I’m not the kind of dude who would ever aspire to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, let alone a climbing wall at the local REI.
But I did summit my own mountain, so to speak, and recently at that: the best 1,000 albums ever, a five-year journey that involved writing an article for 1,000 albums that shaped me. It turned out to be more pop culture-meets-memoir than music review or traditional ranking project.
All told it was both really hard and a hell of a lot of fun. But then the obvious question came: what’s next?
The project of Pop Thruster marches on, and I’m having a ball with Pop Thruster’s TV and movies coverage – in addition to a more expansive notion of “best pop culture things ever” (see: Top 50 Stephen King books ranked by how much they’ve meant to my life for example).
But what came next for me with relation to music and writing about music was a little more complex.
As odd as it may sound, the answer started with simply listening to music “for fun,” for all of the joy and meaning and satisfaction that it’s given me throughout my life.
Doing that led me to think about music in a fresh way, unbridled by the relative “weight” of the best 1,000 albums project. For example, floating the notion that “Like to Get to Know You Well” by Howard Jones is the most 1980s song ever came out of that process.
The idea with this edition of the Pop Thruster Afterburner is to give you additional insight into my musical adventures over the last few months.
albums > PLAYLISTS
Ironically enough for someone who spent five years writing about 1,000 albums, I had become accustomed to often listening to music via highly curated playlists over the years. They often tied to mood or activity (like exercising or hardcore working mode), or sometimes were more genre based.
I’ve realized that I’ve weirdly rediscovered the joys of playing albums straight through, and that’s led to some surprising new revelations of what has turned me on musically circa early 2026.
Guided By Voices
Speaking of surprises, Guided By Voices had long been the kind of band where I vaguely knew about them, kind of thought I should check them out “at some point,” and then never did.
I’m sure that I did give them some time – at least a little bit, anyway – during the nine months of research before I started writing the best 1,000 albums ever. But for whatever reason it didn’t “stick.”
One night late last year while bouncing ideas off of my old pal ChatGPT, I decided to give GBV another spin, and I’m so glad that I did.
When I threw on “Game of Pricks,” off of Alien Lanes, it was almost as if it had been sitting there waiting for me to find it for three decades.
It’s got strong Frank Black garage rock flavor mapped against exquisite pop music sensibilities that feel bequeathed to it by way of The Byrds.
Alien Lanes as a whole is terrific – weird, eclectic, surprising.
“As We Go Up, We Go Down” has great Camper Van Beethoven circa Telephone Free Landslide Victory (#104 of best 1,000 albums ever) vibes.
What’s so fun and energizing about diving into the archives of a great and rangy band is that I never know what’s going to hit me right – or even why. “Echoes Myron,” off of Bee Thousand, is my latest obsession on that note, which brings an early R.E.M. jangle pop dynamic into what’s still singularly its very own thing.
Milo Goes to College (and most other places I tend to go)
Over the last month, the Descendents’ Milo Goes to College (#494) has been my mainstay during late night work sessions and gym visits alike.
It’s gotten weirdly to the point where I literally can’t get enough of it no matter how many times I run it through. For a long time, “Suburban Home” was my favorite song on the album – and that goes for the band as a whole – but “Catalina” has taken over the crown.
I love that it’s angry and jaunty and sort of positive – self-empowering at the least – all at the same time, full blast 1980s punk rock delivered in less than two minutes.
After listening to it for about the 300th time, I finally picked up on the fact that it namechecks both The Doors and The Beatles in what feels like a non-ironically admiring way.
Assuming I’m correct, it led me to theorize that I may exist within a relatively thin slice of the music loving populace who idolizes those bands along with the Descendents.
It’s a thought that makes me happy anyway. Amazing that music can take us to such places.
If you’re wondering if I am tempted to bump Milo Goes to College “up” on the best 1,000 albums ever, the answer is four words: hell to the yeah.
And I just might. This is my castle, where music reigns.
Human Performance
Milo “took over” my late night music listening time after a few solid weeks of domination by Parquet Courts’ Human Performance (#722).
While obviously different than Milo, it’s another album that plays through end to end remarkably well. The croon-y yet quirky title track and the rambunctious and bouncy “Berlin Got Blurry” are highlights I can’t recommend enough.
I also share a last name with Germany’s capital city, which makes that latter track a little bit extra fun for your humble narrator.