An Album of the Month Event You Should Check Out

We've got a great host and a killer playlist, all set to go. All we need now is you! Here's how to join the fun.

Kevin Alexander

and

Charles in San Francisco

Jul 11, 2025

Good Morning!

Today we’re talking about music from around the world and well, how you can talk about the band with other like minded people.

Note: As some of you know, I’m one of the editors for an online music publication called The Riff. Each month, we host an album discussion (via Zoom), and this month’s is coming up on Sunday.

To be clear, all credit goes to

Terry Barr

and
Scott Fountain
who facilitate the meetings, as well as
Charles in San Francisco
, this month’s host. These guys are doing the heavy lifting.

As you’ll see below, these are low-key affairs; all are welcome! If you want to share some thoughts, that’s awesome. Wanna just sit back & listen? That’s cool, too.

Either way, it’d be better with you there.

KA—

It’s that time again; it’s time for our monthly album discussion!

One of our core tenets is sharing music. That obviously involves writing about it, but also talking about it together. We do that monthly here.

This Sunday, July 13th, is that day.

Below is my boilerplate explanation of these discussions and the value you’ll get from joining us. Under that are both the record being discussed and the meeting login details.

Don’t know the record? Doesn’t matter.
Not comfortable speaking in public? Me either. And you don’t have to if you don’t want to. Heck, you don’t even have to turn your camera on. It’s a safe space, but you control what you share.
Ultimately, you’re part of the community; we want you to be a part of this, too.

So check out the “rules” below, and then plan to dial in.

What is this?

For new readers (hi everyone!), The Riff hosts an online discussion every month.

Here’s how it works:

A writer (more on that in a second) picks a record to discuss and writes a brief piece about their choice and the meeting details.
At the meeting, they discuss why they picked it, offer a bit of a backstory/context, and whatever else they’d like to share.
Everyone else on the call can share their own “hot take,” related story, or anything else you think is relevant.
At the end of the meeting, the next month’s writer volunteers (or is chosen), and the process repeats itself.

NOTE FOR INTROVERTS: If you’d prefer to sit in and listen, that is 110% okay. Keep your video off…stay muted…it’s up to you. It’s a safe place; you can participate as much/as little as you’d like.

This month’s host:

This month’s host is

Charles in San Francisco

who writes the fantastic ‘Stack Zapato’s Jam, focusing on music from all corners of the globe. You can also find his work on Medium.

Cool! So, what are we talking about?

Charles is mixing it up this month, choosing a selection of non-US artists to shine a light on.

From his article announcing his pick(s):

This July 13, we are changing things up a little. I have put together a “virtual album” of songs by artists from around the world—artists who in some cases are huge stars in their home countries, but barely known in the anglophone market. In other cases, they may be just emerging in their home markets. In either case, most of these artists are likely to be new for you…There are songs here that are “western” in form and use of scales, and there is stuff based on completely different scales, rhythms and time signatures. Some of the vocalists do things you would rarely hear a western singer attempt.
What these all have in common is that they move me, in one way or another — because of the message, or the songwriting, or the way they sound, or all of the above. Most of these artists are on my regular playlists. It is my hope that you will find a few things here that scratch an itch you didn’t know you had.

Musical adventure, exploring new sounds, and sharing great music with great people make these discussions a joy.

Join us and see for yourself.