Here’s why I listened to a new album every day for a month (MWE26) As part of MWE 2026, I listened to a new album every day of February. Here’s why.

An album a day keeps the keeps the blues away

quasistellar.space/2026/03/27/h...

#MWE #MWE26 #MWE2026 #queerwritere #musicjournalism #hemlockesprings #kerokerobonito

#MWE Day 14:

Westside Gunn - FLYGOD

BEST: Mr. T, Bodies on Fairfax (feat. Danny Brown), Gustavo, Dudley Boyz (feat. Action Bronson), Hall, King City (feat. Mach-Hommy & DJ Q-Bert), Free Chapo (feat. Conway the Machine)

WORST: Chine Gun

Strong 9/10

#MWE Day 13:

Amy Winehouse - Back to Black

BEST: Back to Black, Rehab, You Know I'm No Good, Tears Dry On Their Own, Love Is a Losing Game, Wake Up Alone

WORST: N/A

10/10

#MWE Day 28: Crippling Alcoholism - Camgirl (2025)

As somber and macabre as the band name implies. This whole album is draped in uneasiness and can definitely be unsettling to listen to at times, but is such a vibe and got its hooks into me — just might be one of my top picks.

#MWE Day 12:

Standing on the Corner - Standing on the Corner

BEST: Girl, BNS, In + Out, Santa Maria (Dedicated to Chuchita), Dedicated to Nunu

WORST: Wordee

Strong 9/10

UK companies in the news:

#ADVT #AGY #BEZ #BTRW #CORD #CPI #CRN #DOTD #EAAS #GMS #GFRD #HICL #IPO #MTRO #MWE #MYI #NET #QLT #RSE #SCE #SHI #SRT #SSIT #VEIL #VTY #WEIR

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#MWE Day 11:

New Edition - Heart Break

BEST: If It Isn't Love, Can You Stand the Rain, Boys to Men, You're Not My Kind of Girl, I'm Comin' Home

WORST: Competition

Strong 8/10

#MWE Day 27: Nails - Unsilent Death (2010)

Ten tracks of ferocious hardcore coming in at less than thirteen minutes. A musical freight train that is aimed to hit you straight in the teeth. I figured this album was going to be intense, but it’s on another level. All hail Nails!

DOUBLE MWE AT LAST! - #MWE 2026 Roundup Music reviews from the perspective of one Nicholas Nutter since 2006. Sharing my passion for squiggly air with whoever wants to talk.

Here's my #MWE run (from both Mastodon and Bluesky) wrapped up in one blog! A few of them are even slightly expanded! If you missed anything from one (or both) feeds, here's all 56 album reviews:

nicknutterblog.blogspot.com/2026/03/doub...

11. Descendants - Milo Goes to College (1982)

Absolutely get why it’s so influential & why so many of my favorite bands cite it as an influence, but time hasn’t been kind to it. The lyrics are juvenile at best, regressive at worst, & the fantastic energy of the music can’t overcome that. #MWE

10. Tony! Toni! Toné! - House of Music (1996)

The missing link between old-school Babyface-style R&B and D’Angelo/Questlove neo-soul. It runs a little long, like all CD-era R&B albums, but the songs stay memorable and Saadiq really comes into his own as a newly-minted legend. Great stuff. #MWE

#MWE

Thx everyone who followed along. Hope you discovered something too. Big thx to other participants—hyped to listen to what y’all shared.

For new folks, I’m a published author/poet. Check the 🔗 in bio if you’re so inclined. My latest—Spark Bird—is about a musician! I’m writing my next one now.

Congrats to those who completed #MWE this year and grateful to all who participated in any capacity. I'm sorry I didn't have the bandwidth to be an active coach/cheerleader/motivator the time around, but maybe next year...

Well done for finishing #MWE everyone!! Here's a run down of everything we listened to 👯‍♂️

The album cover for Nothing's About to Happen to Me by Mitski. It shows a painting of a white cat with heterochromatic yellow and blue eyes and a neutral expression in front of yellow wallpaper.

Day 28: Nothing's About to Happen to Me by Mitski. A natural evolution from her last album, yet a different, darker beast. As beautiful as you'd expect from her, with some truly mesmerising moments that stop you in your tracks. Fave song: In A Lake #MWE #Mitski #MWE2026

The album cover for Fear of the Black Doll by Chloe Hotline. It's a grainy photograph of the artist standing in an empty room wearing a long dress. Behind her stands a grandfather clock, in front of her kneels a figure facing away from the camera.

Day 27: Fear of the Black Doll by Chloe Hotline. Not a single second is wasted in this mixtape. A whirlwind of bounce, rap, and anthemic choruses that ends leaving you wanting more. Bring on the album that's coming this year. Fave song: Fallbaque #MWE #ChloeHotline #MWE2026

cover art for Bakar’s Beastie

#MWE 28. Bakar: Beastie

My expectations were impossibly high based on the fact that Lonyo is a perfect song in every way. Sadly the rest of the album sounds like a glum Nnamdï- not a bad thing at all, but notably lacking the addictive, visceral brightness of Lonyo

Cover art for CITY MUSIC TOKYO multiple. It features a wall of apartment balconies and windows bordered by a white box and the title at the very top.

#MWE 2026 February 28th: Various Artists - CITY MUSIC TOKYO multiple

Ending off this month of city pop with a simple compilation of city pop songs from scattered artists cuz sometimes the album can't tell you everything about a scene and you just need some select bops and bangers.

Cover art for Takako Mamiya's Love Trip/ It features Takako wearing a business suit and heels with her coat hanging over her shoulders as she sits on a high stool. Behind her is a white wall with one window opening and a rectangular curve depicting an ocean-like atmosphere behind it and a cactus. On the bottom left there is a small cartoon of a busboy standing in front of a lightbulb.

#MWE 2026 February 27th: Takako Mamiya - LOVE TRIP

Fascinated to learn that this was a literal one album wonder that retired after the album underperformed, cuz this is legit fantastic! Amazing production and a great performer delivering some real bangers. Wish she could have done more.

#MWE Day 28: Ride On Time by Tatsuro Yamashita

Ending this month the same way it began: killer Japanese City Pop. The bass is just so bouncy and ik City Pop is known for its trumpet but G-dDAMN are the good on this album. This and Blue Hearts's Linda Linda are now my Japanese album White Whales

Thank you all for following along to this thread, I had a fun time discovering albums that I haven't heard or just want to revisit for the fun of it. Until then, I'll see you next year!

Also, shout out to @imgarysuarez.bsky.social for starting this whole thing that is Music Writer Exercise. #MWE

Thanks for following along on this year's #MWE! I found some good stuff to listen to (as always) from others who were taking part - so fun to see what people are listening to and liking (or…not 😄).

Thanks again to @imgarysuarez.bsky.social for creating MWE & starting this wild annual coaster! 🎢 🙌🏻

#MWE Day 28: Kamaiyah - A Good Night in the Ghetto

An apt record to close out on: it feels so exuberant and triumphant that you can almost miss the more serious things Kamaiyah is saying when she isn't being overt. So smooth and effortless itself that it's hard to believe she was only 20!

Album art for Who’s Next by The Who

#MWE Who’s Next by The Who

While it drags for a moment in tracks three and four, the rest of the album highlights the group’s skills at their best. Keith Moon is one of the best to do it. The vocals are powerful. The buildup to the climax in “Baba O’Riley” always gets me, I adore the guitar.

The Raincoats - Odyshape (1981)

#MWE
The Raincoats - Odyshape (1981)

An excellent album to end the month on, a dissonant, deconstructed post-punk affair that’s more like abstracted art-rock—with exotic instrumentation, off-kilter melodies, & a free-jazzy ethos. Kurt Cobain was apparently a huge fan. For fans of weird, good stuff!

Day 28: The Score by Fugees (1996)

I've only heard (and knew) the singles long before and I can now say that it is such a great album. I thought it was well-produced, their flow and the whole vibe of this album was incredible. I loved it and it is another album that is worth listening to. #MWE

#MWE 28: Elvis Presley - How Great Thou Art

Another Christian album. Again, I am not religious. But Elvis sure was! The A side is like listening to side two of Elvis' Christmas Album - slow songs about God & whatnot. B side has more hopped up tunes, more in his usual bluesy style. But lots of God.

#MWE 27: The Beach Boys - Holland

Interesting name for an album with a suite called "California Saga." 😄 Oh, it's because some of it was recorded in Holland. 😂 I'm mostly used to more "traditional" Beach Boys, so this feels like a departure. But I'm not mad about it. It's just different.

#mwe day 28: Unwound - Leaves Turn Inside You

Unwound turn serious and subdued. Not that they weren’t artsy before, but gone is the quality of effortlessness. This sounds like work. Autumn has come, the air is chilly, the sidewalk tree boxes’ leaves are turning yellow.

The cover of "Petal Rock Black" by Willow. At least four pairs of hands and arms join in a web of solidarity, mostly obscuring the face of someone (presumably Willow). All the arms are from people of color.

#MWE

28. Willow "Petal Rock Black" (2026)

What better way 2 wrap up than 2 explore the beginning, middle, & present of one artist? A 26 minute collection of sketches; not a statement, but a vibe. Feels laced w joy in the creative process. If there's a statement, it's that: making shit is fun.