Feb 20 - Legend - The Best of Bob Marley and The Whalers
Feb 21 -Zoe Wees - Golden Wings
Feb 22 - Osei Essed - Always in Season
Feb 23 - Shad - TSOL
Feb 24 - Nao - And Then Life Was Beautiful
Feb 25 - Masego - Studying Abroad : Extended Stay
Feb 26 - Tracy Chapman - Our Bright Future
Feb 27 - Leyla McCalla - The Capitalist Blues
Feb 28 - Honey Dijon - The Best of Both Worlds
Feb 13 - Don Flemons - American Songster
Feb 14 - Tete - Lockdown Sessions
Feb 15 - Juke Ross - Chapter 2
Feb 16 - Curtis Mayfield - Roots
Feb 17 - Muddy Waters - Folk Singer
Feb 18 - Mickey Guyton - Remember Her Name
Feb 19 - Valerie June - The Order of Time
Feb 7 - Yola Stand for Myself
Feb 8 - Etta James - Matriarch of the Blues
Feb 9 - Jill Scott - The Light of the Sun
Feb 10 - Inner Circle - Blazzin' Fire
Feb 11 - Mint Green - Growth
Feb 12 - Sister Rosetta Tharpe - Gospel Train
Feb 1 - Joan Armatrading - Joan Armatrading (album), Consequences
Feb 2 - Brittany Howard - Jaime Reimagined
Feb 3 - Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly
Feb 4 - Arlo Parks - Collapsed in Sunbeams
Feb 5 - Richie Havens - Paris Live 1969, Nobody Left to Crown
Feb 22 - Halsey - Manic; hopeless fountain kingdom
Feb 23 - The Ebony Hillbillies - I Love Ebony Hillbillies Sessions Vol 1; 5 Miles From Town
Feb 24 - Beyonce - Lemonade
Feb 25 - Rhiannon Giddens - there is no other; Freedom Highway
Feb 26 - Toshi Reagon - Toshi
Feb 27 - Alex Isley - Love/Art Memories
Feb 28 - Cedric Burnside - Benton County Relic
Feb 15 - Janet Jackson - 20 Y.O.
Feb 16 - Prince - 1999
Feb 17 - Naya Ali - Godspeed: Baptism (Prelude)
Feb 18 - Lizzo - Cuz I Love You
Feb 19 - Measha Brueggergosman - Songs of Freedom; Measha Jazz
Feb 20 - Nitty Scott - Creature!
Feb 21 - Oscar Peterson - Montreaux '77
Feb 7 - The War and Treaty - Healing Tide, Down to the River, Hearts Town
Feb 8 - Southern Avenue - Southern Avenue
Feb 9 - Alice Coltrane - Journey in Satchidananda
Feb 10 - Tankia Charles - What! What? What!?
Feb 11 - Jully Black - Revival, The Black Book
Feb 12 - Carolina Chocolate Drops - Genuine Negro Jig, Leaving Eden
Feb 13 - Odetta - Odetta Sings
Feb 14 - Solange - What I Get Home
Week 1 is done, and I listened to at least one new to me album each day. A few days I was even able to squeeze in a second album!
Feb 1 - Nina Simone - Nina Simone in Concert, Silk and Soul
Feb 2 - Sade - Love Deluxe, Stronger Than Pride
Feb 3 - TeaMarr - Before I Spill Myself
Feb 4 - A Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders, People's Instinctive Travels & The Paths of Rhythm
Feb 5 - OSHUN - bittersweet vol 1
Feb 6 - Janelle Monae - The Arch Android
Have you heard of MWE - Music Writer Exercise - in which you listen to one album a day in the month of February, an album you have never listed to before.
I discovered it this past Saturday night; Saturday afternoon I was in the car with my kids and they were singing along to the radio while I kept saying "What song is this? Who sings it? How do you know this?"
I used to love listening to new music and new-to-me music, but somewhere along the way I settled into only listening to music I already knew, or classical and nature sounds to calm my nerves. In the car I listen to the same CD's over and over, and while I work I listen to podcasts or ocean or bird sounds to keep me sane.
I'm excited to give this a try and discover some new to me music this month, and I will be focusing on Black artists as well.
I hope to come back here each week and let you know what I listened to. If you're interested, check out the #MWE tag on twitter.