by her mother Avie Lee Parton in the 1970s and released in 2024.
- Billie Eilish wrote about 'Shake Shook Shaken' (2014) by French-Finnish duo The Dø, an album she previously cited in her 2021 Vanity Fair interview as her 'main source of inspiration' for 'Happier Than Ever.'
- Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Karen O covers ESG's post-punk compilation 'A South Bronx Story'; Earl Sweatshirt writes on M.O.P.'s 'First Family 4 Life'; and Bon Iver's Justin Vernon spotlights Paul Pena's 'New Train,' which features Jerry Garcia on pedal steel.
- The Roots' Black Thought contributes a piece on Indianapolis funk band Amnesty's 'Free Your Mind (The 700 West Sessions),' while Willie Colón writes about jazz saxophonist Stanley Turrentine's 1974 LP 'Pieces of Dreams.'
- Additional contributors span genres and generations, including Brian Eno, Erykah Badu, Margo Price, Krist Novoselic, Laufey, Finneas, Dev Hynes, Philip Glass, Meshell Ndegeocello, Jamie xx, Kelela, Adrianne Lenker, Jim James, and Yaeji.
Why it matters: The 80-artist roster — bridging country, jazz, indie, hip-hop, and electronic music — positions 'On the Records' as a cross-generational canon of underrated music, giving lesser-known records a promotional platform backed by some of the most recognizable names in the industry.
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