The.strays.2023

Margo Price begins Strays by declaring that she's been to the mountain and back, a proclamation she pairs with a stylized, amorous throb that's equal parts new wave and classic rock. That statement and that sound make it clear that Strays finds Price continuing to wander far afield from the traditional country of her 2016 debut Midwest Farmer's Daughter, developing a distinctive synthesis of a variety of styles that can't quite be pegged as Americana. Sharp, incisive songwriting remains at the heart of her music, allowing Price to weave different sounds and rhythms into her probing, emotionally open songs.

Misfits & Mistakes: Singles, B-sides & Strays 2007–2023 is Superchunk's fourth singles compilation, a massive 4-LP or 2-CD collection covering their triumphant return from hiatus up to 2023. The amount of music within its gorgeous packaging is staggering: 50 songs (16 of which are on physical media for the first time) sourced from out-of-print releases, digital singles, compilations, and more—a vital piece of the Superchunk canon.In the tradition of Superchunk singles compilations, Misfits & Mistakes houses non-album tracks, demos, and cover songs culled from 7-inches, compilations, and previously internet-exclusive artifacts. Featuring extensive liner notes by Mac McCaughan (with additional notes from Laura Ballance), the collection tells the story of each release, from why they chose to cover songs by The Misfits, The Cure, Destiny’s Child, and Bananarama, to working with collaborators like Katie Crutchfield (Waxahatchee), Jane Wiedlin (The Go-Go’s), Eleanor Friedberger, Damian Abraham (Fucked Up), Norman Blake and Raymond McGinley (Teenage Fanclub), and more!

Alexander Scriabin, whose 150th anniversary we celebrated in 2022, and Sergei Rachmaninoff, one year his junior, were rivals at the Moscow Conservatory as students in both piano and composition. At the piano final exam in 1891, Rachmaninoff was awarded first prize and Scriabin second – it’s fascinating just to imagine what this rivalry between music history’s most famous classmates had been like. Subsequently, they went their separate ways; in particular, Scriabin became drawn to Nietzsche’s Übermensch theory and Blavatsky’s theosophy and his musical style changed drastically, leading to his so-called music of mysticism with the heavy use of progressive harmonies.