Dear audience,
The music video for “Yes and?,” Ariana GrandeHis first new solo single in more than three years, it opens with a tight shot of a ruby-red business card emblazoned with the words ‘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’s the perfect moment for a sonic and aesthetic reinvention, à la U21991’s glammy album (and my favorite in his discography) “Achtung Baby”. It can also be an opportunity for a pop star to show off their newfound maturity, like Madonna she did on her wonderful seventh studio album, “Ray of Light.” The seventh album is often when the brightest artists shift gears to a level of mastery that seems newly effortless: Think Bob DylanHis seventh album is none other than “Blonde on Blonde”.
Will Grande’s seventh LP be worthy of mention among these classics? Who can say? All I know for now is that the thought of one of our great pop stars getting ready to join the Septet Club got me thinking about some of my all-time favorite septet albums. Of course, this required a seven-track playlist.
The aforementioned legends make an appearance, along with some of my indie favorites, Guided by Voices and Sleater-Kinney. Plus, one of pop’s reigning superstars, who’s dropping a particularly imperial seventh album in 2022 — everyone’s on mute until you guess who.
Listen on Spotify while you read.
1. U2: “Until the World Ends”
After their polarizing sixth album, “Rattle & Hum,” U2 retreated from ’80s overexposure and reemerged with a new ’90s rebrand on “Achtung Baby,” a Brian Eno-produced triumph that added some necessary irony to the band’s perspective and made Edge’s guitar sparkle like a new form of synthetic crystal. It is my professional opinion that this song dominates. (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 ad that put her back on the radio (with devotees half her age) and also earned her (sort of ) her first Grammy in a music category. “Ray of Light” is a deeper, weirder album than its self-titled hit suggests. This underrated sixth single is more representative of his sophisticated electro-pop sound. (Listen on YouTube)
3. Bob Dylan: “Stuck on the phone again with the Memphis Blues”
Dylan’s 72-minute double album from 1966, “Blonde on Blonde,” is a long, continuous burst of greatness—a songwriter comfortable with his own voice, bending the English language to his will while backed by a Nashville band. session musicians who proved an easy experience. A line from her that never fails to make me laugh: “She just smoked my eyelids and hit me with the cigarette.” (Listen on YouTube)
4. Guided by Voices: “Gold Star for Robot Boy”
Superhumanly prolific indie-rock band Guided by Voices are now racing towards the release of their 40th album – their 39th, Nowhere to Go but Up, due in November 2023 – but it’s taken them seven tries to break out with the gloriously scattered ” Bee Thousand,” arguably the first of many ’90s masterpieces. (Listen on YouTube)
5. Sleater-Kinney: “Entertain”
Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of older Sleater-Kinney records in anticipation of the group’s 11th album, “Little Rope,” due out next Friday. My favorite is still the group’s seventh, “The Woods,” from 2005, on which Corin Tucker’s soaring voice, Carrie Brownstein’s caustic wit, and Janet Weiss’s shuddering drums sound monumental. (Listen on YouTube)
6. Beyoncé: “America has a problem”
Three albums after “4,” Beyoncé outdid herself once again on “Renaissance,” 2022’s massive odyssey through black dance music history. Ever since I saw her Renaissance World Tour, I can only imagine her singing this particular song while dressed as a haute couture bee. (Listen on YouTube)
7. The Beatles: “Tomorrow Never Knows”
Is the wildly inventive, boundlessly ambitious “Revolver” the greatest seventh album of all time? Discuss. All I know is this Don Draper wasn’t ready for this. (Listen on YouTube)
Oh mom, could this really be the end?
Lindsay
The amp playlist
Listen on Spotify. We update this playlist with each new newsletter.
“7 Great Songs From Great 7th Albums” tracklist.
Track 1: U2, “Until the World Ends”
Track 2: Madonna, “Nothing Really Matters”
Track 3: Bob Dylan, “Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again”
Track 4: Guided by Voices, “Gold Star for Robot Boy”
Track 5: Sleater-Kinney, “Entertain”
Track 6: Beyoncé, “America’s Got a Problem”
Track 7: The Beatles, “Tomorrow Never Knows”
Bonus tracks
The crash It only made it to the 6th album, but let’s go back “The Magnificent Seven” Anyway.
Also, it’s a big week for new music on the Friday playlist. Hear fresh songs from the aforementioned Ariana Grande, Lil Nas X, Waxahatchee and more.